# Laura Hope Crews > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Laura_Hope_Crews > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Laura_Hope_Crews.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Hope_Crews > Source revision: 1356033024 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American stage and film actress (1879–1942) Laura Hope Crews Crews in 1910 Born (1879-12-12)December 12, 1879 San Francisco, California, U.S. Died November 12, 1942(1942-11-12) (aged 62) New York City, U.S. Resting place Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Occupation Actress Years active 1884–1942 **Laura Hope Crews** (December 12, 1879 – November 12, 1942) was an American actress. Although she is best remembered today for her later work as a [character actress](/source/Character_actress) in motion pictures of the 1930s, she also was prolific on stage; among her films roles was the role of Aunt Pittypat in *[Gone with the Wind](/source/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film))*.[1][*[better source needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Questionable_sources)*] ## Early life Crews was the daughter of stage actress Angelena Lockwood and backstage carpenter John Thomas Crews. She had three older siblings. Crews started acting at age four. Her first stage appearance was at [Woodward's Gardens](/source/Woodward's_Gardens).[2] She stopped acting to finish school and then returned to acting in 1898. As she was a native San Franciscan, the records pertaining to her early life were destroyed in the [earthquake and fire of 1906](/source/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake). Most of Crews' formal education came in San Jose, as the family had moved there following the remarriage of Crews' mother.[2] ## Career In 1898, Crews performed in San Francisco as an ingenue with the Alcazar Stock Company. Two years later, she and her mother moved to New York City, where Crews began to act with the Henry V. Donnelly Stock Company.[2] *[Merely Mary Ann](/source/Merely_Mary_Ann_(play))* (1903): l to r [Ada Dwyer](/source/Ada_Dwyer_Russell), [Eleanor Robson](/source/Eleanor_Robson_Belmont), Laura H. Crews Crews and [John Drew Jr.](/source/John_Drew_Jr.) in *[Much Ado About Nothing](/source/Much_Ado_About_Nothing)* (1913) [Erskine Sanford](/source/Erskine_Sanford), [Dudley Digges](/source/Dudley_Digges_(actor)) and Crews in the [Theatre Guild](/source/Theatre_Guild) production of [A. A. Milne](/source/A._A._Milne)'s *[Mr. Pim Passes By](/source/Mr._Pim_Passes_By)* (1921) Crews appeared in plays written by [A.A. Milne](/source/A.A._Milne), who was particularly impressed by her work[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] in his *[Mr. Pim Passes By](/source/Mr._Pim_Passes_By)* (1921).[3] The play was a big success and ran for 232 performances on Broadway. In 1924 she starred in *[The Werewolf](/source/The_Werewolf_(play))* for a run of 112 Broadway performances.[4] Crews also starred as Judith Bliss in the original Broadway production of [Noël Coward](/source/No%C3%ABl_Coward)'s *[Hay Fever](/source/Hay_Fever_(play))* (1925), which she co-directed[3] with Coward. She also appeared in *The Silver Cord*,[3] written by [Sidney Howard](/source/Sidney_Howard), which was produced by the New York Theater Guild in 1926 and ran for 212 performances. When *The Silver Cord* was not being presented, there were matinee performances of *Right You Are If You Think You Are* by [Luigi Pirandello](/source/Luigi_Pirandello). *The Silver Cord* was later made into [a 1933 RKO movie](/source/The_Silver_Cord_(film)) with Crews reprising her onstage role of the mother. The film co-starred [Joel McCrea](/source/Joel_McCrea), [Frances Dee](/source/Frances_Dee), and [Irene Dunne](/source/Irene_Dunne). In the late 1920s, and because of her years as a stage actress, Crews had been hired as a voice coach by [Gloria Swanson](/source/Gloria_Swanson) to help with her transition to talking pictures. [George Cukor](/source/George_Cukor), who had directed her in *[Camille](/source/Camille_(1936_film))* (1936), recommended her for the role of Aunt Pittypat in *[Gone with the Wind](/source/Gone_With_the_Wind_(film))* (1939) after [Billie Burke](/source/Billie_Burke) declined it. Cukor wanted Crews to play the role "in a Billie Burke-ish manner" with "the same zany feeling".[5] Her final stage appearance came in 1942, in the original Broadway run of *[Arsenic and Old Lace](/source/Arsenic_and_Old_Lace_(play))* in which she replaced one of the original cast members. She stayed with the production for more than a year and a half on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) and in a touring company before she was forced to leave because of illness. ## Death Crews died in the [LeRoy Sanitarium](/source/LeRoy_Sanitarium) in New York City in 1942, following an illness of four months.[6] Some sources say that the illness in which she suffered from was [kidney failure](/source/Kidney_failure). She was laid to rest at [Cypress Lawn Memorial Park](/source/Cypress_Lawn_Memorial_Park) in Colma, California.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Crews has a star at 6251 Hollywood Boulevard on the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](/source/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame).[7] Crews was also the first credited cast member of *[Gone with the Wind](/source/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film))* to die. ## Filmography *Blackbirds*, a 1915 [silent film](/source/Silent_film) produced by [Jesse Lasky](/source/Jesse_Lasky) Silent Year Title Role Notes 1915 The Fighting Hope Anna Granger Famous Players–Lasky / Paramount, Extant; incomplete, BFI London Blackbirds Leonie Sobatsky Famous Players–Lasky / Paramount, Extant; Library of Congress Sound Year Title Role Notes 1929 Charming Sinners Mrs. Carr 1932 New Morals for Old Mrs. Thomas 1933 Out All Night Mrs. Jane Colgate The Silver Cord Mrs. Phelps I Loved You Wednesday Doc Mary Hanson Blind Adventure Lady Rockingham Rafter Romance Elise Ever in My Heart Grandma Caroline Archer If I Were Free Dame Evers 1934 The Age of Innocence Mrs. Welland Lightning Strikes Twice Aunt Jane Madison Behold My Wife Mrs. Hubert Carter 1935 Escapade Countess The Melody Lingers On Mother Superior 1936 Her Master's Voice Aunt Minnie Stickney Camille Prudence Duvernoy 1937 The Road Back Ernst's Aunt Confession Stella Angel Grand Duchess Anna Dmitrievna 1938 Dr. Rhythm Mrs. Minerva Twombling The Sisters Flora's Mother Thanks for the Memory Mrs. Kent 1939 Idiot's Delight Madame Zuleika The Star Maker Carlotta Salvini The Rains Came Lily Hoggett-Egburry Reno Mrs. Gardner Remember? Lettie Carruthers Gone with the Wind Aunt Pittypat Hamilton The Hunchback of Notre Dame Minor Role (uncredited) 1940 The Blue Bird Mrs. Luxury Girl from Avenue A Mrs. Forrester I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now Mrs. Lowell Lady with Red Hair Mrs. Dudley 1941 The Flame of New Orleans Auntie One Foot in Heaven Mrs. Preston Thurston New York Town Apple Annie (uncredited) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Oh What a Character! Part Seven: Crews Control"](https://neptsdepths.blogspot.com/2011/07/oh-what-character-part-seven-crews.html). *Poseidon's Underworld*. July 18, 2011. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-naw_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-naw_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-naw_2-2) James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S. (1971). [*Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary*](https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0). Harvard University Press. pp. [405-406](https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0/page/405). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-674-62734-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-62734-5). Retrieved February 23, 2020. Angelena Lockwood. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ibdb_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ibdb_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ibdb_3-2) ["Laura Hope Crews"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200223030105/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/laura-hope-crews-14526). *Internet Broadway Database*. Archived from [the original](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/laura-hope-crews-14526) on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hischak, Thomas S. (2009). [*Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007*](https://archive.org/details/broadwayplaysmus0000hisc). McFarland. p. [501](https://archive.org/details/broadwayplaysmus0000hisc/page/501). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7864-5309-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7864-5309-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-GWTW_5-0)** Wilson, Steve (September 1, 2014). [*The Making of Gone with the Wind*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lyXNBAAAQBAJ&q=laura+hope). University of Texas Press. p. 86. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-292-76126-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-292-76126-1). Retrieved August 23, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "Laura H. Crews of Stage Dies". *[Oakland Tribune](/source/Oakland_Tribune)*. November 13, 1942. p. D9. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Laura Hope Crews"](http://www.walkoffame.com/laura-hope-crews). *Walkoffame.com*. Retrieved August 3, 2017. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Laura Hope Crews](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Laura_Hope_Crews). - [Laura Hope Crews](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=laura+hope+crews) photo gallery at NYP Library - [Laura Hope Crews](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0187711/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Laura Hope Crews](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/41090%7C95987/wp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) - [Laura Hope Crews](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/14526) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database) - [Laura Hope Crews](https://web.archive.org/web/20100611205949/http://shakespeare.emory.edu/actordisplay.cfm?actorid=135) as a young stage actress - [Laura Hope Crews](https://broadway.library.sc.edu/content/laura-hope-crews.html) page with rare stage photographs (Univ. of South Carolina) - [Laura Hope Crews](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5304) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave) - [Laura Hope Crews](http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/search/collection/sayre/searchterm/laura%20hope%20crews/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/) stills Univ. of Washington Sayre Collection - [Laura Hope Crews and Leo Ditrichstein in "The Phantom Rival" (1915)](http://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&VBID=24UAYWPUCNXP) - [Laura Hope Crews in *The Havoc* (1911)](https://archive.today/20130710194402/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sayre&CISOPTR=13215&CISOBOX=1&REC=1) (Univ. of Washington Sayre Collection) - [Crews on the cover of The Theatre magazine, August 1913](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c6EogN4jmNQ/TiRnAKjp_7I/AAAAAAAAKkQ/qoZKD9cAJTM/s1600/LHC00c.JPG) - [*Tears: In Which Silent Pictures Actresses Tell Us How They Weep*](http://wordsfrom.us/2016/05/tears-screen-stars-tell-weep-camera/), article on crying in silent movies Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST National United States Spain People Deutsche Biographie Deutsche Synchronkartei Other Open Library SNAC Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Laura Hope Crews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Hope_Crews) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Hope_Crews?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.