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Edwin Carewe (Chickasaw Nation, March 3, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was a Native American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter.
Carewe and his two brothers, Wallace Ware Fox (a director/producer) and Franklin Finis Fox (a scenario writer), were all citizens of the Chickasaw Nation and original enrollees on the 1907 Chickasaw Dawes Rolls.
Carewe was on stage as an actor before he worked for Lubin studios. Later, he directed films for MGM, First National, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and United Artists. During his career, he provided early screen exposure to many actors such as Dolores del Río, Warner Baxter, Francis X. Bushman and Gary Cooper. He directed 58 films including the acclaimed 1928 version of Ramona starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter, which was rediscovered and restored by the Library of Congress and had its world premiere at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014.
Another of Carewe's notable films was Evangeline in 1929, also with Del Río, and written by his brother Finis Fox. Evangeline was based upon the Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and earned praise for its exceptional lighting and camera work. The New York Times, August 20, 1929.
Although Carewe directed and produced several critically and financially successful pictures during the silent era, he was not fully able to make the transition to sound. After resorting to sound remakes of his earlier successes, and later to low-budget and religious films, he made his last feature Are We Civilized? in 1934.
Carewe was married three times, twice to actress Mary Akin. By his first wife, Mary Jane Croft (married January 9, 1909 in Toronto, Ontario), he had two daughters, Rita Carewe (who became an actress, known as "Rita Carewe") and Mary Jane. By his first marriage to his second wife, Mary Akin, he had two children, Sally Ann and William (born Edwin Gilbert). By his second marriage to Akin, they had one more child, Carol Lee.
Career
After brief studies at the Universities of Texas and Missouri and a period of work with regional theatrical groups, Carewe moved to New York City in 1910, where he became a member of the Dearborn Stock Company. Although Jay Fox was his given name, Carewe chose Edwin (from stage actor Edwin Booth) and Carewe from a character he was playing. The New York Times, January 23, 1940, p. 21; Variety January 24, 1940.
Death
Carewe died from a heart ailment in his Hollywood apartment, and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.See Edwin Carewe, State of California Standard Certificate of Death, 22 Jan 1940 (filed 24 Jan 1940), Local Registered No. 1904. Although a few writers have said that Carewe had committed suicide, his death certificate actually states arteriosclerosis general and coronary sclerosis as the cause of death. He had a previous condition of coronary thrombosis. Even if suicide had been suspected, the LA County Coroner's Office would have been required by law to perform an autopsy and none was ever performed.
Filmography
Director
Actor
Producer
Writer
External links
Categories: 1883 Births, 1940 Deaths, 20th-century American Male Actors, 20th-century American Male Writers, 20th-century Native American Writers, American Male Film Actors, Film Directors From Texas, Film Producers From Texas, American Male Screenwriters, American Male Silent Film Actors, Burials At Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Chickasaw People, Native American Filmmakers, Native American Male Actors, 20th-century American Screenwriters
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