Fred Crane (actor)
| Fred Crane | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Herman Frederick Crane March 22, 1918 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 21, 2008 (aged 90) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–1965 |
| Spouse(s) | Terry Lynn Halfacre (1999-2008) (his death) Anita Joan Cohen (1976-1998) (her death) Barbara Jeanne Garoutte (1960-1975) (divorced) (2 children) Ruth Ceder (1946-1959) (divorced) (1 child) Rose Marcelle Dudley Heaslip (1940-1946) (divorced) (1 child) |
| Partner(s) | Haydee, Terri, Shelley, David, Jason |
Fred Crane, Herman Frederick Crane, (March 22, 1918 – August 21, 2008) was an American film and television actor and radio announcer. He is probably best known for his role as Brent Tarleton in the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind, speaking the opening lines in the movie during the opening scene with Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Stuart Tarleton (George Reeves).
Crane was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1918. Along with his brothers John and Harry, he grew up on General Pershing St. and went to the MacDonough #13 and Alsace Fortier schools. His father was a dentist, whose father and grandfather also were dentists. Fred was to break the trend, getting into acting and football at both Loyola and Tulane Universities. His first job in his teens was working in his spare time for an ice delivery service, back before electric refrigerators had caught on.
Around the time he was 20, his mother gave him that legendary "$50 and a suitcase" to come out to Hollywood and get into motion pictures, impressed that a neighbor's daughter had signed a movie contract, but also knowing that her son had the mettle to perform (on stage at college, and later in film, television and radio).
At first he stayed with relatives as well as taking a job at the local zoo to pay the rent, after which at night he would read books to a relative whose vision was deteriorating. It wasn't too long before he was invited on that fateful trip to Selznick International Pictures, where his cousin, Leatrice Joy Gilbert, (daughter of Leatrice Joy) was going to audition for the part of Suellen in the movie, "Gone With the Wind." He was taking in all the sights and sounds of the studio, when during a discussion, his authentic Southern accent combined with striking good looks landed him a meeting with Gone With The Wind first director George Cukor and producer David O. Selznick, which led to a script reading with Vivien Leigh, who had been chosen to play Scarlett O'Hara. Selznick was impressed, and signed Crane to a 13-week contract at $50 a week.
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