Volume III: Biographies

HALE, Creighton *

Actor (1914)

Creighton Hale Courtesy Q. David Bowers (N-2)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Creighton Hale was an actor with Thanhouser, circa 1914.

Biographical Notes: Creighton Hale was born Patrick Fitzgerald, of a theatrical family, on May 24, 1882 (Photoplay, March 1916, gave the date as 1892) in Cork, Ireland. He was educated in Dublin and London, and later attended Ardingly College in Sussex. As a tiny infant he was carried on stage for a role, therefore it can be said that he was an actor virtually from birth. He went on the London stage in a serious role at age five, as Willie in the Dan Fitzgerald repertory company's production of East Lynne. While in school he joined Lady Forbes-Robertson's touring company of Dawn of a To-morrow, in which he was billed under the name of Patrick Creighton Hale. When the company came to America, he traveled with it. In America he appeared in leading roles with the Ben Greet Players, after which he spent a summer in stock in Indianapolis. The next season he was on stage in Indian Summer, at which time the Frohman management suggested that he drop Patrick from his name.

While in Indian Summer on Broadway, under the management of Charles Frohman, he was solicited by Frank Powell, then a Pathé director, who enticed him to come with that company, thus marking what he usually claimed was his film debut, though one account states that his first film was The Taint (Eclectic, November 1914). He worked in Pathé films intermittently thereafter. Or, so went the "standard version" of his film beginning, as printed in several different places, including in The New York Dramatic Mirror, Aug. 4, 1915: "Creighton Hale, the Pathé actor who appears as Jameson in The Exploits of Elaine, tells how he first happened to go into pictures. He was playing in Indian Summer, then a Broadway attraction, under the management of the late Charles Frohman, and his work was noticed and liked by a Pathé director. An attractive proposition was made to him by the director, which was accepted, and since then he has appeared continuously in Pathé pictures...."

However, in an interview published in Motion Picture Classic, June 1919, Hale stated that while he was on stage in New York City he was given a chance to join the newly-formed Famous Players film company. He rejected the idea, only to reconsider films shortly thereafter, when he saw his old friend, House Peters, "oozing prosperity." Upon questioning, Peters indicated that his affluence came from his new activity in films. The story continued: "Such prosperity was not to be slighted, the young Irish lad decided, but he wasn't at all sure he would like pictures nor that he would be a success in them. So to try them out he secured a part as an extra under an assumed name. He played in a Virginia Pearson production in which Theda Bara was also an extra.... What he saw of pictures did not impress him mightily, for he decided to remain in the spoken drama, only to have Frank Powell, then a director for Pathé, see him on the stage, take an instant liking to the young man with the blond hair, seek him backstage, and induce him to go into pictures in earnest."

During the early years of his career he was with Eclair briefly. Creighton Hale was likewise with Thanhouser for a very short time, and appeared in the 1914 serial, The Million Dollar Mystery. For some reason, his Eclair and Thanhouser work was omitted from nearly all later publicity concerning the actor. He then went back to Pathé, where he achieved great recognition with Pearl White in the 14-part 1915 Wharton serial, The Exploits of Elaine, and its sequel shortly thereafter, the 12-episode serial, The Romance of Elaine. In later years, when Creighton's career was mentioned, it was nearly always in connection with Pathé serials.

In the autumn of 1915 he was on stage in the production of Moloch, after which he returned once more to Pathé. His mailing address at the time was care of the Screen Club, New York City. In 1915 he acted in the Famous Players production of The Old Homestead. In the summer of 1916 he acted in Charity, the first production of the newly-formed Frank Powell Productions, Inc. During this era seemingly he hopped from one studio to another. Creighton Hale also appeared in further Wharton, Astra, and other films, mostly released through Pathé, including The Iron Claw (the Pathé-Feature Film Corporation serial, 1916), Mrs. Slacker (1918) Waifs (1918), The Seven Pearls (serial, 1918), For Sale (1918), and The Love Cheat (Albert Capellani Productions, 1919).

The 1918 edition of the Motion Picture Studio Directory noted that he was 5'10" tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had light hair and blue eyes. For recreation he enjoyed aviation, motoring, and swimming. At the time his address was 324 West 84th Street, New York City. A biographical sketch in The Moving Picture World, May 5, 1917, mentioned poker and tennis as being among his pastimes. As if he did not have enough to do in films, he owned an antique shop on the side. Photoplay, in the issue of October 1918, told of his activities in this regard and noted that sales were poor.

In its August 24, 1919 edition, The New York Times called Hale a "new star" - typical of the disregard for past accomplishments which often characterized popular articles of the era - and stated that he would soon appear in the World film, The Black Circle. In the early 1920s, Creighton Hale acted under the direction of D.W. Griffith in The Idol Dancer and in Lillian Gish's memorable vehicle, Way Down East as well as in Orphans of the Storm. At the time he made his residence in Great Neck, Long Island. Hale remained in the movies through the late 1950s and was seen in many features. In the meantime he was in occasional stage shows as well. In 1946 he participated in a remake, with Betty Hutton, of the old serial, The Perils of Pauline. He went to the altar twice. His first wife, Victoire, with whom he had two sons, divorced him in 1925. Later, he married Mrs. Kathleen Bering.

In 1924 he filled out a biographical questionnaire, now preserved in the Robinson Locke Collection. He noted, among other things, that May 24th was his birth date, but he declined to give the year; and that his hobbies and diversions were "home life, tennis and swimming. One of the few actors in the world today who refuses to play golf." His favorite author was William J. Locke, and his favorite book was Septimus; he was married to a wife who was "non-professional." In reply to the question, "What is your great ambition," he stated: "To make enough money to be independently wealthy and be an electrical engineer and scientific experimenter." His most unusual experience was: "Thrown into Lake Cayuga near Ithaca, N.Y. for scene in Pathé's The Warning [released autumn 1914]; silk cords supposed to slip from his wrist but water tightened them and Hale nearly drowned before being rescued." He preferred screen acting to that of the stage, for he "hated the waste of evenings on stage, the best part of a man's lifetime." He stated that he played juvenile and character leads, had never written a scenario of consequence, had collaborated "a little" in writing and direction, considered Lubitsch's The Marriage Circle to be his showcase film, and recalled with fondness his "eccentric work for Way Down East," and has his "best straight roles in Name the Man and The Marriage Circle."

Creighton Hale died on August 9, 1965 in South Pasadena, California, and was survived by his two sons: Patrick Fitzgerald Hale and Robert Miljan Hale.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1914-1915 Serial: The Million Dollar Mystery

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