Hamilton Deane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hamilton Deane
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Deane in 1939
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| Born | 1880 New Ross, Ireland |
| Died | 25 October 1958 London, England |
| Occupation | Actor, playwright, director |
Hamilton Deane (born 1880, died 1958) was an actor, writer, and director from Ireland. He is famous for helping to make Bram Stoker's book Dracula very popular. He did this by turning it into a successful stage play in 1924 and later, a movie in 1931.
Contents
Early Life and Theater Career
Hamilton Deane was born in New Ross, Ireland. He grew up in Clontarf, near Dublin. His family lived close to the family of Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula. Deane's mother even knew Bram Stoker when they were younger.
Deane started working in theater as a young man. In 1899, he joined the Henry Irving Company. Bram Stoker worked there too, as a stage manager.
Bringing Dracula to the Stage
Even before Deane started his own theater group in the early 1920s, he wanted to turn Dracula into a play. Bram Stoker had tried this in 1897, but it didn't work out. Deane couldn't find anyone to write the script. So, he decided to write the play himself. He wrote it in just four weeks while he was sick with a cold.
After finishing the play, Deane contacted Florence Stoker. She was Bram Stoker's widow. He made a deal with her to get the rights to perform the play.
Deane's Vision for Dracula
Deane had new ideas for the character of Count Dracula. He imagined Dracula as a more polite and stylish person. This way, Dracula could easily fit into London society. It was Deane's idea for the Count to wear a fancy tuxedo. He also gave Dracula a flowing cape. This cape helped Dracula disappear quickly through a trap-door on the stage. It made it look like he vanished into thin air!
Deane even arranged for a nurse to be at the performances. She was ready to help anyone who might faint from fright.
The Play's Success
Deane's play first opened in June 1924 in Derby, England. Some critics didn't like it much. But audiences loved it! Raymond Huntley played Count Dracula, and Deane played Van Helsing. The play was a huge success. It toured for many years across the country.
When the play came to the United States in 1927, a new actor played Dracula. He was a Hungarian actor named Béla Lugosi, who was not well-known at the time. For its American debut, the play was rewritten by an American writer named John L. Balderston. The show ran for a year on Broadway. Then, it toured for two more years. It broke all records for a touring show in the United States.
The famous 1931 movie Dracula, directed by Tod Browning, was based on this play. It used the ideas from Deane and Balderston's version.
Works
- Deane, Hamilton, and John L. Balderston. Dracula: The Vampire Play in Three Acts. New York: Samuel French, 1927.
See also
- Dracula (1924 play)
