Raymond Hitchcock (actor)

He first appeared as a star in the character of Abijah Booze in The Yankee Consul, and sang It Was Not Like This in the Olden Time. In his stage career, Hitchcock went back and forth between dramatic roles and ones in comic opera.{{cite book |title=The American Stage of Today |last=Eaton |first=Walter Prichard |year=1910 |publisher=P. F. Collier & Son |location=New York, NY}} In 1905 he appeared on Broadway with John Bunny in Easy Dawson, the two apparently playing firemen. Hitchcock also made several phonograph recordings, many of which survive.

In 1907, Hitchcock was charged with the sexual abuse of two adolescent girls together with New York magnate William A. Chanler."WARRANT ISSUED FOR W.R. HEARST: William Astor Chanler Accuses the Editor of Criminal Libel," Oct 23, 1907; The New York Times, p. 7.

As Hitchcock's trial progressed, it was revealed that the charges of sexual abuse were fabricated as part of a blackmail scheme."Pleaded Guilty When Charged with Blackmail - Tried to Extort $1,500 from Raymond Hitchcock - Vindication for Noted Actor;" Wilkes-Barre Times Leader; 12-23-1907; p. 1; Wilkes-barre, Pennsylvania. Hitchcock was acquitted by a jury on June 11, 1908,"JURY DECLARES ACTOR GUILTLESS: Raymond Hitchcock Acquitted of Crime against Young Girls." Morning Oregonian, June 11, 1908, p. 5. after spending almost nine months in prison.

File:RaymondHitchcockByRalphBarton.jpg, 1925]]

In 1925, Hitchcock appeared in a test film made by Lee DeForest in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process, in which Hitchcock performed a sketch from his Hitchy-Koo revues, which he produced on Broadway in 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920. Cole Porter wrote the music for the 1919 version. Hitchcock also figured prominently in John Ford's Upstream (1927).{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Hitchcock died on November 24, 1929, aged 64, in Beverly Hills, California.{{cite news |title=Raymond Hitchcock Dies In California. Musical Comedy Star, Long Ill, Collapses at His Wife's Side in Automobile. On Stage Nearly 40 Years. 'The Yankee Consul' and 'Hitchy Koo' Outstanding Successes in Long List of Plays |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/26/archives/raymond-hitchcock-dies-in-california-musical-comedy-star-long-iii.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=November 26, 1929 |accessdate=2013-12-11 }}

Hitchcock was married to Freda Bowen from 1891 to 1903, and then was married to actress Flora Zabelle (1880–1968) from 1905 to his death in 1929.{{cite news |title=Flora Zabelle Hitchcock, Ex-Actress and Designer |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0816F63555157493CAA9178BD95F4C8685F9|work=New York Times |date=October 8, 1968 |accessdate=2010-11-24 }} Hitchcock and Zabelle had no children. In one of her few movie roles, Zabelle appeared in the silent film The Red Widow (1916) opposite male lead John Barrymore. Barrymore's role had been played by Hitchcock in the 1911 Broadway production of The Red Widow.

• The Ringtailed Rhinoceros (1915)
• My Valet (1915)
• A Village Scandal (1915)
• The Red Widow (1916)
• Redheads Preferred (1926)
• Upstream (1927)
• The Monkey Talks (1927)
• The Tired Business Man (1927)

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{IMDb name|0386879}}
• {{IBDB name|23532}}
• [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:32538 Raymond Hitchcock at Allmovie]
• [http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/R/RaymondHitchcockSketch1924.html Raymond Hitchcock at Silent Era]
• [https://archive.org/details/RaymondHitchcock Audio works 1910-1916 by Raymond Hitchcock at Internet Archive]
• [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9805E4D6133AE733A25755C0A9639C946497D6CF Marriage] of Raymond Hitchcock to Flora Zabelle 1905

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchcock, Raymond}}

Category:1865 births

Category:1929 deaths

Category:Male actors from New York (state)

Category:American male stage actors

Category:American male silent film actors

Category:People from Auburn, New York

Category:American theatre managers and producers

Category:20th-century American male actors