Raymond Hitchcock (October 22, 1865November 24, 1929) was an American silent film actor, stage actor, and stage producer, who appeared in, or produced 30 plays on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

from 1898 to 1928, and who appeared in the silent films of the 1920s.

Biography

He appeared first as a star in the character of Abijah Booze in ''The Yankee Consul'', and sang ''It Was Not Like This in the Olden Time''. In his stage career, Hitchcock went back and forth between dramatic roles and ones in comic opera. In 1905 he appeared on Broadway with

John Bunny John Bunny (September 21, 1863 – April 26, 1915) was an American actor. Bunny began his career as a stage actor, but transitioned to a film career after joining Vitagraph Studios around 1910. At Vitagraph, Bunny made over 150 short films – ma ...

in ''Easy Dawson'', the two apparently playing firemen. Hitchcock also made several phonograph recordings, many of which survive. In 1907, Hitchcock was charged with the

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

of two adolescent girls together with New York magnate

William A. Chanler William Astor "Willie" Chanler (June 11, 1867 – March 4, 1934) was an American soldier, explorer, and politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York. He was a son of John Winthrop Chanler. After spending several years exploring Eas ...

. As Hitchcock's trial progressed, it was revealed that the charges of sexual abuse were fabricated as part of a blackmail scheme. Hitchcock was acquitted by a jury on June 11, 1908, after spending almost nine months in prison. RaymondHitchcockByRalphBarton

In 1925, Hitchcock appeared in a test film made by

Lee DeForest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element " Audion" triode v ...

in DeForest's

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...

process, in which Hitchcock performed a sketch from his ''

Hitchy-Koo ''Hitchy-Koo'' is a 1912 American popular song and a series of musical revues, inspired by the song, staged on Broadway each year from 1917 through 1920 and on tour in 1922. Described by ''Variety'' magazine as a "hit song of 1912", the song was c ...

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s, which he produced on Broadway in 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920. Cole Porter wrote the music for the 1919 version. Hitchcock also figured prominently in John Ford's '' Upstream'' (1927). He died suddenly on November 24, 1929 at his home in Beverly Hills, California.

Personal life

Hitchcock was married to Freda Bowen from 1891 to 1903, and then was married to actress Flora Zabelle (1880-1968) from 1905 to his death in 1929. Hitchcock and Zabelle had no children. In one of her few movie roles, Zabelle appeared in the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

''The Red Widow'' (1916) opposite male lead

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

. Barrymore's role had been played by Hitchcock in the 1911 Broadway production of ''The Red Widow''. According to the Daily Register Gazette, Hitchcock was cremated with plans to return his ashes to

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex ...

for burial there in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Partial filmography

* '' The Ringtailed Rhinoceros'' (1915) * '' My Valet'' (1915) * '' A Village Scandal'' (1915) * ''

The Red Widow ''The Red Widow'' is a lost 1916 American silent romantic comedy film directed by James Durkin, produced by Famous Players-Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on a 1911 Broadway musical play ''The Red Widow'' by Ch ...

'' (1916) * '' Redheads Preferred'' (1926) * '' Upstream'' (1927) * ''

The Monkey Talks ''The Monkey Talks'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and written by Malcolm Stuart Boylan and Elizabeth Pickett Chevalier. The film stars Olive Borden, Jacques Lerner, Don Alvarado, Malcolm Waite, Raymond Hitchc ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Tired Business Man ''The Tired Business Man'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Allen Dale and starring Raymond Hitchcock, Dot Farley and Margaret Quimby.Munden p.816 It was produced and released by the independent studio Tiffany Pictures. The fi ...

'' (1927)

References

External links

* *
Raymond Hitchcock at AllmovieAudio works 1910-1916 by Raymond Hitchcock at Internet Archive
of Raymond Hitchcock to Flora Zabelle 1905 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchcock, Raymond 1865 births 1929 deaths Male actors from New York (state) American male stage actors American male silent film actors People from Auburn, New York American theatre managers and producers 20th-century American male actors