Owen Crump

Owen Crump
Born
Owen Edward Crump

December 30, 1903
Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedFebruary 13, 1998
West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, film director, film producer, radio personality, stage actor, portrait painter
Spouses
Jean Foster
​
​
(m. 1930, divorced)​
​
​
(m. 1939; div. 1941)​
​
​
(m. 1942; died 1998)​
FatherWilliam Jackson Crump

Owen Edward Crump (December 30, 1903 – February 13, 1998)[1] was an American screenwriter, film director, film producer, radio personality, and stage actor. He worked alongside Warner Bros. Studios and made propaganda films for the United States Army Air Forces.[2] He helped form the United States Army Air Forces's First Motion Picture Unit in 1942, where he served as a commander.[2]

Early life

Crump was born on December 30, 1903, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.[3] His father was Arkansas politician and judge, William Jackson Crump.[3][4] His mother was Dora Owen, and his maternal uncle was Thomas Horner Owen.[4] Owen Crump painted portraits in his early life.[3]

Career

In 1926, Crump performed in the show The Cajun on Broadway at the Nora Bayes Theatre.[5] In 1936, he obtained copyrights for installments in the Death's Diary series.[6]

He worked as a screenwriter for Jack Warner at Warner Bros. Studios.[2][7] He made a series of "pro-American" propaganda short films for the U.S. government.[8] After World War II, Warner chose him to helm the production of a series of four films.[9]

Crump was a writer for the 1950 stage show, Southern Exposure on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre.[1][10][11] He worked on The Bell System Science Series films in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1952, Crump was nominated for an Academy Award in "Best Documentary, Short Subjects" for his work as producer on the, One Who Came Back (1951).[12]

Crump was interviewed by Douglas Bell from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which was recorded in 1991, 1992, and 1994.[2] Archival footage of Crump was used in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Last Days (1998) by director James Moll.[13]

Personal life

He married Jean Foster in 1930, and they lived in Shreveport, Louisiana.[3][14] Crump was engaged to Isabel Jewell in 1936,[3] and they married in 1939 however it ended in divorce in 1941. His third wife was Lucile Fairbanks, they were married in 1942, until his death in 1998.[3][7][15]

Filmography

Year Film name Role Notes
1942 Miracle Makers screenwriter a short film starring Knox Manning
1942 Winning Your Wings screenwriter 1942 Allied propaganda film of World War II, for the US Army Air Forces[2]
1943 The Fighting Engineers screenwriter
1948 Silver River producer [16]
1951 One Who Came Back producer a short documentary that received an Oscar nomination in 1952
1953 Cease Fire! director [17]
1958 Gateways in the Mind director [17]
1959 Alphabet Conspiracy producer
1960 The Thread of Life director [17]
1962 It's About Time director [17]
1962 The Couch director [17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Owen Crump (Performer)". Playbill.
  2. ^ a b c d e Betancourt, Mark (March 2012). "World War II: The Movie". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nissen, Axel (2016-08-26). Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood. McFarland. pp. 101, 245–246. ISBN 978-0-7864-9732-4.
  4. ^ a b "Muskogee Pioneer William J. Crump Dies In Houston". Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat. February 11, 1957. pg.1, 2. – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "The Cajun". Playbill.
  6. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1937). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series. p. 6034.
  7. ^ a b Morris, Edmund (2011-10-19). Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan. Random House Publishing Group. p. 731. ISBN 978-0-307-79142-9.
  8. ^ Circuit), United States Court of Appeals (2nd (1947). Decision of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Re the United States V. Leon Josephson (Majority and Dissenting Opinions): Investigation of Un-American Activities in the United States. Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, First Session. Public Law 601 (Section 121, Subsection Q (2) December 19, 1947. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 31.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Alexander, Geoff (2014-01-10). Academic Films for the Classroom: A History. McFarland. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-7864-6000-7.
  10. ^ Atkinson, Brooks (1950-09-27). "AT THE THEATRE; 'Southern Exposure,' a Comedy by Owen Crump, Arrives on Broadway From Dallas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  11. ^ Crump, Owen (1951). Southern Exposure: Comedy in Three Acts. Dramatists Play Service.
  12. ^ "NY Times: One Who Came Back". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  13. ^ Brennan, Judith I. (1999-02-05). "Filmmakers Sought Out Truths in Voices of Holocaust Survivors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  14. ^ "Owen Edward Crump, Marriage • New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938, New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938". FamilySearch.org. January 10, 1930. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  15. ^ "Owen Crump". IBDB (Internet Broadway Database).
  16. ^ Looking at Hollywood Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 19 Dec 1946: 43.
  17. ^ a b c d e Alexander, Geoff (2014-01-10). Films You Saw in School: A Critical Review of 1,153 Classroom Educational Films (1958-1985) in 74 Subject Categories. McFarland. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-7864-7263-5.