Hume Cronyn

For the early-20th-century Canadian politician and father of the actor, see Hume Cronyn (politician).

Hume Cronyn
Wife Jessica Tandy and Cronyn at the 1988 Emmy Awards
Born	Hume Blake Cronyn, Jr. (1911-07-18)July 18, 1911 London, Ontario, Canada
Died	June 15, 2003(2003-06-15) (aged 91) Fairfield, Connecticut, US
Cause of death	Prostate cancer
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–2003
Spouse(s)	Emily Woodruff (1934–36; divorced) Jessica Tandy (1942–94; her death) Susan Cooper (1996–2003; his death)
Children	Tandy Christopher
Awards	Officer of the Order of Canada

Hume Blake Cronyn, Jr., OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside Jessica Tandy, his wife for over fifty years.

Early life

Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman and a Member of Parliament for London (after whom the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory and asteroid (12050) Humecronyn are named). His mother, Frances Amelia (née Labatt), was an heiress of the brewing company of the same name. His paternal grandfather, Verschoyle Cronyn, was the son of the Right Reverend Benjamin Cronyn, an Anglican cleric of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy, who served as first bishop of the Anglican diocese of Huron and founded Huron College, from which grew the University of Western Ontario. His great-uncle, Benjamin, Jr., was both a prominent citizen and early mayor of London, Ontario, but was later indicted for fraud and fled to Vermont; during his tenure in London he built a mansion called Oakwood, which currently serves as the head office of the Info-Tech Research Group. Cronyn was also a cousin of Canadian-born theater producer, Robert Whitehead, and a first cousin of the Canadian-British artist Hugh Verschoyle Cronyn GM (1905–1996).

Cronyn was the first Elmwood School boarder (at the time Elmwood was called Rockliffe Preparatory School) and boarded at Elmwood between 1917 and 1921. After leaving Elmwood, Cronyn went to Ridley College in St. Catharines, and McGill University in Montreal, where he became a member of The Kappa Alpha Society.

Early in life, Cronyn was an amateur featherweight boxer, having the skills to be nominated for Canada's 1932 Olympic Boxing team.

Career

Cronyn in Lifeboat, 1944

Subsequent to graduating from Ridley College, Cronyn switched majors, from pre-law to drama, while attending McGill University, and continued his acting studies thereafter, under Max Reinhardt and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1934, he made his Broadway debut as a janitor in Hipper's Holiday and became known for his versatility, playing a number of different roles on stage. He won a Drama Desk Special Award in 1986. In 1990, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

His first Hollywood film was Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He later appeared in Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) and worked on the screenplays of Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). He was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in The Seventh Cross (1944) and won a Tony Award for his performance as Polonius opposite Richard Burton's Hamlet (1964). Cronyn bought the screenplay What Nancy Wanted from Norma Barzman — later blacklisted with her husband Ben Barzman — with the idea of producing the film and starring Tandy. However, he sold the screenplay to RKO which later filmed it as The Locket (1946). Cronyn also made appearances in television, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Kill With Kindness" (1956) and Hawaii Five-O episodes "Over Fifty, Steal" (1970) and "Odd Man In" (1971).

In 1990 he won an Emmy award for his role in the TV Movie Age Old Friends.

Cronyn and Tandy

Cronyn married the actress Jessica Tandy in 1942, and appeared with her in many of their more memorable dramatic stage, film and television outings, including The Green Years (1946), The Seventh Cross (1944), The Gin Game (1977), Foxfire (1982), *batteries not included (1987), Cocoon (1985) and Cocoon: The Return (1988).

The couple starred in a short-lived (1953–1954) radio series, The Marriage (based on their earlier Broadway play, The Fourposter), playing New York attorney Ben Marriott and his wife, former fashion buyer Liz, struggling with her switch to domestic life and their raising an awkward teenage daughter (future soap opera star Denise Alexander). The show was scheduled to move from radio to television, with Cronyn producing as well as acting in the show. However, Tandy suffered a miscarriage and the show's debut was delayed a week. The series premiered in July 1958 to "warm and enthusiastic reviews." It ran one season.

The couple had a daughter, Tandy, and a son, Christopher. Cronyn and Tandy lived on Children's Bay Cay in the Bahamas, then at a lakeside estate in Pound Ridge, New York, and, finally, in Easton, Connecticut, in a two-story Dutch colonial house on five acres. Jessica Tandy died in 1994.

Personal life

After he was widowed, Cronyn married author/playwright Susan Cooper (with whom he had co-written Foxfire) in July 1996. His 1991 autobiography was titled A Terrible Liar (ISBN 0-688-12844-0).

In 1979, Cronyn was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Cronyn was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1999. He died in 2003 of prostate cancer, aged 91.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1943	Shadow of a Doubt	Herbie Hawkins
1943	Phantom of the Opera	Gerard
1943	The Cross of Lorraine	Duval
1944	Lifeboat	Stanley 'Sparks' Garett
1944	The Seventh Cross	Paul Roeder	Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1945	Main Street After Dark	Keller
1945	The Sailor Takes a Wife	Freddie Potts
1945	A Letter for Evie	John Phineas McPherson
1946	Ziegfeld Follies	Monty
1946	The Postman Always Rings Twice	Arthur Keats
1946	The Green Years	Papa Leckie
1947	The Beginning or the End	Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer
1947	Brute Force	Capt. Munsey
1948	The Bride Goes Wild	John McGrath
1949	Top o' the Morning	Hughie Devine
1951	People Will Talk	Prof. Rodney Elwell
1956	Crowded Paradise	George Heath
1959	The Moon and Sixpence	Dirk Stroeve	Television film
1959	A Doll's House	Nils Krogstad	Television film
1960	Juno and the Paycock	N/A	Television film
1960	Sunrise at Campobello	Louis Howe
1963	Cleopatra	Sosigenes
1964	Richard Burton's Hamlet	Polonius
1969	The Arrangement	Arthur Houghton
1969	Gaily, Gaily	Tom Grogan
1970	There Was a Crooked Man...	Dudley Whinner
1974	The Parallax View	Bill Rintels
1974	Conrack	Mr. Skeffington
1981	Rollover	Maxwell Emery
1981	Honky Tonk Freeway	Sherm
1981	The Gin Game	Weller Martin	Television film
1982	The World According to Garp	Mr. Fields
1984	Impulse	Dr. Carr
1985	Brewster's Millions	Rupert Horn
1985	Cocoon	Joe Finley	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1987	*batteries not included	Frank Riley
1987	Foxfire	Hector Nations	Television film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1988	Cocoon: The Return	Joe Finley	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1989	Day One	James F. Byrnes	Television film
1989	Age-Old Friends	John Cooper	Television film CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1991	Christmas on Division Street	Cleveland Meriwether	Television film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1992	Broadway Bound	Ben	Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1993	To Dance with the White Dog	Robert Samuel Peek	Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1993	The Pelican Brief	Justice Rosenberg
1994	Camilla	Ewald
1996	Marvin's Room	Marvin	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997	12 Angry Men	Juror #9	Television film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1997	Alone	John Webb	Television film
1998	Seasons of Love	Lonzo	Television film
1999	Sea People	Mr. John McRae	Television film
1999	Santa and Pete	Saint Nick	Television film
2000	Yesterday's Children	Old Sunny Sutton	Television film
2001	Off Season	Sam Clausner

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	The Ford Theatre Hour	Hugo Barnstead	Episode: "Once Sunday Afternoon"
1949	Suspense	Dr. Violet	Episode: "Dr. Violet"
1950	The Ford Theatre Hour	Harry Binion	Episode: "Room Service"
1950	Suspense	Sig	2 episodes
1950	Pulitzer Prize Playhouse	Charles Ponzi	Episode: "The Ponzi Story"
1950	The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse	N/A	Episode: "The Reluctant Landlord"
1953	Omnibus	Bartender	Episode: "Glory in the Flower"
1954	The Motorola Television Hour	Anthony Updyke	Episode: "The Family Man"
1954	The Marriage	Ben Marriott	8 episodes
1955	Producers' Showcase	Michael	Episode: "The Fourposter"
1955	Omnibus	Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell	Episode: "Advice to Bathers"
1955	The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse	Ben Marriott	Episode: "Christmas 'til Closing"
1956	The United States Steel Hour	Priam Farll	Episode: "The Great Adventure"
1956	Climax!	Reverend Mr. Muldoon	Episode: "The Fifth Wheel"
1970–1971	Hawaii Five-O	Lewis Avery Filer	2 episodes

Stage

• Hipper's Holiday - 1934
• High Tor - 1937
• There's Always a Breeze - 1938
• Escape This Night - 1938
• Off to Buffalo - 1939
• Three Sisters - 1939
• The Weak Link - 1940
• Retreat to Pleasure - 1940
• Mr. Big - 1941
• Portrait of a Madonna - 1946 (Director)
• The Survivors - 1948
• Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - 1950
• Hilda Crane - 1950
• The Little Blue Light - 1951
• The Fourposter - 1951

• The Honeys - 1955
• A Day By The Sea - 1955
• The Egghead - 1957
• The Man in the Dog Suit - 1958
• Triple Play - 1959
• Big Fish, Little Fish - 1961
• Hamlet - 1964 (Tony Award for role of Polonius)
• The Physicists - 1964
• Slow Dance on the Killing Ground - 1964
• A Delicate Balance - 1966
• Promenade, All! - 1972
• Noël Coward in Two Keys - 1974
• The Gin Game - 1977 (performed, produced)
• Foxfire - 1982 (performed, wrote play and lyrics)
• The Petition - 1986

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode/source
1946	Suspense	The One Who Got Away
1952	Philip Morris Playhouse	One Sunday Afternoon

External links

• Hume Cronyn at Find a Grave
• Hume Cronyn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Hume Cronyn at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Hume Cronyn at the Internet Movie Database
• Hume Cronyn at Virtual History
• Order of Canada Citation
• Hume Cronyn interview video at the Archive of American Television
• Hume Cronyn - Internet Accuracy Project