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Raymond Hitchcock (actor)
Encyclopedia
Raymond Hitchcock was a silent film
actor, stage actor
, and stage producer, who appeared in or produced 30 plays on Broadway
from 1898 to 1928, and who became famous in silent films of the 1920s.
in Easy Dawson the two apparently playing firemen. Hitchcock also made several phonograph recordings of which many survive to lend an idea of what he sounded like.
In 1925, Hitchcock appeared in a test film made by Lee DeForest in DeForest's Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process, in which Hitchcock performed a sketch from his revue Hitchy-Koo
, which was originally produced on Broadway in 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920. Cole Porter
wrote the music for the 1919 version.
The Red Widow (1916) opposite male lead John Barrymore
. Barrymore's role had been played by Hitchcock in the 1911 Broadway production of The Red Widow. According to the Daily Register Gazette, Hitchcock was cremated with plans to return his ashes to Canadaigua, New York for burial in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actor, stage actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and stage producer, who appeared in or produced 30 plays on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
from 1898 to 1928, and who became famous in silent films of the 1920s.
Biography
He appeared first as a star in the character of Abijah Booze in The Yankee Consul, and sang It Was Not Like This in the Olden Time. In his stage career, Hitchcock went back and forth between dramatic roles and ones in comic opera. In 1905 he appeared on Broadway with John BunnyJohn Bunny
John Bunny was an American actor and was one of the first comic stars of the motion picture era. Between 1910 and his death in 1915 Bunny was one of the top stars of early silent film, as well as an early example of celebrity...
in Easy Dawson the two apparently playing firemen. Hitchcock also made several phonograph recordings of which many survive to lend an idea of what he sounded like.
In 1925, Hitchcock appeared in a test film made by Lee DeForest in DeForest's Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process, in which Hitchcock performed a sketch from his revue Hitchy-Koo
Hitchy-Koo
Hitchy-Koo of 1919 is a musical revue with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and the book by George V. Hobart. This revue was third in a series of four Hitchy-Koo revues produced by, and starring, Raymond Hitchcock. The original Broadway production was in 1919...
, which was originally produced on Broadway in 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920. Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
wrote the music for the 1919 version.
Personal life
Hitchcock was married to Freda Bowen from 1891 to 1903, and then was married to beautiful actress Flora Zabelle (1880-1968) from 1905 to his death in 1929. Hitchcock and Zabelle had no children. In one of her few movie roles, Zabelle appeared in the silent filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
The Red Widow (1916) opposite male lead John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
. Barrymore's role had been played by Hitchcock in the 1911 Broadway production of The Red Widow. According to the Daily Register Gazette, Hitchcock was cremated with plans to return his ashes to Canadaigua, New York for burial in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.