Hume Cronyn

 ( 1911 Births ) 

Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and playwright. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and received many honors, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Cronyn was the husband of actress Jessica Tandy, with whom he was presented the Kennedy Center Honor in 1986 and National Medal of Arts in 1990. In 1999, he was awarded with a star on the Canada's Walk of Fame.

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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 at Western University, then known as The University of Western Ontario and asteroid (12050) Humecronyn are named). His mother, Frances Amelia (née Labatt), was an heiress of the brewing company of the same name, as the daughter of John Labatt and the granddaughter of John Kinder Labatt. Cronyn's paternal great-grandfather, Right Reverend Benjamin Cronyn, an Anglican cleric of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy, served as the 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 George Medal (1905–1996).

Cronyn was the first Elmwood School boarder in Ottawa (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 Kappa Alpha Society. Early in life, Cronyn was an amateur featherweight boxing, having the skills to be nominated for Canada's 1932 Olympic Boxing team.

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Career After graduating from Ridley College Cronyn attended McGill University, where he switched majors from pre-law to drama. He continued his acting studies thereafter under Max Reinhardt and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1934, the same year he joined The Lambs, he made his Broadway theatre 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, who was 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 episodes "Kill With Kindness" (1956) and "The Impromptu Murder" (1958) and Hawaii Five-O episodes "Over Fifty? Steal" (1970) and "Odd Man In" (1971).Cronyn-Tandy Collection at the Library of Congress

Cronyn starred with his second wife Jessica Tandy 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, which was the first situation comedy broadcast in color, premiered in July 1954 to "warm and enthusiastic reviews"; eight episodes were aired.

The couple also appeared in many memorable dramatic stage, film and television outings, including The Seventh Cross (1944), The Green Years (1946), The Gin Game (1977), Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), The World According to Garp (1982), Cocoon (1985), the television film Foxfire (1987), *batteries not included (1987), (1988), To Dance with the White Dog (1993) and Camilla (1994).

Cronyn had an association with the Stratford Festival as a member of both the acting company and its board of governors. He played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 1976, and debuted his play Foxfire in 1980.Martin Knelman, A Stratford Tempest. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1982; . The play would later move to Broadway (and won Tandy a Best Actress Tony award), and a film version was made in 1987.Rich, Frank. Review/Theater; Jessica Tandy in Foxfire" The New York Times, November 12, 1982

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

His later appearances included the films The Pelican Brief (1993), Marvin's Room (1996) and the Showtime TV film 12 Angry Men (1997).

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Marriages and family Cronyn's first marriage was to the philanthropist Emily Woodruff in late 1934 or early 1935. They shared a "lavender marriage" and never lived together. Woodruff insisted that the marriage remain a secret because of her lesbian relationships. They quietly divorced in 1936.

Cronyn married the actress Jessica Tandy in 1942. The couple had a daughter, Tandy, and a son, Christopher. Cronyn and Tandy lived in the Bahamas, then at a lakeside estate in Pound Ridge, New York, and, finally, in Easton, Connecticut. Jessica Tandy died in 1994, aged 85, from ovarian cancer.

After he was widowed, Cronyn married author/playwright Susan Cooper (with whom he had co-written Foxfire) in July 1996. His 1991 autobiography, which covered his life and career up to the mid-1960s, was titled A Terrible Liar (). His intention to write a second volume never materialized.

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Death Cronyn died on June 15, 2003, from prostate cancer aged 91.

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Honours In 1979, Cronyn was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. On July 11, 1988, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, giving him the post nominal letters "OC" for life.

Cronyn was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1999. He also received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992 and the Canadian version of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

He was awarded an Honorary degree Doctor of Laws degree (LLD) by the University of Western Ontario on October 26, 1974. His wife, Jessica Tandy, was given the same degree on the same day.

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Filmography

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Film

Uncredited

('A Sweepstakes Ticket')

Voice, Uncredited

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Television Naked City || Professor Henry J. Fallon || Episode: "C3H5(NO3)3">

Episode: "Once Sunday Afternoon"

Episode: "Dr. Violet"

Episode: "Room Service"

2 episodes

Episode: "The Ponzi Story"

Episode: "The Reluctant Landlord"

Episode: "Glory in the Flower"

Episode: "The Family Man"

8 episodes

Episode: "The Fourposter"

Episode: "Advice to Bathers"

Episode: "Christmas 'til Closing"

Episode: "The Great Adventure"

Episode: "The Fifth Wheel"

Season 2 Episode 4: "Kill with Kindness"

Season 3 Episode 38: "The Impromptu Murder"

Television film

Television film

Television film

2 episodes

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

Television film

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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

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Awards and nominations

Academy Awards	1945	Best Supporting Actor	The Seventh Cross
Golden Globe Awards	1993	Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Broadway Bound
Primetime Emmy Awards	1984	Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	The Dollmaker
	1988	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Foxfire
	1990		Age-Old Friends
	1992		Christmas on Division Street
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Broadway Bound
	1994	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	To Dance with the White Dog
	1998	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	12 Angry Men
Daytime Emmy Awards	2000	Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming	Sea People
	2002		Off Season
	2005	Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special	A Separate Peace
Screen Actors Guild Awards	1996	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Marvin's RoomShared with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dan Hedaya, Diane Keaton, Hal Scardino, Meryl Streep, and Gwen Verdon.
Writers Guild of America Awards	1985		The DollmakerShared with Susan Cooper
Saturn Awards	1986	Best Actor	Cocoon
	1990
American Comedy Awards	1992	Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special – Network, Cable or Syndication	Broadway Bound
CableACE Award	1991	Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	Age-Old Friends
Humanitas Prize	1985	90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television	The DollmakerShared with Susan Cooper
Tony Awards	1961	Best Actor in a Play	Big Fish, Little Fish
	1964	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Hamlet
	1965	Best Producer (Dramatic)	Slow Dance on the Killing GroundShared with Allen Hogdon Inc., Stevens Productions Inc. and Bonfils-Seawell Enterprises
	1967	Best Actor in a Play	A Delicate Balance
	1978	Best PlayAs producer; shared with The Shubert Organization and Mike Nichols	The Gin Game
		Best Actor in a Play
	1986		The Petition
	1994	Lifetime Achievement Award
Drama Desk Awards	1978	Outstanding Actor in a Play	The Gin Game
	1986	Drama Desk Special Award
Drama League Awards	1961	Distinguished Performance	Big Fish, Little Fish
Obie Awards	1973	Distinguished Performance by an Actor	Krapp's Last Tape

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Radio appearances

"Double Entry"

"Blue Eyes"

The One Who Got Away

One Sunday Afternoon

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Book

• A Terrible Liar: A Memoir (1991) –

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External links

• Hume Cronyn at Virtual History
• Order of Canada Citation
• Hume Cronyn – Internet Accuracy Project
• Katharine Cronyn Harley fonds (R11163) at Library and Archives Canada. The fonds includes many records related to Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.

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