The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1942-05-09
Cross0n
Continued from Page one

ing sleep.
The silence of the white
walled room was disturbed on
ly by the whispered words CT
the attending physicians and
the broken sobs of father
and the newly made widow of
his son.
That is how he passed away,
your friend and my friend,
Cornelius G. Crosson, known
wherever he had walked like
the legendary John Henry of
{ i, as Buddy" CrosSon.
Born in Attleboro on Octo-
Der Is, 1902, to Charles C.
C-osson, prominent citizen ard
altry breeder, now aged rs,
and Mary CrosSon of pioneer
stock, now aged IS, he
achieved early fame as a four
letter man at Attleboro High
School for his Attleboro Prov
eSS in track, basketball, base
ball and football. Following in
his fathers footsteps, he came
to Boston seeking a business
career and soon established a
most profitable interior dec
Grating trade.
Intensely interested in dra-
mates and powerful of stat
ure, it was a natural conSe-
quence for him to become a
leading spirit in the Allied Art
Centre under Maud Quincy
Hare and later The Boston
Players where he won his dra-
matte spurs in such produc-
tons as I'm Abraham's Bos-
ON" =. "All Gods Chillun Got
Wings" "Cinda" 1.-THE
Thirteenth Chair" and "The
Last of Mrs. Cheney"
The Federal Theatre brought
him stardom in the leading
roles of "BIoodstream"
"The Emperor Jones" 1.-THE
Big Blow "Uncle Nose"
and "The Trial of Doctor
Beck" Prior to this period he
toured the East with the Bos-
ton and New York company of
Margaret Hewe's production of
Roll, Sweet Chariot" His
portrayal of the mighty
'--acksnake" in the con o.
verSial melodrama "Stevedore"
which occupied the front pages
of the local newspapers, was a
memorable one.
The theatrical profession has
lost one of its greatest stars
and one of the few colored
dramatic actors who had his
name in lights"
When the United States
went all out for defense, Bud
dy Crosson registered as a
skilled painter and worked at
the Boston Navy Yard until he
was stricken on the job. He
died hero on the home front,
daily going deep into the holds
of huge ships to make them
ready for action at sea. Some
of the vessels he worked on
went down under enemy fire
while others were victorious.
With this thought constantly
in mind, he took great pride in
his work and won a splendid
reputation among his crew.
Nature took her toll, however,
under the constant exposure to
poisonous fumes and acid
cleansing agents used in the
work process. He drove him
self hard working long hours
of overtime to help attain a
financial goal he had set for
himself to secure his family.
Finally his Herculean efforts
weakened and he collapsed be-
low decks and was carried to
the Naval Hospital.
Ignorant of his true condi-
ton, he refused to be hospital
lied and returned home where
he sought treatment for cold.
Complications set in and DR..
Franklin Myers ordered him at
once to the Peter Bent Brig
ham Hospital with the declar-
alton that he should have
been under medical observa-
ton fully eight months pre-
vious. The clogging of his kid
neyS caused uremic poisoning
which fastened the end
He suffered a paralytic
stroke on Saturday with loss
of function of his arms and
legs, No pain but complete
physical exhaustion was expe-
rienced. His aged father and
mother visited him with his
wife and so great was his
emotion at seeing his beloved
mother that through super
human effort, he managed to
raise his arms and embrace