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Hume Cronyn who, along with his wife Jessica Tandy, won the first Tony Award for Lifetime Theatrical Achievement, has died. He was 91.
Cronyn died of prostate cancer Sunday at his home in Fairfield, Conn., a family spokesman told the Associated Press.
The Canadian-born actor won an Emmy for "Broadway Bound" (1992) and won a Tony Award in 1964 for his performance as Polonius in the Richard Burton-starring version of "Hamlet." He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "The Seventh Cross" (1944), a drama of concentration camp escapees.
Cronyn married Tandy in 1942. They remained married until her death in 1994. The couple appeared together in such movies as "*batteries not included," "Cocoon" and "Cocoon: The Return"
Cronyn's film career stretched from the black-and-white, silent film days, to his work with director Alfred Hitchcock, to big-budget, special effects fare such as "Cocoon" and its sequel. Cronyn's Hollywood career began with a small role as a mystery buff in Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943). He played a radio operator in the same director's "Lifeboat" (1944), and later co wrote screenplays for Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948) and "Under Capricorn" (1949).
Cronyn was often cast as unpleasant weasels, and also as sadistic characters. He was particularly nasty as a lawyer in "The Postman Always Rings Twice"(1946) and a sadistic prison warden in "Brute Force" (1947). He also played more sympathetic parts, including "The Green Years" (1946), where he portrayed the father of his real-life wife Tandy, who was actually two years older than he. During that period he also co-starred with Fanny Brice in "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946).
The son of a well-known Ontario politician, he was born Hume Blake on July 18, 1911 in London, Ontario. He graduated from the University of McGill in 1932. At his father's insistence, he studied law at McGill University, but had already made up his mind to become an actor. While still a student, he made his stage bow with the Montreal Repertory Company at 19. Athletic, Cronyn was selected for the Canadian Olympic Boxing team in the 1930s.
During the early '30s, he migrated to the United States, taking classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and working with regional companies in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Cronyn made it to Broadway in 1934. His first major role was as an alcohol-addled jingle writer in "Three Men on a Horse," directed and co-written by George Abbott. He remained with Abbott to work in "Room Service" and "Boy Meets Girl."
In the 1950s and '60s, he concentrated on the stage, often teaming with wife Tandy, whom he had met and married in 1942. The couple appeared as a father and daughter in the 1946 drama "The Green Years," despite the fact that Cronyn was the younger. They also played together in "The Four Poster" (1951). Most auspiciously, they starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Gin Game" (1978). On screen, they hit the mainstream with the hit "Cocoon" (1985) and its 1988 sequel. They also worked together in "*batteries not included" (1987). During that period when they were often in the national spotlight, they delighted in confounding and misdirecting the more dunderheaded celebrity journalists.
In the '70s, Cronyn distinguished himself in a number of other film projects, including: "There Was a Crooked Man," "The Parallax View," "Conrack." During the '80s, Cronyn performed in such diverse film fare as "Rollover," "Honky Tonk Freeway," "The World According to Garp," "Brewster's Millions" and "Impulse."
More recently, Cronyn performed in such TV productions as "Foxfire" (1987) , which he also co-wrote and starred along with Tandy. Cronyn also played in "Day One"(1989), and Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" (1992), which won him his Emmy.
Despite health problems, Cronyn remained active in films, television and stage into the 1990s. On TV, he co-starred in "To Dance With the White Dog," while appearing in the films "The Pelican Brief" (1993) and "Camilla" (1994).
He encapsulated many of his professional experiences in a breezy, pungent autobiography "A Terrible Liar" (1991).
Tandy and Cronyn had three children, Christopher, born in 1943; Tandy, born in 1945; and Susan Hawkins, Tandy's daughter by a previous marriage.
Cronyn died of prostate cancer Sunday at his home in Fairfield, Conn., a family spokesman told the Associated Press.
The Canadian-born actor won an Emmy for "Broadway Bound" (1992) and won a Tony Award in 1964 for his performance as Polonius in the Richard Burton-starring version of "Hamlet." He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "The Seventh Cross" (1944), a drama of concentration camp escapees.
Cronyn married Tandy in 1942. They remained married until her death in 1994. The couple appeared together in such movies as "*batteries not included," "Cocoon" and "Cocoon: The Return"
Cronyn's film career stretched from the black-and-white, silent film days, to his work with director Alfred Hitchcock, to big-budget, special effects fare such as "Cocoon" and its sequel. Cronyn's Hollywood career began with a small role as a mystery buff in Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943). He played a radio operator in the same director's "Lifeboat" (1944), and later co wrote screenplays for Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948) and "Under Capricorn" (1949).
Cronyn was often cast as unpleasant weasels, and also as sadistic characters. He was particularly nasty as a lawyer in "The Postman Always Rings Twice"(1946) and a sadistic prison warden in "Brute Force" (1947). He also played more sympathetic parts, including "The Green Years" (1946), where he portrayed the father of his real-life wife Tandy, who was actually two years older than he. During that period he also co-starred with Fanny Brice in "Ziegfeld Follies" (1946).
The son of a well-known Ontario politician, he was born Hume Blake on July 18, 1911 in London, Ontario. He graduated from the University of McGill in 1932. At his father's insistence, he studied law at McGill University, but had already made up his mind to become an actor. While still a student, he made his stage bow with the Montreal Repertory Company at 19. Athletic, Cronyn was selected for the Canadian Olympic Boxing team in the 1930s.
During the early '30s, he migrated to the United States, taking classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and working with regional companies in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Cronyn made it to Broadway in 1934. His first major role was as an alcohol-addled jingle writer in "Three Men on a Horse," directed and co-written by George Abbott. He remained with Abbott to work in "Room Service" and "Boy Meets Girl."
In the 1950s and '60s, he concentrated on the stage, often teaming with wife Tandy, whom he had met and married in 1942. The couple appeared as a father and daughter in the 1946 drama "The Green Years," despite the fact that Cronyn was the younger. They also played together in "The Four Poster" (1951). Most auspiciously, they starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Gin Game" (1978). On screen, they hit the mainstream with the hit "Cocoon" (1985) and its 1988 sequel. They also worked together in "*batteries not included" (1987). During that period when they were often in the national spotlight, they delighted in confounding and misdirecting the more dunderheaded celebrity journalists.
In the '70s, Cronyn distinguished himself in a number of other film projects, including: "There Was a Crooked Man," "The Parallax View," "Conrack." During the '80s, Cronyn performed in such diverse film fare as "Rollover," "Honky Tonk Freeway," "The World According to Garp," "Brewster's Millions" and "Impulse."
More recently, Cronyn performed in such TV productions as "Foxfire" (1987) , which he also co-wrote and starred along with Tandy. Cronyn also played in "Day One"(1989), and Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" (1992), which won him his Emmy.
Despite health problems, Cronyn remained active in films, television and stage into the 1990s. On TV, he co-starred in "To Dance With the White Dog," while appearing in the films "The Pelican Brief" (1993) and "Camilla" (1994).
He encapsulated many of his professional experiences in a breezy, pungent autobiography "A Terrible Liar" (1991).
Tandy and Cronyn had three children, Christopher, born in 1943; Tandy, born in 1945; and Susan Hawkins, Tandy's daughter by a previous marriage.
