Joseph H. Hazelton (c. 1853 – October 6, 1936), aka Joseph Hazleton, was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1922. He claimed to have witnessed the
assassination
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
of U.S. President
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 ...
on April 14, 1865, as a boy.
Life and career
Hazelton debuted on stage as a child when a production at
Grover's Theater (now the National Theatre) in Washington, D.C. needed a boy to play a young prince in ''
King John''. Thereafter, he continued to stay around the theater, doing odd jobs and handing out programs. In 1910, he was a member of the Columbia Players in Washington, D.C.
When the
Pasadena Community Playhouse presented ''
Our American Cousin
''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...
'' in 1930, Hazelton spoke during intermission of each performance, relating what he witnessed as he observed the assassination. In 1933, Hazelton gave a lecture at
May Company Exposition Hall in Los Angeles and talked about watching Booth shoot Lincoln. An article in ''
Good Housekeeping
''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...
'' in its February 1927 edition, titled "This Man Saw Lincoln Shot," was the basis for a leaflet that Hazelton released to raise funds later in his life.
In addition to claiming in his 70’s that he was a child witness to the Lincoln Assassination, Hazelton also made some dubious claims about the assassin. For example, Hazelton maintained that
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
broke small bones in his ankle but did not break his leg.
This account contradicts Booth’s diary and the consensus of historians. Hazelton also claimed that Booth was not killed by Union soldier
Boston Corbett in a barn in Northern Virginia on April 26, 1865. Instead, Hazelton insisted Booth escaped to South America, returned to the United States under the name “St. Helen,” and committed suicide in
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma, Garfield County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the openin ...
, in 1903.
On Broadway, Hazelton performed in ''Skipper & Co., Wall Street'' (1903).
Hazelton died in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
on October 6, 1936.
Selected filmography
See also
*
Samuel J. Seymour, who claimed at age 95 on a TV game show to be a child eyewitness of the assassination
*
T. D. Bancroft
References
External links
*
*
Joseph Hazleton recalls witnessing Lincoln assassination as a boyanother recounting by Hazelton
archived)
audio recording of Hazelton recalling the Lincoln assassination
1850s births
1936 deaths
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
20th-century American male actors
People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
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