Robert Strange (actor) explained

Robert Strange
Birth Date:	26 November 1881
Birth Place:	New York, New York, U.S.
Death Place:	Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting Place:	Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation:	Actor
Spouse:

Robert George Strange (November 26, 1881  - February 22, 1952) was an American actor during the first half of the 20th century, performing in theater and film. His Broadway career spanned 20 years, from 1913 through 1933, and included appearances in over 30 plays.^{[1] [2]} He then appeared in film throughout the 1930s and 40s, in such roles as Waxey Armitage in Special Agent (1935), Dr. Hubert Foote in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Art in High Sierra (1941) and John Malcolm in Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941).^[3]

Early life and career

Strange was born in New York City, the elder of two sons^[4] born to William Crawford Strange and Mary Young. He attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and Columbia University, where he played football.^{[5] [6]} He also set a bicycle-racing record at age seventeen and spent eight seasons as goaltender for the New York Athletic Club hockey team, helping the squad win two championships.^[5]

Strange started a real estate career, but was drawn to acting, performing with various companies, including one headed by Blanche Bates.^[7] He became a member of Washington Square Players, while remaining employed as supervisor of a diamond-cutting factory, before appearing in a string of Broadway plays^[7] from 1913 to 1933 (and occasionally thereafter), including The Famous Mrs. Fair, which ran for nearly a year.^[2]

Later career

From 1931, after the introduction of sound films, he was "in constant demand" for character roles by the film studios.^[7] Some of his best known film roles were Waxey Armitage in Special Agent (1935), Dr. Hubert Foote in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Art in High Sierra (1941) and John Malcolm in Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941).^[3]

In the fall of 1940, having relocated to the San Fernando Valley, Strange and his wife, herself a veteran stage and radio actress, joined the faculty of the Leslie Academy of the Dance, directing its newly instituted drama program.^{[8] [9]} An outgrowth of this development was their little theatre troupe, the Strange Show Shop. One notable alumnus of both the school and the troupe emerged the following summer, when 16-year-old Farley Granger delivered his "monologue satire" as part of an event staged to benefit the Van Nuys contingent of the Women's Ambulance and Defense Corps.^[10] As of October 1942, Granger was still being described as a "pupil of Mr. and Mrs. Strange."^[11]

Personal life and death

Strange was married on at least three occasions, the first two marriages ending in divorce. All three spouses were fellow performers. The first, Florence Edith Stockwell (1905–1915),^{[12] [13]} was an accomplished contralto soloist who would fall victim to a fatal car crash just two years after their divorce.^[14] The second, from 1920 until 1929, was fellow thespian Diantha Pattison,^[15] with whom Strange collaborated extensively in 1922, when they joined Detroit's Woodward Players, performing a new play each week for seven months.^[16] In 1929, the couple's widely publicized divorce on grounds of adultery was uncontested and promptly granted to Pattison following "15 minutes of spicy testimony."^{[17] [18]} Strange's final and most successful marriage, from October 1938 until his death, was to actress Ruth Dean Rickaby.^{[19] [20] [21]}

On February 22, 1952, Strange died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Survived by his wife, his cremated remains were interred at the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery.^[22]

Stage credits

Plays
Year	Play	Role	Theater	Notes
1913	Children of Tomorrow		Harris Theatre	December 1, 1913 – December 1913
1915	The Attick	Rev. Jonas Boutwell	Bandbox Theatre	October 4, 1915 – May 20, 1916
	The Age of Reason		Bandbox Theatre	October 4, 1915 – May 20, 1916
1916	The Seagull	Dr. Dorn	Bandbox Theatre	May 20, 1916 – May 31, 1916
	Literature		Comedy Theatre	August 30, 1916 – ?
1917	The Scrap of Paper		Criterion Theatre	September 17, 1917 – November 1917
	In the Zone		Comedy Theatre	October 31, 1917 – Apr 27, 1918
1918	Youth		Comedy Theatre	February 3, 1966 – March 13, 1966
	Mrs Warren's Profession	Sir George Crofts	Comedy Theatre	March 11, 1918 – November 11, 1918
	Nothing But Lies		Longacre Theatre	October 8, 1918 – February 1919
1919	I Love You		Booth Theatre, 48th Street Theatre	April 22, 1919 – ?, June 2, 1919 – ?
	First Is Last	Harvey	Maxine Elliott's Theatre	September 11, 1919 – November 1919
	The Famous Mrs. Fair	E. Dudley Gillette	Henry Miller's Theatre	December 22, 1919 – October 17, 1920
1921	Nobody's Money	Carl Russell	Longacre Theatre^[23]	August 17, 1921 – September 1921
	Wait Til We're Married	James Twells	Playhouse Theatre	September 26, 1921 – ?
	The Straw	Fred Nicholls	Greenwich Village Theatre	November 10, 1921 – November 1921
1922	Scandal	Sutherland York	Majestic Theatre	January 15, 1922 – January 20, 1922^[24]
	Common Clay	W. P. Yates	Majestic Theatre	January 30, 1922 – February 3, 1922^[25]
	It Pays to Advertise	Ellery Clark	Majestic Theatre	March 26, 1922 – March 31, 1922^[26]
	Under Cover	Steven Denby	Majestic Theatre	June 11, 1922 – June 15, 1922^[27]
	Kick In	Whip Fogarty	Majestic Theatre	July 9, 1922 – July 14, 1922^[28]
	Banco	George Dalou	Ritz Theatre	September 20, 1922 – November 1922
1923	Mike Angelo	Ivan Smirnoff	Morosco Theatre	January 8, 1923 – February 1923
	The Dice of the Gods	Buchanan Lawrence	National Theatre	April 5, 1923 – April 1923
	In Love With Love	Frank Oakes	Ritz Theatre	August 6, 1923 – November 1923
1924	The Dust Heap	Pat O'Day	Vanderbilt Theatre	April 24, 1924 – May 1924
1925	A Good Bad Woman	Dr. Carlyle Lawler	Comedy Theatre	February 9, 1925 – February 1925
	The Gorilla	Arthur Marsden	Comedy Theatre	April 28, 1925 – May 1925
1926	Sandalwood	George	Gaiety Theatre	September 22, 1926 – October 1926
1928	Heavy Traffic	Wilbur Richardson	Empire Theatre	September 5, 1928 – October 1928
	A Most Immoral Lady	Arthur Marsden	Cort Theatre	November 26, 1928 – April 1929
1929	A Strong Man's House	Simeon Fitch	Ambassador Theatre	September 16, 1929 – October 5, 1929
	Seven	Captain Otis	Theatre Republic	December 27, 1929 – January 1930
1930	Virtue's Bed	Major Harry Austin	Hudson Theatre	April 15, 1930 – June 1930
	Midnight	Plunkett	Guild Theatre, Avon Theatre	Dec 29, 1930 – Feb. 7, 1931
1931	Three Times the Hour	Lawrence M. Blake	Avon Theatre	August 25, 1931 – September 1931
1933	Marathon	"Too Soon" Decker	Mansfield Theatre	January 27, 1933 – January 1933^[29]
	Both Your Houses	Plunkett	Royale Theatre	March 6, 1933 – May 6, 1933^[30]
1934	We Die Exquisitely		Red Barn Theatre (Locust Valley, New York)	July 2, 1934 – July 8, 1934.^[31] "Melodrama set [aboard] luxury air liner," co-starring Lee Patrick and James Stewart.^[32]
1938	On Borrowed Time	Dr. Evans	Lobero Theater Geary Theater Biltmore Theater	July 4, 1938 – July 10, 1938,^[33] July 11, 1938 –?^[34] August 8, 1938 – August 20, 1938^[35] ^[36]
1940	Margin for Error	Dr. Jennings	El Capitan Theater	March 23, 1940 – April 6, 1940^[37] ^[38]
	Back to Eden		Wilshire Ebell Theatre	September 10, 1940 – September 15, 1940^[39] ^[40]
1947	State of the Union	Senator Lauterback (replacement)	Hudson Theatre	May 19, 1947 – May 31, 1947^[41] ^[42] ^[43]

Selected filmography

• The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)^[44]
• The Cheat (1931)^{[7] [45]}
• Misleading Lady (1932)^[46]
• These 30 Years (1933)^{[47] [48]}
• Frisco Kid (1935)
• Special Agent (1935)^[49]
• Beware of Ladies (1936)
• The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936)^[50]
• The Walking Dead (1936)^{[51] [52]}
• Trapped by Television (1936)^[53]
• Roaming Lady (1936)
• Spendthrift (1936)
• Beloved Enemy (1936)
• Stolen Holiday (1937)
• Marked Woman (1937)
• John Meade's Woman (1937)^[54]
• "Sky Giant" (1938)^[3]
• The Saint Strikes Back (1939)^[55]
• The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)^[56]
• You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)^[57]
• They Made Me a Criminal (1939)
• The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)
• Castle on the Hudson (1940)^[58]
• King of the Royal Mounted (1940)^[59]
• Gambling on the High Seas (1940)
• Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941)^[60]
• High Sierra (1941)^[61]
• Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)^[59]
• Paper Bullets (1941)^[3]
• Desert Bandit (1941)
• Arizona Cyclone (1941)
• Paper Bullets (1941)
• The Mad Monster (1942)^[52]
• Perils of Nyoka (1942)^[59]
• Dead Men Walk (1943)^[52]
• Silver Trails (1949)
• The Far Frontier (1949)^[62]

Further reading

• Shaw, Len G. (April 16, 1922). "Gossip of Plays and Playerfolk". Detroit Free Press. pt. 5, p. 7. (Roughly halfway through his 7-month stint with Detroit's Woodward Players, Strange weighs the benefits gained vs. potential pitfalls presented by actors' reliance on the stock company training ground.)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Robert Strange, Filmography . American Film Institute . July 20, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240720152738/https://catalog.afi.com/Person/132699-Robert-Strange?sid=de127374-7c12-4ab2-969a-c35760cff1e2&sr=8.982311&cp=1&pos=0&isMiscCredit=false . July 20, 2024.
2. Web site: Robert Strange . Internet Broadway Database . July 20, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405125432/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/robert-strange-61303 . April 5, 2023.
3. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_strange "Robert Strange"
4. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-register/151854163/ "Obituaries: William Crawford Strange, Jr."
5. https://www.newspapers.com/image/55290643/?clipping_id=151841677 "Strange, Athletic Actor"
6. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times/151843854/ "Athletics at Columbia"
7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/560809736/?clipping_id=151841968 "Robert Strange's Career Has Been Interesting"
8. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-van-nuys-news-and-valley-green-sheet/115199254/ "Noted Pair Joins Academy Staff"
9. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-van-nuys-news-and-valley-green-sheet/152005120/ "We're Glad to Be Back 'Cause IT'S FUN TO DANCE"
10. https://www.newspapers.com/image/700453639/?clipping_id=152004933 "New Theater Group Will Give Benefit for Corps"
11. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-van-nuys-news-and-valley-green-sheet/152005474/ "Hospitality of Whitsett Home Draws Throng"
12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/20324003/?clipping_id=151853531 "Married: Strange-Stockwell"
13. https://www.newspapers.com/image/336890875/?clipping_id=151847742 "Actor Takes Trip to Woods; Wifey Leaves Him Flat"
14. https://www.newspapers.com/image/409005416/?clipping_id=152250017 "Former Buffalo Singer Loses Life in Auto Accident; Mrs. Florence Stockwell Strange; Singer Well Known in Buffalo Killed Suddenly"
15. Jacobs, Frank (May 15, 1929). "'Immoral Lady' Model Man Not Moral, Says Wife's Suit". New York Daily News. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
16. Shaw, Len G. (July 30, 1922). "Protracted Lovemaking Comes to an End at the Majestic; Now the Great Lovers Will Go Their Separate Ways". Detroit Free Press. pt. 5, p. 8. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
17. https://www.newspapers.com/article/omaha-world-herald/152070734/ "Social Affairs"
18. https://www.newspapers.com/image/412488657/?clipping_id=152262442 "Reno Is Beaten for Speed in Mrs. Strange's Divorce; 'Most Immoral Lady' Actor Defaults Wife's Action"
19. "California, County Marriages, 1850–1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8VW-Y58 : Sat Mar 09 08:46:59 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Geo Strange and Ruth Dean Griffiths Rickaby, 7 October 1938.
20. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-van-nuys-news-and-valley-green-sheet/115199254/ "Noted Pair Joins Academy Staff"
21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/579877657/?clipping_id=151852017 "Funeral Notices: Strange, Robert G."
22. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-van-nuys-news/151857675/ "Obituary Notices: Robert George Strange"
23. Oppenheimer, George (January 29, 1969). "On Stage: 'Fire's' Fire dims as Symbols Clash". Newsday. p. 54A.
24. Culver, Harriet (January 16, 1922). The Theater. Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
25. Shaw, Len G. (January 31, 1922). The Theater. Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
26. Hart, H. D. (March 27, 1922). "The Theater". Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
27. M., C. M. (June 12, 1922). "The Theater". Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
28. Shaw, Len G. (July 10, 1922). "The Theater". Detroit Free Press. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
29. Pollock, Arthur (March 7, 1933). "The Theaters: Maxwell Anderson's New Play, 'Both Your Houses,' Holding the Mirror Up to Washington, Opens at the Royale". The Brooklyn Eagle. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2024. "The scene is Washington, the House Office Building, and in the office of the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and in the committee room we see our Representatives at work representing us. [...] Robert Strange, usually a bad actor in bad plays, is the committee's chairman and plays the role beautifully."
30. Pollock, Arthur (March 7, 1933). "The Theaters: Maxwell Anderson's New Play, 'Both Your Houses,' Holding the Mirror Up to Washington, Opens at the Royale". The Brooklyn Eagle. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2024. "The scene is Washington, the House Office Building, and in the office of the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and in the committee room we see our Representatives at work representing us. [...] Robert Strange, usually a bad actor in bad plays, is the committee's chairman and plays the role beautifully."
31. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/151988324/ "Summer Theaters: Locust Valley, L.I."
32. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/152177321/ "Theater News"
33. https://www.newspapers.com/image/927599040/?clipping_id=151990787 "Lobero Play Cast Arrives"
34. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oakland-post-enquirer/151991101/ "'On Borrowed Time' Boasts Star Cast"
35. Scheuer, Philip K. (August 8, 1938). "'On Borrowed Time' Rich Human Parable". The Los Angeles Times.
36. https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/151992709/ "Three Matinees for 'Borrowed Time'"
37. Schallert, Edwin (March 25, 1940). "'Margin for Error' Rises to Ingenious Climax". The Los Angeles Times. p. 16. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
38. https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/151996948/ "San Francisco Next for Boothe Play"
39. https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news/152002579/ "Beckhard's Play in Reopening at Ebell"
40. https://www.newspapers.com/image/385359009/?clipping_id=152000122 "'Back to Eden' Closing Sunday"
41. https://www.newspapers.com/image/380775224/?clipping_id=152006507 "Nagel Heads 'Union' Cast Billed Here"
42. News: Follow-Up Review: State of the Union. Francis, Bob. May 31, 1947. The Billboard. 32. Mrs. Draper – Elizabeth Slifer; William Hardy – Thomas Reynolds; Senator Lauterback – Robert Strange [...] Now that the standbys are on vacation, the National (or road) troupe has taken over matters at the Hudson.. .
43. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/152173555/ "Transcontinental Company of 'State of the Union' Takes Over Tomorrow"
44. News: CHEVALIER'S NEW FILM: "Smiling Lieutenant" Rich in Mirth and Melody. Hall, Mordaunt. May 31, 1931. The New York Times. X5. Among those in the supporting cast are Miriam Hopkins, Claudette Colbert, George Barbier, Robert Strange and Charles Ruggles, all of whom rise to the occasion.. .
45. Dimon, Howard P. (December 11, 1931). "Amusements: His Mark". Atlantic City Press. p. 19. Retrieved July 24, 2024. "Harvey Stephens as the loyal husband, Arthur Hohl as the defense attorney and Robert Strange as the district attorney also turn in distinctive performances."
46. News: CINEMA TOPICS: "Tell England" Showing at the Queen's "THE LOVE PARADE.". August 24, 1932. South China Morning Post. 9. Four colleges are represented in the cast of 'The Misleading Lady.' [...] Robert Strange, who has the role of the theatrical magnate, 'Parker,' went to Columbia University in New York for two years and then gave up his collegiate work to go into business with his brother.. .
47. News: FORD'S COMM'L PIC BALLY TO BLANKET U. S.. December 12, 1933. Variety. 1. Picture is 'These 30 Years,'an indie produced by Carabel Films. Film, with fiction background, is said to have plenty of plugs for the Ford product. David Morris, Alice John, Robert Strange, David MacDonald and other well known players from legit.. .
48. News: Motion Pictures: First Commercial Shown in Philly. December 16, 1933. The Billboard. 19. PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 9.—First commercial feature film to show in Philadelphia opens today at the Locust Street Theater. It is These Thirty Years, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and presented here on rental by Ford dealers of the territory. Film, running close to and hour and a half, has a fiction background dealing with the rise of the auto industry. Cast is Broadway legit, including Robert Strange, Alice John, Donald MacDonald and other well-known names.. .
49. News: 'SPECIAL AGENT' MEDIOCRE: Falls Below Par Of 'G' Men Cycle. August 15, 1935. The Hollywood Reporter. 4. Bette Davis, George Brent and Ricardo Cortez did standard jobs in their respective parts. Robert Strange as one of Cortez' gamblers was very effective in his characterization and stood out among the supporting roles.. .
50. https://archive.org/details/motionpictureher122unse/page/n441/mode/2up?q=%22Robert+Strange%22+%22Stella+Parrish%22 "Showmen's Review"
51. News: Strange—Not Harvey. February 26, 1936. The Hollywood Reporter. 4. Without taking anything away from Paul Harvey, The Reporter's review on 'Walking Dead' gave a bad break to Robert Strange when it credited unusually effective close-ups in the horror picture to Harvey instead of to Strange.. .
52. Weaver, Tom (1993). Poverty Row Horrors!: Monogram, PRC, and Republic Horror. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 99. . "Robert Strange, a seedy, citified actor with scores of credits (including horror films The Walking Dead, 1936, and The Mad Monster and serials Adventures of Captain Marvel, 1941, and Perils of Nyoka, 1942) is badly miscast as a cantankerous rube in a comically crumpled hat. (The film's credits list him as playing Harper, but in the film he's called Wilkins.)"
53. News: Film review: Trapped by Television. Wear.. June 17, 1936. Variety. 23. Thurston Hall turns in a standard biz executive interpretation. Robert Strange is a suave villain.. .
54. News: 'John Meade's Woman' A-l: Larrimore Triumph In Schulberg Pic. February 9, 1937. The Hollywood Reporter. 3. Jonathan Hale, Stanley Andrews, Harry Hayden and Robert Strange are impressive fill-ins as Arnold's business associates.. .
55. News: Film Reviews: The Saint Strikes Back. Wear. March 1, 1939. Variety. 15. Neil Hamilton, Barry Fitzgerald, Russell Hopton, Edward Gargan, Gilbert Emery and Robert Strange head the well-balanced support.. .
56. News: Hail and Farewell to Perfect Dance Team. Cameron, Kate. March 31, 1939. New York Daily News. 58. Edna Mae Oliver, Walter Brennan, Lew Fields (who plays himself in the story), Etienne Giradot, Janet Beecher, Robert Strange and Rolfe Sedan give splendid support to the stars. .
57. Hale, Wanda (March 25, 1939). "Just 1 Dead End Kid in Strand's Melodrama; Humphrey Bogart visits Robert Strange in this scene from 'You Can't Get Away With Murder'". New York Daily News. p. 25B. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
58. News: 'Castle on the Hudson' OK;: Strong Cast Scores In Grim Jail Film. February 22, 1940. The Hollywood Reporter. 3. Pat O'Brien invests the warden role with a warm and admirable humanity, Burgess Meredith, in a comparatively brief role, Jerome Cowan, Margot Stevenson, Guinn Williams and all others in the cast give a good account of themselves.. .
59. Cline, William C. (1984). In the Nick of Time : Motion Picture Sound Serials. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Company. p. 142. . "King of the Royal Mounted was released by Republic in September, 1940. In it, the deliciously sneaky-looking Strange had played John Kettler, the master spy, in a flawless characterization. Six months later, the studio released its masterpiece The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Cast as Professor John Malcolm was the same Robert Strange. [...] Audiences immediately were prepared to see Strange exposed as that villain because of his superb portrayal of the thoroughly wicked Kettler. When the final episode cleared him, there was a note of almost disappointment in the kids' reaction. In his third serial role — the heroine's lost father, Professor Henry Gordon, in The Perils of Nyoka — the fans were ready to accept him as a good guy at last."
60. Twomey, Alfred E. (1969). The Versatiles : A Study of Supporting Character Actors and Actresses in the American Motion Picture, 1930-1955. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 296.
61. https://www.newspapers.com/image/605184042/?clipping_id=152004491 "Cashing In"
62. News: 'FRONTIER' TOPNOTCH OATER: Suspense Boosts R. Rogers Starrer. January 4, 1949. The Hollywood Reporter. 3. Strange is properly nasty as the chief heavy, while old reliable Roy Barcroft makes the most of his opportunities to fight dirty, sneer and scowl.. .