John Craven

John Craven (June 22, 1916 – November 24, 1995) was an American actor in theater, film, and television.

Biography

Craven was born on June 22, 1916, in New York City. He was a third-generation actor, following in the profession of his father, Frank Craven, and his grandfather, John T. Craven. His mother, Mary Blythe, was an actress prior to marriage. He had an older sister, Blyth Daly (1901-1965), born when the family lived in England. His baby picture was printed in the March, 1922 edition of Success magazine in an article about his father's career. He attended Beverly Hills High School in 1935.

Craven began on Broadway as assistant stage manager for Babes in Arms in 1937. Then he returned to Beverly Hills, starring in "The Thirteenth Chair" and Noël Coward's "Hay Fever" at Harold Lloyd's Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals. He was originally slated to play a townsperson in the original stage version of Our Town at the Morosco Theatre, in which his father played the stage manager. After director Jed Harris heard him read, however, he gave him the juvenile leading role of George. Craven was overlooked in the movie version, however, with the part going to the then-unknown William Holden. He married actress Evelyn R. Barrows in New York on September 16, 1938, when they were both 22. He later married Dorothy Langan in the 1950s, and they had a son, Frank Craven, in 1955, thus continuing a pattern of alternating generations of men named Frank and John. Craven registered for the draft in WWII on October 16, 1940.

On November 24, 1995, Craven died at his home in Salt Point, New York.

Broadway (selected)

Filmography (selected)

Television (selected)