Erskine Sanford (November 19, 1885 – July 7, 1969) was an American actor on the stage, radio and motion pictures. Long associated with the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of th ...

, he later joined

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...

company and appeared in several of Welles's films, including ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' (1941), in which he played Herbert Carter, the bumbling, perspiring newspaper editor.

Biography

Erskine Sanford was born in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and ...

, and was educated at the

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , countr ...

in New York City. Beginning his acting career with

Minnie Maddern Fiske Minnie Maddern Fiske (born Marie Augusta Davey; December 19, 1865 – February 15, 1932), but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fig ...

's company, he made his professional debut in ''

Leah Kleschna ''Leah Kleschna'' is a drama in five acts by C.M.S. McLellan produced for the first time on Broadway by Minnie Maddern Fiske, Harrison Grey Fiske and the Manhattan Company with set design provided by Frank E. Gates and E. A. Morange. The play o ...

''. He appeared in ''The Blue Bird'' and ''The Piper'' (1910–11) at the New Theatre in New York City, and in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

an repertory with

Ben Greet Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager. Early life The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Ba ...

. For some 15 years he was associated with the

, playing roles on Broadway and on tour, including performances of '' Porgy'' and ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill began work on it as early as 1923 and developed its scenario in 1925; he wrote the play between May 1926 and the summer of 1927, and complete ...

'' on the London stage. In

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, Sanford first met Orson Welles in 1922, when the seven-year-old boy came backstage to meet him after a touring performance of ''

Mr. Pim Passes By ''Mr Pim Passes By'' is a three act comedy by A. A. Milne, first produced in 1919, and seen in the West End in 1920 and on Broadway and in Australia in 1921. There were later stage revivals in London and New York, and the play has been adapted ...

''. Years later, Sanford left the Theatre Guild to join Welles's

company, and made his Mercury debut in the 1938 stage production of ''

Heartbreak House ''Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in November 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cu ...

''. Appearing as Mazzini Dunn, Sanford reprised the role he had created 18 years before in the Theatre Guild's world premiere production. In 1941, Sanford married psychiatric nursing pioneer Adele Poston,Marriage License, November 4, 1941 County of Coconino, Flagstaff, Arizona (Houston Family Archives). but the marriage lasted only a short time.

Theatre credits

Filmography

Radio credits

References

External links

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Photograph of Erskine Sanford as Alan Archdale
in '' Porgy'' (1927) — New York Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Erskine 1885 births 1969 deaths American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors Male actors from California 20th-century American male actors Horace Mann School alumni