# Tyrone Power Sr.

Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power Sr. (2 May 1869 – 23 December 1931) was an English-born American stage and screen actor, known professionally as Tyrone Power. He is now usually referred to as Tyrone Power Sr. to differentiate him from his son, actor Tyrone Power. He was thrice widowed.

## Early life

Power was born in London in 1869, the son of Harold Littledale Power and Ethel Lavenu. Harold had worked as a singer and actor before his marriage, most notably in Edmund Yates' production Invitations at the Egyptian Hall, London, 1862–63. Turning to business, he became a wine merchant, later collaborating in the mining business with his brother Frederick Power. Harold was the youngest son of the Irish actor Tyrone Power, from whom his son, grandson and great grandson would later take their stage names. Harold's wife Ethel was an actress and the third daughter of conductor and composer Lewis Henry Lavenu.
Frederick Power, as he was then known, was educated at Hampton School then Dover College with his brother George, who would later accompany him on tour in America as Littledale Power. In 1883 at the age of 14 he was sent from Britain to Florida by his parents to learn citrus planting.

## Career
### Stage

After a couple of years Power ran away from his farm work and joined a theatre stock company at St. Augustine, Florida, debuting as Gibson in Charles Hawtrey's The Private Secretary on 29 November 1886, aged 17. Power steadily moved up the ranks in a variety of roles mainly Shakespearean parts. In 1899, he was in the cast of Mrs. Fiske's Becky Sharp which costarred Maurice Barrymore. 1902 saw Power join Mrs. Fiske again in Mary of Magdala. The following year Power starred opposite Edgar Selwyn in Ulysses. (Selwyn would later join part of his name with Samuel Goldfish's name to create Goldwyn Studios.) Power also had roles in Julia Marlowe's When Knighthood Was in Flower in a 1904 revival.
In August 1905, Power appeared at the Elitch Theatre in Denver with his wife, Edith Crane, in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. According to Mary Elitch Long in her autobiography Lady of the Gardens, "I shall never forget the beauty of his voice nor his first utterance as he entered the Gardens: 'I am about to realize a great ambition, and that is to play in the Elitch Gardens Theatre.'"
In 1908, Power had what was probably his greatest personal theatrical success, The Servant in the House. The production ran for 80 performances in the first half of 1908 and then a return engagement for 48 performances near the close of the year. Following this success, Power appeared in a few more original stage productions like Chu Chin Chow (American version) and The Wandering Jew. The rest of his theatrical career before World War I and after consisted of revivals of popular and Shakesperean plays such as The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, the all-star play Diplomacy, and The Rivals. In 1922, he played Claudius in John Barrymore's groundbreaking production of Hamlet.

### Films

After an extremely prosperous 30 years of acting on the stage and touring around the world, Power moved into silent films in 1914. Initially playing the leading man in films, he soon switched to playing villains and proved highly successful. In 1916, Power played the male lead in Where Are My Children?, a serious film about birth control and social issues directed by pioneer director Lois Weber and her husband Phillips Smalley. A pristine copy of this film is preserved in the Library of Congress. That same year Power appeared in a Selig film called John Needham's Double. When not acting on Broadway, Power appeared in films. Producer William Fox found him a great character part at Fox Studios in Footfalls (1921).
Also in 1921 Power appeared in D.W. Griffith's Dream Street in which experimental synchronised sound was used, using the Photokinema sound-on-disc system. In 1924, Power was in the cast of the sumptuous Janice Meredith, a Hearst-produced vehicle for Marion Davies. In 1925, Power appeared in a film called The Red Kimono, a film as daring as Where Are My Children? had been a decade earlier. The Red Kimono was produced and partly written by Dorothy Davenport, the widow of Wallace Reid. It is the only silent Power film available on home video or DVD.
Power finished out the decade and silent era in several A-list silent films. In 1930, Power had a great role as the villainous "bull whacker" Red Flack in Raoul Walsh's widescreen epic The Big Trail, which was shot on location across the American West and was Power's first (and only) talkie, and provided an unknown John Wayne with his first starring role. Power then prepared to film a sound remake of The Miracle Man, which had been a great silent success in 1919 for Lon Chaney.

## Death

While filming The Miracle Man, Power died of a heart attack on 23 December 1931 in the arms of his 17-year-old son at his apartment at the Hollywood Athletic Club. He was 62. As Power had filmed only a few scenes before his death, his role was filled by fellow veteran actor Hobart Bosworth.

## Stage appearances

| Production | Production | Company, Dates |
| The Private Secretary Charles Hawtrey | Gibson | his debut on 29 November 1886 with St. Augustine, Florida stock company |
| Saratoga Bronson Howard | The Hon. William Carter | at Mechanics' Institute, St. John, NB, Huebner-Holmes Co., 22 June 1888 |
| The Texan Tyrone Power Sr | William Plainleigh | at Opera House, St. John, NB and at the Masonic Hall at Chatham and Newcastle, New Brunswick, own company, June, 1893, and at Princess's Theatre, London, June 1894 |
| The Two Roses James Albery | Digby Grant | at Opera House, St. John, NB, own company, June 1893 |
| Betsy | Adolphus | at Opera House, St. John, NB, own company, June 1893 |
| The Sins of the Fathers W. Lestocq | Sir Roger Walvernby & Norman Vernley | at Opera House, St. John, NB, own company, June 1893 |
| Guy Mannering Sir Walter Scott | Dominie Sampson | opened at Montreal, Fanny Janauschek company c. 1888–1891 |
| The School for Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan | Sir Oliver Surface | Augustin Daly players, 1891 |
| The Magistrate Arthur Wing Pinero | Posket | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| The Cabinet Minister Arthur Wing Pinero | Brooke Twombley | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| The Foresters Alfred Tennyson | Much the Miller | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| As You Like It William Shakespeare | Frederick | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| Love's Labour's Lost William Shakespeare | Holofernes | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare | Antonio | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare | Christopher Sly | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898, and with own company Australia and New Zealand tour 1900–1902 |
| The Tempest William Shakespeare | Caliban | Augustin Daly players, c.1891–1898 |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor William Shakespeare | Host of the Garter Inn | Augustin Daly players, c. 1891–1898 |
| Magda Hermann Sudermann | - | Minnie Maddern Fiske's company c.1890s |
| Frou-Frou Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy | - | Minnie Maddern Fiske's company c.1890s |
| Becky Sharp Langdon Mitchell ad. Thackeray's Vanity Fair | Lord Steyne | Minnie Maddern Fiske's company, Fifth Avenue Theatre, 12 September – December 1899, 116 performances |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy dram. | - | Australia and New Zealand tour 1900–1902 |
| Trilby George du Maurier dram. | - | Australia and New Zealand tour 1900–1902 |
| Our Boys Henry James Byron | - | Australia and New Zealand tour 1900–1902 |
| The Only Way Freeman C. Wills, Frederick Langbridge ad. A Tale of Two Cities | - | Australia and New Zealand tour 1900–1902 |
| The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare | Bassanio | at the Lyceum Theatre, London with Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, June – July 1902 |
| Mary of Magdala William Winter | Judas Iscariot | Minnie Maddern Fiske's company, Manhattan Theatre, November 1902, 105 performances |
| Ulysses Stephen Phillips | Ulysses | at the Garden Theatre, 14 September – November 1903, 65 performances |
| Ingomar the Barbarian Maria Ann Lovell | Ingomar | at the Empire Theatre, Broadway, 16 May 1904 |
| Yvette Pierre Berton ad. Cosmo Gordon Lennox | - | at the Knickerbocker Theatre, Broadway, 13 May 1904 |
| When Knighthood Was in Flower Charles Major ad. Paul Kester | The Princess | at the Empire Theatre, Broadway, May 1904, 16 performances |
| Adrea David Belasco | - | at the Belasco Theatre, 1 January – 26 April 1905, 123 performances |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles | - | at the Elitch Theatre, August 1905 |
| The Redskin Donald MacLaren | Lonawanda | at the Liberty Theatre, 3 January – March 1906, 26 performances |
| The Strength of the Weak Alice M. Smith, Charlotte Thompson | - | at the Liberty Theatre, 17 April – May 1906 |
| The Christian Pilgrim James MacArthur | Apollyon, Beelzebub, Giant Despair, Lord Hategood | at the Liberty Theatre, November 1907, 14 performances |
| The Servant in the House Charles Rann Kennedy | Robert Smith | at the Savoy Theatre, 23 March – 1 June 1908, 80 performances, 19 October – November 1908, 48 performances |
| Thais Anatole France, ad. Paul Wilstach | - | at the Criterion Theatre, 14 March – April 1911, 31 performances "Julius Caesar" Marcus Brutus one performance for 40,000 at Beachwood Canyon, Hollywood, May 1916 |
| Julius Caesar William Shakespeare | Marcus Brutus | at the Lyric Theatre, 4 November – December 1912, 32 performances, outdoor performance before 40,000 at Beachwood Canyon Hollywood, May 1916, one performance at the Cort Theatre, 15 March 1918 |
| Chu Chin Chow Oscar Asche | Abu Hasan | American premiere at the Manhattan Opera House, 22 October 1917, second run at the Century Theatre, 14 January – April 1918, 208 performances |
| The Little Brother Milton Goldsmith, Benedict James | - | at the Belmont Theatre, 25 November 1918 – March 1919, 120 performances |
| The Wandering Jew Ernest Temple Thurston | Mathathias, The Unknown Knight, Matteo Battadio, Matteos Battadios | at the Knickerbocker Theatre, opened 26 October 1921 |
| The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan | Sir Anthony Absolute | at the Empire Theatre, opened 5 June 1922 |
| Hamlet William Shakespeare | Claudius King of Denmark | at the Sam H. Harris Theatre, 16 November 1922 – February 1923, 101 performances |
| Venus Rachel Crothers | Herbert Beveridge | at the Theatre Masque, 26 December 1927 – January 1928, 8 performances |
| Diplomacy Victorien Sardou | Markham | at Erlanger's Theatre, 28 May – July 1928, 40 performances |
| The Unknown Warrior Paul Raynal trans. Cecil Lewis | Elderly Man | at Charles Hopkins Theatre, 29 October – November 1928, 8 performances |
| The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare | Duke of Venice | at the Royale Theatre, opened 16 November 1931, 8 performances |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1914 | Aristocracy | Jefferson Stockton |
| 1915 | A Texas Steer | Maverick Brander |
| 1915 | Sweet Alyssum | Roanoke Brooks |
| 1916 | Thou Shalt Not Covet | I, or the Hero |
| 1916 | John Needham's Double | Lord John Needham/Joseph Norbury |
| 1916 | Where Are My Children? | Richard Walton |
| 1916 | The Eye of God | Olaf |
| 1917 | The Planter | Ludwig Hertzer |
| 1917 | Lorelei of the Sea | Paul |
| 1917 | National Red Cross Pageant | Servia |
| 1920 | The Great Shadow | Jim McDonald |
| 1921 | Dream Street | A Preacher of the Streets |
| 1921 | The Black Panther's Cub | Count Boris Orliff |
| 1921 | Footfalls | Hiram Scudder |
| 1923 | Fury | Captain Leyton |
| 1923 | The Truth About Wives | Howard Hendricks |
| 1923 | Bright Lights of Broadway | John Kirk |
| 1923 | Wife in Name Only | Dornham |
| 1923 | The Daring Years | James LaMotte |
| 1923 | The Day of Faith | Michael Anstell |
| 1924 | Damaged Hearts | Sandy |
| 1924 | The Lone Wolf | Bannon |
| 1924 | Trouping with Ellen | Mr. Llewellyn |
| 1924 | The Story Without a Name | Drakma |
| 1924 | For Another Woman | |
| 1924 | Greater Than Marriage | Father |
| 1924 | Janice Meredith | Lord Cornwallis |
| 1924 | The Law and the Lady | John Langley Sr. |
| 1925 | The Wanderer | Jesse |
| 1925 | Where Was I? | George Stone |
| 1925 | A Regular Fellow | King |
| 1925 | The Red Kimono | Gabrielle's Father |
| 1925 | Braveheart | Standing Rock |
| 1925 | Bride of the Storm | Jacob Kroon |
| 1926 | The Test of Donald Norton | John Corrigal |
| 1926 | Out of the Storm | Mr. Lawrence |
| 1926 | Hands Across the Border | John Drake |
| 1930 | The Big Trail | Red Flack |