1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. Today's show 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: continues our tradition of Halloween Time episodes, where each year 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: we pick a classic horror actor to talk about. Uh 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: spoiler alert, though, I feel like it's fair to say 7 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: this one goes down a fairly sad path. Uh So, 8 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: just if you're not ready for that, maybe save this 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: one for later. But it is about one of the 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: lesser known horror actors that really helped make the genre 11 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: universal's great and money making success of the nineteen thirties, 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: and I wanted to give him a little bit more 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: time in the spotlight because not many people know about him. 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: We are talking today about Dwight Fry, and if you 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: don't know his name, I think only people who are 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: really into old school horror might just know it off hand. 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: So it's no shame in that game if you don't 18 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: know it, but you have probably seen at least one 19 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: or two of his performances. Yeah, I did not know 20 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: his name off hand when you sent this outline over 21 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: to me, but then when I went to look for 22 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: artwork for it. I was like, oh yeah, that guy, yes, 23 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: which I think is what most people do. So, uh, yeah, 24 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: he's he's due for a little more attention. So Dwight 25 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: Fry was born on February eighteen at ninety nine and Selena, Kansas. 26 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: He was the only child of Charles and Ella Fry. 27 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: They were farmers, and the Fries soon moved to Denver, Colorado. 28 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: At this point. The family name was spelled f r 29 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: Y with no E at the end, and Dwight's mother, Ello, 30 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: was a devout Christian scientist, so Dwight followed in her 31 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: spiritual beliefs. He remained deeply religious throughout his life, and 32 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: Dwight was really artistic. As a child, he played the 33 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: piano and he's sang and at the age of nine 34 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: he envisioned a future for himself as a concert pianist, 35 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: and that really looked for a while like it would 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: indeed be his path in life. He was lauded by 37 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: teachers and audiences who attended his recitals as a genius 38 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: at the keys. Uh he really was. I think if 39 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,679 Speaker 1: you would ask most people in Denver at the time, yes, 40 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: he was going to grow up to be a great, 41 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: famous musician, but eventually he also began to give orations, 42 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: something else he was quite skilled at. But then, once 43 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: he appeared in his high school's production of the stage 44 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: play The Honeymoon in June nineteen seventeen, acting became his 45 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: one true love as a performer, and by the time 46 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: he graduated from West Side High School in Denver, he 47 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: knew he was going to become an actor. This really 48 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: wasn't a very welcome shift in his interests, at least 49 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: in the view of Dwight's parents, because, as we said, 50 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: the family were very religious. They were kind of suspicious 51 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: of the potential depravity and debauchery that could be involved 52 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: in a career in acting. But even more than that, 53 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,839 Speaker 1: acting just wasn't a career that had a high success rate, 54 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: and the Fries really wanted their son to have a 55 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: stable life. So to soothe his parents fears, Dwight took 56 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: an administrative position with a business firm in Denver, but 57 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: at the same time he also took acting lessons from 58 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: Douglas Fairbank's former teacher, Margaret Feelely, and it was not 59 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: long before Feeley connected her pupil, Dwight with the manager 60 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: of an acting company who offered the aspiring actor a job. 61 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,399 Speaker 1: The company was the Denims Stock Company and they operated 62 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: in a theater in Denver from nineteen thirteen and nineteen 63 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: thirty two. Every week, the troop put on a new play, 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: and their offerings ranged from religious holiday fair to melodrama 65 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: to straight comedy, and really everything in between. They did 66 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: ten performances every week and an evening show every night 67 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: of the week, with Mattenee's on Wednesday's, Saturdays, and Sundays. 68 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: Dwight made his debut at the Denim on June sixteenth, 69 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen, in a play called The Man from Mexico. 70 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: But while this may have seemed like an auspicious start 71 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: for an aspiring young actor, things really did not quite 72 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: go as Dwight Fry had hoped. He started out only 73 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: getting small, minor roles, which was to be expected, but 74 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: then he realized that as the company was fully staffed, 75 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: he wasn't likely to move into anything juicier, so he 76 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: quit and he enrolled in business school at the University 77 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: of Colorado. But he told the head of the company 78 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: that he would go back to their theater troop if 79 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: something better opened up, and something better did open up. 80 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: Just two months into his studies in business, one of 81 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: the other actors from the Denom left the troop to 82 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: fight in World War One. Dwight accepted the offer to 83 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: replace him, and when he rejoined the company, he started 84 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: using the f R y E spelling of his name, 85 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: basically because he thought it looked better in Brent than 86 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: the three letter version. Yeah, we don't know much about 87 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: the logic of it other than that, like why he 88 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: thought four letters in the laste was better than three, 89 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: But he did, and that was how his name was 90 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: spelled for the rest of his life. Reviews of Dwight's 91 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: acting were not exactly a bulliant. Initially, he was described 92 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: as forced and as having an unnatural eagerness on stage, 93 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: but it was also noted critics as the season went 94 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: on that he got better and better throughout it. I 95 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: understand this criticism. I feel like that could describe my 96 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: acting as a teenager just the same. The man who 97 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: had been running the Denim Company, O. D. Woodward, took 98 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: the entire theater company to Spokane, Washington, and he brought 99 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: Dwight along as the company juvenile. That meant that he 100 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: would play all of the young man roles in the 101 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: troops plays. This group actually debuted in Spokane just after 102 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: the World War One armistice, in the middle of the 103 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: flu pandemic, and initially they had to delay their opening 104 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: because they were quarantined to make sure that all the 105 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: players were, as Woodward promised, in the best of health. Yeah, 106 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: during that pandemic, people were encouraged not to be traveling about, 107 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: not not to be um, you know, in large crowded places. 108 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: So there was concern that these actors had just derived 109 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: from another place, and what if they were sick and 110 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: we all went to their play and everybody got really 111 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: potentially mortally ill. So they had a wait for several 112 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: weeks and just hang out in Spokane. But in Spokane, 113 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: Dwight was very well received, with one critic writing that 114 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: quote his heart and soul are in his work. He 115 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: acted in eighteen of the twenty one place that the 116 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: troupe put on that season, and even tapped into his 117 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,359 Speaker 1: piano playing skills for some of his roles. But the 118 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: group actually splintered in the middle of the season due 119 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,799 Speaker 1: to disagreements between Woodward and the theater's business manager. After 120 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,719 Speaker 1: this run and Spokane Dwight made his way to Chicago 121 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: on the way to his ultimate goal of New York 122 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: and Broadway. He appeared in one play in Chicago, it 123 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: was The Dangerous Age, before he moved on to New York. 124 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: Dwight's first work in New York was as a Vaude billion, 125 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: So he was touring various theaters on the circuit from 126 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: Montreal to Texas and very lighthearted sketches and musical numbers. Yeah, 127 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: he kind of felt like, that's fine, I'll pay my 128 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: dues before I get a big Broadway gig. I can 129 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 1: do vaudeville for a little while. His first leading role 130 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: on the vaudeville circuit was in a play called La 131 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: La Lucille, which featured a couple who were in love 132 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: but would have to divorce so that the husband could 133 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: inherit his fortune. That's because the aunt who was leaving 134 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: him this money did not approve of his wife. This 135 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: is a musical comedy filled with wacky, mistaken identities and 136 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: cockamami schemes, but the start of the run was abysmal. 137 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: Dwight had been cast in the role without a lot 138 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: of time to repair, and that was true of the 139 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: other performers as well. Many of them just didn't know 140 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: their lines. One critic even called it ha ha Lucille, 141 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: and almost all of the early reviews panned the production. 142 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,119 Speaker 1: Things did get better as the tour went on, though, 143 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: and it ran for ten weeks. Yeah, there are lots 144 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: of stories about how you could actually hear the script 145 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: people in the wings saying more of the lines than 146 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: the actors on stage, so they were trying to stage 147 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: whisper all their lines to them and it was echoing 148 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: throughout the theater. But it did get much better. Uh. 149 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: Dwight next signed on with the Merkel Harder Repertory Company, 150 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: which kept a really grueling tour schedule. The group got 151 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: Sundays off from performing, which was not the case with 152 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: a lot of touring companies, but they did two shows 153 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: a day every other day of the week, so they 154 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: were still doing twelve shows a week. But soon in 155 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: Mae Dwight took a job with a non touring stock 156 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: company in Massachusetts. So we've talked on the show before 157 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: about how really demanding the schedules of these kinds of 158 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: jobs can be. And in the case of fries Troop, 159 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: the Colonial players, they rehearsed in the mornings, a lunch 160 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: if they had time to, then went into makeup to 161 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,200 Speaker 1: prep for a matinee, followed by the evening show. And 162 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: every week they opened a new play. Yeah so, uh, 163 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: I know we've talked about this before, but it always 164 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: is just a little bit frightening and leaves me in 165 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: awe to think about the idea that you're rehearsing a 166 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: new play every week as you're adding it to the 167 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: place you're performing in the evenings. It's exhausting. Uh. Dwight 168 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: was next lured back to Spokane by his former employer Woodward, 169 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: and his return was warmly received by theater goers. They 170 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: had actually really missed him. I mentioned earlier. He had 171 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: been really popular when he was there the first time, 172 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: even though at that point a couple of years had 173 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: gone by. He was surprised at how warmly the audience 174 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: greeted him on his return. While Dwight enjoyed getting to 175 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: be the beloved returning actor, he still saw this as 176 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: a detour from his ultimate goal of Broadway. But he 177 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: also met a woman named Laura may Boulevard stage name 178 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,719 Speaker 1: Laura Lee. In his second run in Spokane. Laura and 179 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: dwighte were cast as each other's romantic interests, and later 180 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: Dwight would comment that they basically got paid to fall 181 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: in love and they were very happy to oblige, but 182 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,839 Speaker 1: they didn't stay together. They were both hustling to get 183 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: their acting careers started, so neither of them felt they 184 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: could really be tied down. Yeah, they called it quits 185 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: at the end of the season. So before we get 186 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: to the next stage of Dewyte's career, we're going to 187 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: take a quick break and hear from one of the 188 00:09:51,000 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: sponsors that keeps this show going. After that second run 189 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: in Spokane, acting opportunities weren't exactly falling at Dwight Fry's feet, 190 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: so he decided to return to Denver briefly to visit 191 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: his parents and think things through, and he actually considered 192 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: quitting the theater and going back to business in a 193 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: surprising move. His parents were like, no, no, this is 194 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: your dream, do it, even though they hadn't been super 195 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: thrilled about acting initially, and before he could get to 196 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: attached to the idea of becoming a businessman, he went 197 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: back to Massachusetts and he joined the Colonial Players for 198 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: their ninety two summer season, and that proved to be 199 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: a very smart decision. One of Dwight's fans in Massachusetts 200 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: asked a connection from Broadway to come and see a 201 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: Colonial Players show and scout Dwight Fry, and the producer, 202 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: Brock Pemberton, was impressed with what he saw, so much 203 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: so that he signed Fry to a contract after seeing 204 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: him in exactly one play. Dwight finished the summer season 205 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: with the Colonial Players and then headed to Broadway to 206 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: appear in a play called The Plot Thickens. Dwight made 207 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: his Broadway debut on September five, and while the play 208 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: itself didn't get good reviews, Dwight did. The Plot Thickens 209 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: only ran for fifteen shows, but right after Dwight immediately 210 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: started a new play, The Absurdist Six Characters in Search 211 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,839 Speaker 1: of an Author. The show had two test stagings, one 212 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: in Scarborough and Hudson and one for the incarcerated population 213 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: of sings In Correctional Facility. Then it opened on Broadway 214 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: on October and Fry got good reviews. The play ran 215 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: for a hundred and thirty seven shows, which was way 216 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: beyond its planned four a week run. Yeah, that was 217 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: not really a common practice to um go to a 218 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: prison and run a potential Broadway play as a test audience. 219 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,959 Speaker 1: But brock Pemberton was a little bit outside the box 220 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: in his thinking. He was like, well, there are no 221 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: critics there, so we don't have to worry about that, 222 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: and I will see what an audience who actually wants 223 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 1: to be entertained thinks of this play, which is pretty 224 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,079 Speaker 1: interesting in terms of like a thought process. Laura Boulevant, 225 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: Dwight's girlfriend from Spokane, had also made her way to 226 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: New York and she was working as a dancing girl. 227 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: Late nineteen twenty two was a great time for Dwight 228 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,560 Speaker 1: Fry because his career was taking off. They were back together, 229 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,680 Speaker 1: and he was in love. After six Characters in search 230 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: of an author, Dwight moved on to a comedy called 231 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: Rita Coventry, where he played one of the titular characters, 232 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: romantic Interests, who was also a musician. The play opened 233 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: at the Bijou Theater on February ninety three, and it 234 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: put Fry on the map. Reviews talked about how the 235 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,720 Speaker 1: show dragged until Fry showed up, and then it became delightful. 236 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: The next morning, Dwight and Laura read the reviews together 237 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: over Breakfast, and based on the success of Rita Coventry, 238 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: brock Pemberton signed twenty four year old Dwight Fry to 239 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: a five year contract. From then, his career continued with 240 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: a series of other well received performances. He also returned 241 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: as a featured guest to the Colonial Players in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 242 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: in the summer of nineteen twenty three, and he was 243 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: the darling of that summer season. He even reprised his 244 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: role in read A Coventry with that stock company. The 245 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: musical comedy Sitting Pretty debuted on Broadway on April eighth, 246 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: nineteen four, and as the start Dwight delighted critics and audiences. 247 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 1: It was during this time that powerful critic Charles A. 248 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: Collins lauded Fry as the next John Barrymore. Yeah. At 249 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: one point he was actually put on the list of 250 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: like the the ten best Stars of Broadway, which was 251 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: pretty huge at the time. Uh In the melodrama Puppets, 252 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: Dwight played a villain, a white slaver named Frank Mohacks. 253 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: This was a departure from the roles that he had 254 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: been playing up to that point because he had done 255 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: a lot of musicals and a lot of comedy and 256 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: light fare, and the critics and audiences adored him in 257 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: this villainous role. This was followed by the show A 258 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: Man's Man in nineteen five, which is a story about 259 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 1: a married couple who yearns for more in the ways 260 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:53,239 Speaker 1: that their desires are twisted by others for their own designs. 261 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: While Dwight Fry had been lauded and praised for his 262 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: work up to that point, A Man's Man truly made 263 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: him a star there of views were all praise, and 264 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: Dwight called it one of his favorite roles. A Man's 265 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: Man ran for a hundred and twenties shows, and Dwight's 266 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: co star in the play, Josephine Hutchinson, later talked about 267 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: how immersed Fry would become in the role, and as 268 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: since he was method acting before that was a common 269 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: technique of actors. She once told writer Gregory William mank 270 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: quote Dwight would come into the theater and so hypnotize 271 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: himself into his role every night that I was afraid 272 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: he'd kill me. Yeah, he was. He was an immersion 273 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: actor all the way, beginning at the end of ninety 274 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: six and running well into Dwight was in a comedy play, 275 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: the title of which utterly charms me. It was The 276 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: Devil in the Cheese. This play a plot as nutty 277 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: as one might expect, with an Egyptian god appearing to 278 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: grant one of the characters a wish after that man 279 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: eats a piece of mummified two thousand year old cheese. 280 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: I feel like this is a cautionary tale about our 281 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 1: unearthed episode. In the cast, along with Dwight, Fry, was 282 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: also a foreign born actor whose career would end up 283 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: tied to Dwight's down the road, and that was Baila Lugosi. 284 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: Both Lugosi and Fry got the best reviews of the cast, 285 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: but they didn't become friends. After The Devil and the 286 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: Cheese ended its successful run, Lugosi went on to start 287 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: in the Broadway production of Dracula, and Dwight Fry went 288 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: on to a whole string of jobs, some successful and 289 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: some not, but he was consistently reviewed positively. Yeah, he 290 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: was one of those actors that even if the play 291 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: was a clunker, they would always go. But Dwight Fry 292 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: was great, Like he was kind of the saving grace 293 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: of a lot of shows in Dwight had great success 294 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: in Mima, this time as another villain, a very cruel 295 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: pimp with the nickname Alphonse the Spider. And the reviews 296 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: of that play, which was set in Hell and had 297 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: a constant swirl of rumors about how the entire cast 298 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 1: nearly had nervous breakdowns from the way that the rehearsals 299 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: had been run. We're Not Good I was not well 300 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: reviewed at all, but the dark nature of the material 301 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: and the spectacle of the production, it was one of 302 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: those shows where the sets were really lavish and expensive, 303 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: continued to draw audiences. It made a ton of money 304 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: and was a huge success, and it ran for a 305 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty shows. On August first night, Dwight and 306 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 1: Laura got married, they honeymooned in Bermuda. Her career was 307 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: also really blossoming, and during the run of Mima, she 308 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: was in rehearsals and opening a Broadway show called Congratulations 309 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: that opened in April nine and it ran for thirty 310 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: nine shows. After a very successful in NY nine season 311 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: for dwightt in New York, he opted to once again 312 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: returned to the Colonial Players in July of nineteen twenty 313 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: nine for another guest engagement there, and at the end 314 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: of nineteen twenty nine, Dwight's Broadway career was undeniably successful, 315 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: but as the Wall Street Crash through New York into 316 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 1: a tailspin because a lot of the people that were 317 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: paying for Broadway tickets were suddenly without money, Hollywood beckoned 318 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: to a lot of theater actors. Dwight and Laura moved 319 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: to Los Angeles, and Dwight started acting in l a plays, 320 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: starting with Ropes And which was based on a nine 321 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: murder case. And just as he had in New York, 322 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: Fry received praise for his work and soon was making 323 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: a name for himself as a character actor. He also 324 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,479 Speaker 1: appeared in a revival of A Man's Man. All that 325 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 1: positive critical attention that he was getting on stage paid 326 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: off when Dwight started getting his first film roles. He 327 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: first played a gangster in The Doorway to Hell in 328 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty, followed by a larger role in Man to 329 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: Man later that same year. As nineteen thirty came to 330 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: an end, dwight fries life had two big events unfolding. One, 331 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: he and Laura were expecting a child, and two he 332 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: was cast as Renfield in Universal's Dracula. Draculus started shooting 333 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: on September twenty ninety, and, just as with any other role, 334 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: Dwight really threw himself into it and the Bram Stoker novel, 335 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: the stage play and film were adapted from. Renfield is 336 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: described in the fictional Journal of Dr Seward in the 337 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: following way quote sanguine temperament, rate, physical strength, morbidly excitable, 338 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: periods of gloom ending in some fixed idea which I 339 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: cannot make out. And Fry's portrayal of Renfield is a 340 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: roller coaster of madness, from these really quiet and heartbreaking 341 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,720 Speaker 1: weeping moments to wide eyed delirium driven by being in 342 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 1: this role of Lugosi's very seductive vampire. Fry in this 343 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 1: part always reminds me of kind of a clenched jaw, 344 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: and I've always described it that way, and then I 345 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: was rewatching it prepping for this, and I realized it's 346 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: because he has this posture where he leans slightly forward 347 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: from his upper body and he is sort of like 348 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,159 Speaker 1: clenching his jawn, pushing it forward. But he does that 349 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,399 Speaker 1: physicality in such a way that that's just how the 350 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 1: whole role feels to me Laura traveled back to Spokane, 351 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: Washington to give birth, while Dwight stayed in Hollywood for 352 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: any reshoots that would be required at the end of 353 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: Dracula's production. Their son, Dwight David Fry, was born the 354 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: day after Christmas, December. Laura and the baby stayed in 355 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: Spokane for six weeks before heading back to Los Angeles 356 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: so that Dwight could meet his new son, who they 357 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: nicknamed Buddy. Yeah, she had been in Spokane because her 358 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: family was there, and because of shooting. She knew Dwight 359 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: would not necessarily be able to help her out a 360 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: lot and wait on her as she might need in 361 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: her recovery, So that's why she was in Spokane's for 362 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: so long. And we're going to talk about the release 363 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: of Dracula and the films that Fry worked on after 364 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 1: it in just a moment, But first we're gonna pause 365 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:35,120 Speaker 1: for a little sponsor break. When Dracula was wide released 366 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: on Valentine's Day of it was an instant hit. It 367 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 1: sold out show after show across the country, and it 368 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 1: made Baila Legosi a star. And for Dwight Fry, it 369 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,240 Speaker 1: got the attention of casting directors. He was cast in 370 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: supporting roles after it in The Black Camel and The 371 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: Maltese Falcon. Immediately following Dracula's opening success, then there was Frankenstein. Initially, 372 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: there was something of a false start. Dwight was called 373 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 1: in for a test by writer director Robert Floury Legosi 374 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:09,399 Speaker 1: was in the same test as Dr Frankenstein's monster. Fry 375 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: was auditioning for the role of Fritz, who was a 376 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 1: hunchback dwarf who didn't appear in the original novel but 377 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: was added for the stage adaptation. Yeah, and then he 378 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: was included when that stage adaptation was adapted for film. 379 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 1: Flory's test for Frankenstein is something of a controversy in 380 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: film history. Floory always claimed that the test went great, 381 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: but stories have persisted that in fact, it was a 382 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: big problem. It was unintentionally comedic, and Lugosi was super 383 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 1: angry about the whole thing and felt that the role, 384 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: at least as it was written for that test sequence, 385 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,439 Speaker 1: was beneath him, and so the movie fell through for 386 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: a variety of reasons. Dwight, in the meantime, had to 387 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: mortgage his car to make ends meet. But then former 388 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: podcast subject James Whale decided to take on Frankenstein. He 389 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: reworked the project, cast Boris Karloff as the monster, and 390 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: started shooting in August one. Fry remained in the role 391 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,439 Speaker 1: of Fritz, stealing a brain for Dr Frankenstein's project and 392 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: then later taunting the monster mercilessly. As he had done 393 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: on previous roles. Dwight would not drop out of character 394 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: once he was in makeup, so he often frightened the 395 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: cast and crew just by sort of lurking around the set. UH. 396 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: This was in contrast to Boris Karlov, who if you 397 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: look around online for very long, you will find pictures 398 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: of this. But he took tea and he smoked, and 399 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: he played with animals in between takes, all in that 400 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: full monster makeup UH, and filming wrapped on October three, 401 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: November twenty the film premiere through a series of soft 402 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: openings before moving to the larger New York and l 403 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,159 Speaker 1: A markets, and that was done because Universal was actually 404 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: concerned that it might be too frightening, and they wanted 405 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: to see how it played in small release first. They 406 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: didn't need to worry, though. Frankenstein was an even bigger 407 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: hit than Dracula had been. But at this point, audiences 408 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: who had never seen Dwight Fry a year earlier had 409 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: now seen him in two horror films, both times playing 410 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: mad men back to back. He might have been able 411 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 1: to do it all on stage for musical theater to 412 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: serious drama, but some movie goers he was only the 413 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: sort of creepy madman henchman type person. Yeah, kind of 414 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: bit him on the tail. Being as good as he was, 415 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: Dwight had mounting pressure as a provider at home. His 416 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: father had died and his mother moved to California to 417 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: live with his family in the Hollywood Hills. And he 418 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: did get work. He had a series of bit parts 419 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 1: in medium success films, but he was already suffering from typecasting. 420 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: In Threes The Vampire Bat he played a simpleton named 421 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: Herman who kept bats as pets. Uh and Herman is 422 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: wrongfully scapegoaded in the plot for a series of murders. 423 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: It's very charming. I really love them The Vampire Bat 424 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: Um And there is one of the best um shock 425 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,400 Speaker 1: takes in that movie ever by one of the actresses 426 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: in a scene with Dwight Fry, in my opinion, and 427 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 1: it is a parent from this movie that already Hollywood 428 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: saw this multi talented and musically skilled actor, Dwight Fry 429 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: in just the one way. He really missed getting to 430 00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: play different characters, so he started stage acting again. He 431 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: started living something of a by Coast of life, traveling 432 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,360 Speaker 1: back and forth from l A to New York, touring 433 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 1: plays and still working in film, although his film roles 434 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 1: continued to generally be these creepy, weirdo characters. In a way, 435 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: he was living two lives in the early nineteen thirties 436 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: in l A. He had a typecast movie career, and 437 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: then back on Broadway and in tours of the East Coast. 438 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,680 Speaker 1: He continued to impress theater goers with his range, but 439 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: somehow he could never get these two worlds to intersect. Yeah, 440 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: it's so strange because he was so talented in so 441 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,480 Speaker 1: many ways, and it really come up doing comedy. So 442 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 1: to then only get the one type of role over 443 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: and over and over in Hollywood was really frustrating. But 444 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: then he got offered a role as a good guy. 445 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: It was still in a horror movie that's still fresh. 446 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: Genre was all the rage at the time, and it 447 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: was called The Crime of Dr Crespy. Along with Eric 448 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: von Stroheim, although after the picture was finished, it kind 449 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: of lingered for a while without a release date until 450 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: it was finally put out in In the meantime, James 451 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 1: Whale made his second Frankenstein movie, which eventually became the 452 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,399 Speaker 1: Bride of Frankenstein, and he conjured apart for Dwight by 453 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: cobbling together three smaller roles. Dwight had really loved working 454 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 1: with James Whale, so he was really happy to do 455 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: another horror film with him as the character of Carl, 456 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: for I got a chance to be comedic and scary 457 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: and to have a really fabulous death scene. Whale's second 458 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: Frankenstein movie was a huge success. Yeah. In interviews with 459 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,360 Speaker 1: Dwight Fry's son, his son will often talk about how 460 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: he really credits James Whale was sort of saving them 461 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: at a time when they were really desperate and he 462 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 1: really needed acting work. And then he got cast, of 463 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: course in Frankenstein. So yeah, he really thought the world 464 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: of James Whale. Dwight's options on Broadway uh started to dwindle, 465 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 1: so he started spending more time in Hollywood playing these 466 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: bit parts and often wondering how actors who had stood 467 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: in his shadow on the New York Stage had more 468 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: successful careers when they moved out to California than he did. 469 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:17,880 Speaker 1: We talked in our James Wale episodes about the nineteen 470 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,120 Speaker 1: thirty seven film The Road Back, which was heavily edited 471 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,120 Speaker 1: to avoid losing the German market because of its anti 472 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,159 Speaker 1: Nazi message. Dwight Fry had a bit part in this film, 473 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,159 Speaker 1: and just as Wales's film was cut down, so was 474 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,879 Speaker 1: Dwight's career. But it wasn't because of his involvement in 475 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: this movie. He had just never really caught on as 476 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: a screen actor that would be billed as a major player. 477 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: Fry played an unsettling character on the l A Stage 478 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,919 Speaker 1: in eight in a play called Night Must Fall. His 479 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: former director from Spokane, Washington, Odie Woodward, directed him in 480 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: the part of a man who carried a woman's head 481 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: around in a box, and that play ran at l 482 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: A's Mason Opera House in May of that year. In 483 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 1: the summer of nine, team thirty eight, the Regina Movie 484 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: Theater in Los Angeles was really struggling. The sixt venue 485 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,920 Speaker 1: wasn't selling tickets, and in a desperate move, the manager 486 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: e Mark Human booked a horror triple bill as kind 487 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: of a stunt in the late summer. So starting in 488 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,800 Speaker 1: August of that year, they started showing Son of Kong, Dracula, 489 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 1: and Frankenstein on one ticket. For some reason, this became 490 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 1: one of the most popular tickets in Los Angeles, with 491 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: lines around the block in the theater, running the bill 492 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: at all hours and still selling out and turning away customers. 493 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: I have a side theory about why this was so successful, 494 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: and it harkens back to our air conditioning episode. So 495 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: if you could pay for one ticket and get like 496 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: five hours of air conditioning, wouldn't you do it? Sure 497 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: would for movies that had been really popular already, so 498 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,959 Speaker 1: there was I mean a little bit of nostalgia. It 499 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,679 Speaker 1: was only like eight years for some of them, but 500 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: I think that might have contributed to why that was 501 00:26:56,280 --> 00:27:00,679 Speaker 1: so successful again August in Los Angeles. So this event 502 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: really reinvigorated the careers of Lugosi and Karlov and Dwight 503 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 1: Fry was hoping for a similar lift. He actually took 504 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: his son to one of these shows, and he was 505 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 1: a little bit disappointed that Buddy enjoyed himself, but was 506 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:14,639 Speaker 1: not the least bit scared. He was kind of hoping 507 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 1: that Renfield would inspire just a little bit of terror, 508 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: and instead his son just thought it was amazing and fun. 509 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,120 Speaker 1: Dwight was cast in Son of Frankenstein, which was funded 510 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 1: in the hopes of cashing in on the new wave 511 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: of interest in these older universal horror pictures, but by 512 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: the time the film was edited, Fry's small part was 513 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: completely removed from it. In one Dracula was staged in 514 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: Los Angeles at the Bow Arts Theater, and for that 515 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,399 Speaker 1: stage production for I reprised his role of Renfield. He 516 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 1: also continued to take bit parts in films, and he 517 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,680 Speaker 1: actually appears in a short film called Don't Talk, which 518 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 1: was made in two and was nominated for an Oscar 519 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: that year. But that was like a small bright light 520 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: in a dimming career. He needed to make ends meet, 521 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: so he took a job at the Douglas Eric Draft 522 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,160 Speaker 1: Factory and worked there as a tool designer at night. 523 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,680 Speaker 1: During the day, he continued to look for acting jobs. 524 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,879 Speaker 1: A really good acting opportunity came along when he was 525 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: offered the role of Alexander Hamilton's in the Broadway play 526 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: The Patriots, but he turned it down. He wasn't willing 527 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: to leave the family or leave his job at Douglas 528 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: during wartime. It was a really difficult decision though. Yeah, 529 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 1: it's described by his son is like a very heartbreaking 530 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 1: decision for him to make. Uh. And Dwight's last horror 531 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: picture was Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman. It was made in 532 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: nineteen three, and that was followed the same year by 533 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: two uncredited performances in Hangman Also Die and Dangerous Blonds. 534 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: His wife Laura picked up work as a store clerk 535 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: to keep the family afloat. Finally, in late nineteen forty three, 536 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 1: there was a ray of light. Fry was cast in 537 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: a Woodrow Wilson biopic that was called Wilson. This was 538 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: it twentieth Century Fox. He had the smallest role of 539 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: Wilson's Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker. But Fox was 540 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: putting a lot of money into this movie. It was 541 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: going to be their big offering of and it would 542 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: be Fry's first color picture. Yeah, he was pretty excited 543 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: that this was gonna kind of relaunch his career. And 544 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 1: on the night of November seven, Dwight took his wife 545 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: Laura and their son Buddy to the Pantageous Theater to 546 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: watch an r KO double bill of a Lady Takes 547 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: a Chance and Sherlock Holmes Faces Death. Sets in that 548 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: Sherlock Holmes picture were actually from films that Fry had 549 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: been in. There was a set in it from Dracula 550 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: and another from Frankenstein. When the evening's entertainment was over, 551 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: the family walked to a bus stop at Hollywood and Vine. 552 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: They boarded the bus back home, but just after they 553 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: got on, d White collapsed in the aisle. An ambulance 554 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: was called. He was taken to Hollywood Receiving Hospital, where 555 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 1: he died shortly after arrival. He was forty four and 556 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: had been really hopeful that his acting career was once 557 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: again about to get underway, but he had died of 558 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 1: a heart attack. His death certificate was that his profession 559 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: as tool designer in reference to this work he was 560 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: doing in the aircraft industry. And while Dwight's death was 561 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: a surprise to virtually everyone, he had actually known for 562 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: a while that he had a heart condition. He had 563 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: had two minor heart attacks at work at the factory, 564 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: and he never told his family about them, and he 565 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: swore his coworkers to secrecy because he believed that he 566 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: would be healed through faith, so he never sought any 567 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: medical attention. He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale. 568 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: So it's a very sad end for Dwight Fry because 569 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,960 Speaker 1: he was very young, and I feel like he probably 570 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: could have done a lot more interesting work. Uh. And 571 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 1: like I said, I really enjoy him in a lot 572 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 1: of movies, so I'm bummed that we don't have more 573 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: of them. Uh. He It's kind of interesting. He had 574 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: never in his life gotten fan mail, and it wasn't 575 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,920 Speaker 1: until after he died that his family started receiving fan 576 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: mail for his work, so he kind of got recognized 577 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: after he had passed, but not during his lifetime. Dwight 578 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: for I, I'm sorry that was a bummer Halloween story. 579 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:09,120 Speaker 1: Well it's also one of those which it doesn't seem 580 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: like it's going to be a bummer and then it 581 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: suddenly is right because it seems like, I mean right 582 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 1: at the end, it really seemed like it was about 583 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: to turn around. Sorry, do you have some listener mail 584 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: for us? That's maybe not a bummer? I do. It's 585 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: it's more of a thank you than a listener mail completely. Uh, 586 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 1: there is mail involved, but I'm not going to read 587 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: it all. It is in tiny script, and I'm not 588 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: confident that I will read it all correctly, but it 589 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: is from our listener Jin. And Jin made a trip 590 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: to the Melton Carnegie Museum and she very very kindly 591 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: sent us a bunch of goodies. So we have um 592 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:50,640 Speaker 1: Melton Carnegie Museum bookmarks and pencils and pens and these 593 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: cute little pocket note pads and even pencil sharpeners. And 594 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: I'm telling you, the weight of my heart is through 595 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,480 Speaker 1: school supplies. So this is heaven. So thank you, thank you, 596 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: thank you so much. Jan. It was an amazing little 597 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: parcel to open. Uh, and I really really enjoyed it, 598 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: and I was glad that she kind of had this 599 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: connection to history UH and Andrew Carnegie's history through our podcast. 600 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: So I thank you very very much. If you would 601 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do so at 602 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,480 Speaker 1: History Podcast at houst works dot com. You can also 603 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,720 Speaker 1: find us pretty much everywhere on social media as Missed 604 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,480 Speaker 1: in History and Missed in History dot com is where 605 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: you can find show notes for any of the episodes 606 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: that Tracy and I have worked on, as well as 607 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 1: a full back catalog archive of every episode of the 608 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: show that has ever existed, so we welcome you to 609 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 1: come and hang out with us at missed in History 610 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: dot com and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, 611 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: Google Play, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. 612 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,360 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 613 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:56,479 Speaker 1: how staff works dot com.