Harold Chapin (15 February 1886 – 26 September 1915) was an American-born English actor and playwright. He served in the British Army during World War I.

Life

Chapin was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in 1886. His mother was

Alice Chapin Alice Chapin or Alice Ferris (August 28, 1857 – July 5, 1934) was an American actress, playwright and suffragette active in England. She returned to America and played roles in silent films. Life Chapin was born in Keene, New Hampshire to Ephr ...

an actress and suffragette and his father was Harvey Merrill Ferris.Maggie B. Gale, 'Chapin, Harold (1886–1915)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 201
accessed 9 Nov 2017
/ref> His parents divorced and his mother took the three-year-old Harold to live in England where he was educated and she continued her career. In 1910 he married the actress Calypso Valetta (1884–1978); their son Harold Valetta Chapin (1911–1950) was also an actor. Enlisting as a private in the 6th London Field Ambulance

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in September 1914, Chapin served as a

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

in France. He was killed in action at the age of 29 at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

in 1915. Chapin's letters, written while he was training in the army and on service, were collected and published after his death.

Career

Chapin's acting career began at age seven when he first appeared publicly in a Frank Benson production. He studied singing and appeared in touring and London productions and as well as working as an assistant stage manager and stage director. Between 1908 and 1914 he worked for the impresario

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...

and for the director and manager

Harley Granville Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing a ...

. In January 1914 he appeared in Israel Zangwill's play ''The Melting Pot.'' In December 1915 Alice Chapin, Calypso Valetta,

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and Actor-manager, manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies ...

and

Sydney Fairbrother Sydney Fairbrother (31 July 1872 – 4 January 1941) was a British actress. Born Sydney Tapping on 31 July 1872 in London to actor/playwright Alfred B. Tapping and actress Florence Cowell. Her mother was the daughter of actor and comic singer S ...

appeared in a London memorial performance of four of his plays: ''The Philosopher of Butterbiggins, Innocent and Annabel, The Dumb and the Blind'' and ''It's the Poor that 'Elps the Poor.'' The performance raised funds for a YMCA hut to accommodate soldiers at the front in France. The novelist and playwright

J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

wrote the introduction to a collection of Chapin's plays: ''The New Morality, Elaine, Art and Opportunity,'' and ''The Marriage of Columbine.'' Barrie acknowledged Chapin's talent as a playwright. His plays were produced throughout the UK and in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from the 1920s to the 1950s. ''The New Morality'' and ''The Threshold'' were broadcast on the radio in 1927 and ''Art and Opportunity'' was televised in 1953. ''The New Morality'' was performed at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

, London, in 2005 and in New York City in 2015. Chapin's plays were often social dramas (''The Dumb and the Blind'' and ''It's the Poor that 'Elps the Poor'') but he was also an established writer of comedy (''The Marriage of Columbine'' and ''The Philosopher of Butterbiggins'').

Bibliography

*''Augustus in Search of a Father'' (1910) One Act *''The Marriage of Columbine'' (1910) Four Acts *''Muddle Annie'' (1911) One Act *''The Autocrat of the Coffee Stall'' (1911) One Act *''The Dumb and the Blind'' (1911) Originally titled ''Deaf and Blind'' *''The Dumb and the Blind'' (1911) One Act *''Innocent and Annabel'' (1912) One Act *''Elaine'' (1912) Three Acts *''Art & Opportunity'' (1912) Three Acts *''Wonderful Grandmama'' (1912) Two parts *''It's the Poor that 'Elps the Poor'' One Act (1913) *''Every Man for His Own'' (1914) One Act *''Dropping the Baby'' (1914) One Act *''The Philosopher of Butterbiggins'' (1915) One Act *''The New Morality'' (1920) Three Acts *''The Threshold'' (1921) One Act *''The Well Made Dress Coat'' Four Acts

References

Sources

Harold Chapin, Sidney Dark - ''Soldier and dramatist: being the letters of Harold Chapin, American citizen...''

External links

* *

* ttps://www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/db/person/940/ Harold Chapin on Great War Theatre {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Harold 1886 births 1915 deaths Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I British male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Male actors from Brooklyn Writers from Brooklyn American emigrants to the United Kingdom