Star Of The Month-Donald Crisp

 

DONALD CRISP

BIRTH: July 27, 1882

DEATH: MAY 25, 1974

AGED: 91, a couple months short of his 92nd birthday 

DIED FROM: Heart Attack after a series of major strokes

MARRIED: 3 times, the first ended in her tragic death a year after they married. The other 2 ended in divorce

CHILDREN: None

OSCAR WINS: “How Green Is My Valley”

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Once, see above

TALENT: beautiful, operatic voice( who knew?), keen business sense becoming one of the wealthiest actors. Acting talent but also directing as well as a Production and Studio Exec.

KNOWN FOR: His soft, but commanding voice. His love of acting, keeping his private life private. Slightly( HA!) exaggerated early life. Was an Intelligence Officer in WW1 and in the army reserves in WW2 becoming a Colonel. 

Joel spoke about Donald Crisp when I mentioned “Broken Blossoms” last month and I thought Donald would be perfect for Star of the Month ( Thanks Joel:)). He was known stature and large hands, but with a soft, mellifluous voice. He spoke about his Scottish heritage, his dad as a physician to the King, graduating from Oxford and fighting in the Boer War. The problem is that Mr. Crisp slightly exaggerated….well, lied about his more common lineage. He was not Scottish at all, but English and born, the youngest of 10 kids to a labourer dad and mom. He went to school, but not Oxford and there is a question about him being in the Boer War since he was living at his parent’s home driving a horse and buggy for a job in 1901. He could have been part of the Boer War as a trooper before being injured but not sure on this one. Don’t think too badly on this man since we have no idea what it was like to deal with class discrimination. No matter, he was very studious and highly intelligent plus he could have easily taught elocution lessons. It was decades later that the truth came out about his lineage and, in fact, my books uphold his elaborations. I found out this information on the internet with many spots, like IMD, still quoting that he is Scottish with a dad as a physician to the King ( or a cattle farmer) and an Oxford (or Eton) graduate. 

When he came over to the U. S., he was found to have a beautiful singing voice, while on the ship, and was hired for the Grand Opera House in New York City. There he met George M. Cohan and became a stage manager where he met D. W. Griffith who took him out to Hollywood. He became his assistant director and acted in a few of his films like “The Birth of a Nation” portraying Ulysses S. Grant. During the teens and 20s, he not only acted but directed many silents including “The Son of Zorro” with Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton in “The Navigator” ( Keaton did fire him though). He was also a Production and Studio Exec. but tired of all the crap he had to deal with so, when sound came, he stayed with acting. Well, not exactly, he was keenly adept at business and became a power broker and was a huge help to the Bank of America!  He was on their board and was a chairman, held in great respect since this was during the Great Depression and WW2. Many films can be thankful to Donald Crisp because he was a main reason the producers got the financing to make so many of these classic films. 

This man knew how to make money and command respect while enjoying making movies. He really enjoyed acting and we know him from his looks and his speech even if most no longer know his name

FILMS ( My Favourites)

1. How Green Is My Valley-1941

2. Lassie, Come Home-1943

3. The Uninvited-1944

4. National Velvet-1944

5. Broken Blossoms-1919

6. Son Of Lassie-1945

7. The White Angel-1936

8. Wuthering Heights-1939

9. The White Angel-1936

10. Svengali-1931

11. Jezebel-1938

12. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-1941

13.  Charge of the Light Brigade-1936

14. City For Conquest-1940

15. The Birth of a Nation-1915  ( there are other films he has been in that I would choose over this, if I saw them…this film is a big film historically, but very racist and reinvigorated the KKK)