Crahan Denton (pronunciation: "kran"; born Arthur Crahan Denton; March 20, 1914 – December 4, 1966) was an American stage, film and television actor. One of his most famous film roles was in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

'' (1962), in which he portrayed Walter Cunningham, a client of the main character, lawyer Atticus Finch. Walter is the leader of a mob that attempts to lynch another one of Finch's clients. He had a number of roles in Broadway plays and won an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

for Best Performances in Supporting Roles for 1954-1955 for his work in ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'' (1955).

Early years

Born Arthur Crahan Denton in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, he was the son of Arthur P. Denton (born in New York) and his wife May ( Graham; born in Montana). He and his parents later moved to Piedmont, California, surrounded by the city of Oakland. After graduating from local schools, Denton studied drama at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He moved to New York City, where he studied at the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of the Meisner ...

. In his acting career, Denton used his middle name "Crahan", an Irish surname in his family, as his first name.

Career

Denton was active in Little Theater productions during his time as a student at the University of California, Berkeley. In New York, he gradually gained stage roles, with Broadway credits including ''Key Largo'' (1940), ''Liberty Jones'' (1941), ''Fragile Fox'' (1954), ''

'' (1955), ''Orpheus Descending'' (1957), and ''Winesburg, Ohio'' (1958). From 1945 until his death in 1966, Denton also starred in many films, including '' The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery'' (1959; with

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

in his first leading film role), '' The Parent Trap'' (1961), '' Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''

'' (1962), and '' Bus Riley's Back in Town''. During May 1952, he starred as

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

in an episode of '' American Inventory'' that was a preview of a pilot for a proposed series. He also performed as a guest star in many television series, including ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' (1961 episode "The Secret"), ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

,'' ''

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'' (as “Clint”, a homicidal cold blooded outlaw in the S7E11 episode “Apprentice Doc” & as “”Walker”, a murderer whose guilt eats away at him in the S8E24 episode “Blind Man’s Bluff”), '' Have Gun Will Travel'' with

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, '' The Fugitive'' with

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, and ''

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'' (1962 episode "Once Upon a Timepiece"). In 1960, he co-starred in an unsold pilot titled, ''Mountain Man'', about a

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

station in the 1840s. Denton made two guest appearances on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

courtroom drama series ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

''.

Personal life

Denton married Eleanor Brown in 1955 in New York City.

Death

In 1966, Denton died after suffering a heart attack in Piedmont, California. He was 52 years old.

Recognition and honors

Denton won an

for Best Performances in Supporting Roles for 1954-1955 for his work in ''

'' (1955).

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Crahan 1914 births 1966 deaths Male actors from Washington (state) American male film actors 20th-century American male actors