Jack Creley
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Jack Creley (March 6, 1926 – March 10, 2004) was an American-born Canadian actor."A 'great man of words and theatre'". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', March 19, 2004.
Although most prominently a stage actor, he also had film and television roles.


Background

Creley was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 6, 1926. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, his family moved to California, where he acted in amateur theatre as a teenager, until he was old enough to enlist in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
late in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was shot in the shoulder during the
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
, and spent the rest of his life telling the story that he knew he was destined to become an actor when he realized he was responding to the injury like a character in a
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
film. After the end of the war, he went to New York City to study acting under
Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and Theatrical producer, producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio- ...
at the
Dramatic Workshop Dramatic Workshop was the name of a drama and acting school associated with the New School for Social Research in New York City. The German expatriate stage director Erwin Piscator began a long association with the school in 1940. Among the facul ...
, where he was a classmate of
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...
,
Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...
and
Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...
. He moved to
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
in 1951 to take a job with the Mountain Theatre Company, and remained there until 1954, when he moved to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. Soon after moving to Toronto, he met David Smith, who would be his partner for the remainder of his life."What a swell party it has been ; Creley & Smith still make most of whatever life serves up". ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'', July 23, 2000.


Acting career

In Toronto, he acted on stage, including frequent performances at the
Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...
, and often appeared in
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
anthology series, including ''Scope'', ''Playbill'', ''CBC Summer Theatre'', '' Encounter'', ''Folio'', ''Startime'', ''
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
'', '' Playdate'' and several ''
Wayne and Shuster Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s, first as a live act, then on radio, then as part of ''The Army Show'' that ente ...
'' sketches, as well as performing in
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
shows. In 1956, Creley starred in the Canadian production of '' Salad Days'', and in 1958 he starred in the Canadian production of '' Visit to a Small Planet''. In 1960, he played two roles at the Stratford Festival, as Lord Capulet in ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' and as King Philip in '' King John''. Creley had his first major film role in 1961, in the Western film '' The Canadians''. After completing a run as Holofernes in a Stratford Festival production of ''
Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as ...
'' that summer, he returned to New York to appear in a Broadway production of '' A Man for All Seasons'' as Cardinal Wolsey. After completing his run in New York, he appeared in a Stratford Festival production of ''
The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time t ...
'', and then went to London to appear alongside Corinne Conley, Dave Broadfoot, Eric House and
Eric Christmas Eric Cuthbert Christmas (19 March 1916 – 22 July 2000) was an English actor, with over 40 films and numerous television roles to his credit. He is probably best known for his role as Mr. Carter, the principal of Angel Beach High School, in t ...
in the musical revue ''Clap Hands'' at the Hammersmith Theatre. Following the end of that show's run, most of the cast returned to Canada, although Creley remained in London to take a role as Mr. Staines in the film ''
Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'' (known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'') is a 1964 political satire black comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is loosely ...
''. After returning to Canada, he appeared in productions of
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...
's '' The Zoo Story'' and
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
's ''Summer in the Country''. During this time, he also became a popular
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
artist for television commercials, recording at least 18 commercial spots in 1965 and 1966."Mr. Voice Over in person: Director gets chance to be star". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', February 23, 1966.
He directed a musical revue, ''The Decline and Fall of the Entire World As Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter'', in 1965 and 1966, and when he stepped in for several shows in the absence of lead performer Louis Negin, it was his first time singing on stage since the end of ''Clap Hands'' in 1963. In 1966, he appeared as
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...
in the CBC Television miniseries '' Reluctant Nation'', and in 1969 he appeared in the television series '' Strange Paradise'' as Laslo Thaxton. In 1970, he starred in the musical Oh, Coward! at Theatre in the Dell, alongside Patricia Collins and Gordon Thomson. Charles Pope from the
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
called his performance "magnificent". In 1972 he had his second and final Broadway role, appearing in a production of ''There's One in Every Marriage'' as Roubillon, and in 1974 he had his last role at Stratford in a production of ''
The Imaginary Invalid ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes ( H.495, H ...
''. In this era, he began to appear more often in film and television roles, most notably in the film ''
Videodrome ''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO of a small UHF telev ...
'' and the television sitcom '' Snow Job''. His final role was a guest appearance on ''
E.N.G. ''E.N.G.'' is a Canadian television drama, following the staff of a fictional Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capi ...
'' in 1990.


Personal life

Creley and Smith shared ownership of an antique store, The Green Dolphin, beginning in 1955,"Casting about". ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', July 28, 1955.
and later of a clothing store, Mr. Smith. They also had a widespread reputation among actors as being excellent hosts of parties; performers such as
Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...
,
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
,
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...
, Bea Arthur, and
Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...
were frequent houseguests of the couple. Late in life, Creley suffered two strokes, and began to develop
aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...
. He died on March 10, 2004, in Toronto.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Creley, Jack 1926 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people American emigrants to Canada American gay actors American gay musicians American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American theatre directors Canadian gay actors Canadian gay musicians Canadian male film actors Canadian male musical theatre actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian theatre directors LGBTQ people from Illinois Male actors from Chicago Male actors from Toronto Musicians from Chicago Singers from Toronto United States Army personnel of World War II