Faith Dane facts for kids

Faith Dane (born October 3, 1923 – died April 7, 2020) was a talented American woman who worked as an actress, musician, and artist. She was also known for often running for elected offices in Washington, D.C.. After her second marriage, some people knew her as Faith Crannitch, but her legal name became simply Faith in 1983.

Early Life and Background

Faith Dane grew up and spent much of her life in New York City. She later lived in Washington, D.C. and also spent many years in the United States Virgin Islands during the 1960s.

She was married twice. Her first marriage was in the 1960s to Russell Johnson, who was a lawyer and a former attorney general in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was the one who first encouraged her to run for public office. Her second marriage was in 1983 to Jude Crannitch, an artist from New Zealand.

Faith Dane's Acting Career

Faith Dane was a performer on Broadway, which is famous for its plays and musicals in New York City. She was part of the original cast of a well-known musical called Gypsy. In this show, she played a character named Mazeppa.

When Gypsy was brought back to Broadway later, Faith Dane was not in the new version. She believed she had helped create a lot of Mazeppa's character. She even sued the show's producers about it. Although she didn't win the lawsuit, her case led to something important. Producers started adding a special rule to actors' contracts, sometimes called a "Faith Dane clause." This rule made sure that any creative ideas actors came up with for their characters belonged to the production.

Running for Public Office

Faith Dane was known for running for many different political offices. She was often called a "perennial candidate" because she ran so many times.

Campaigns in the Virgin Islands

In 1964, Faith Dane ran for a seat in the Virgin Islands Legislature. Her main goal was to support the arts. She believed that art programs were very important for young people. She even helped raise money for various school art programs there, including for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School.

Campaigns in Washington, D.C.

After moving to Washington, D.C., in the 1980s, Faith Dane continued her political efforts. She ran for mayor as an independent candidate several times.

• In 1990, she received 110 votes.
• In 1994, she received 423 votes.
• In 1998, she received 430 votes.

In 2002, she ran in the Democratic Party primary election for mayor and received 1,084 votes. In all these campaigns, her main message was always about supporting the arts.

Other Political Races

Faith Dane also ran for other positions in Washington, D.C. In 1992, she tried to get the nomination from the D.C. Statehood Green Party to become a Shadow Representative. This role is like a representative who works to make D.C. a state. She received 34% of the votes but did not win the nomination.

In 1996, she ran as an independent candidate for Delegate to Congress from the District of Columbia. A Delegate can speak in Congress but cannot vote on laws. She received 2,119 votes in that election.

Later Mayoral Campaigns

Faith Dane continued to run for mayor in later years.

• In 2010, she won the Statehood Green primary election with 40% of the vote. In the general election, she received 1,476 votes.
• She ran for mayor again in 2014. She won the Statehood Green primary with 47% of the vote. In the general election, she received about one percent of the total votes.

Later Life

Faith Dane passed away on April 7, 2020, at the age of 96. She died at a nursing home in Washington, D.C.