Franchot on Understanding the Acting Profession

Franchot over breakfast. Source: Elmira Star-Gazette.

Reporter Peggy Gallagher interviewed Franchot over breakfast on his first morning in Elmira, New York. He was due to give a presentation on Mark Twain at Elmira College that evening. When asked if he was comfortable portraying older men or father figures, Franchot assured that he felt very comfortable in the role and proudly talked of his sons Pat and Jeff:

And, the rascals! They both want to be actors...A useless profession! Unless you thoroughly understand it, of course. But, I don't see that they'll ever work their way out. They're thoroughly soaked in theater. 

Franchot went on to explain that although he'd prefer "physics, law, chemistry" for his sons, he would not have chosen a different life for himself.

But, that's what I mean—I understand it. Let me explain it this way: entertainment, as a function of escape for the human race, has been in its best times a signpost to the greater aspirations of which the human race is capable...how's that sound for 9:30 in the morning?

When Gallagher pressed for more meaning, Franchot answered:

It means the entertainment business makes dreams real—and it's the dreams of man which have made our world possible.

Franchot went on to share that he preferred the theater over film because of the "immediate relationship with the audience."

And when asked about the high point of his career, Franchot insisted that his high point was still to come.

There was a very wonderful book by the author, Christopher Morley, about a cocker spaniel named Mr. Gissing. Mr. Gissing lived in a valley. He kept looking at the hillside and at the blue beyond. He decided he wanted to climb the hill and find out where the blue began. But when he reached the top, doggone if he didn't find another hill!

The novel that Franchot refers to is Where the Blue Begins and was first published in 1922 and its author also penned the 1939 novel Kitty Foyle, which was brought to the screen with Ginger Rogers in the title role in 1940.

Franchot talked quite a bit with Elmira reporters (here's what he said about politics) and there is more to come about his presentation on Mark Twain!

Source:
Gallagher, Peggy. "Franchot to Give Twain Tone." Elmira Star-Gazette. October 14, 1960.

Childhood Photos and Memories

Tiny Franchot Tone. Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

In May 1937, Walter Ramsey published his authorized biography of Franchot within the pages of Photoplay Magazine. The May issue focused on Franchot's childhood through his high school years. The second volume detailed Franchot's collegiate years and entry into an acting career. Franchot provided some of his favorite memories as well as a joyful abundance of childhood photographs. In the lengthy articles, Franchot recalled a happy, close family life, a home in which he was encouraged to have interests and embrace adventures and causes. His father became more successful with each year. Franchot said:

We started out modestly enough but each time Father was promoted, we moved up the street a notch. We approached the Falls as father approached the presidency of his Carborundum Company of America.

I've noticed these changes in addresses, from 328 Buffalo Avenue to 131 Buffalo Avenue, on census reports and always wondered about that, so now it makes sense!

Franchot was the youngest child of Frank and Gertrude. When Franchot was born, older brother Jerry said the baby's squealing was "something terrible. Bet my cat's caught his tail under the pantry door again."

Tiny Franchot in the snow. Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

Franchot's first taste of being a star came at the age of three. Although Jerry had been practicing a Christmas poem for weeks, he forgot the lines when it came time to recite them at a Christmas party. Franchot, having listened to his brother's practice, recited all the lines by heart for the family and friends gathered there.

Tiny Franchot among the trees. Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

Franchot was a thin, small child with a penchant for mischief. After fishing in the family's goldfish bowl, Franchot received a spanking from his mother. Franchot remembered thinking this punishment was ridiculous and irrational. He's successfully caught a goldfish so why all the fuss?

When Franchot's dad traveled to observe factories in Europe, the whole family went along. Franchot lived in Paris, Cannes, and on the Riviera. It was in France that little Franchot saw his first film, a "flickering, green sort of affair" about cowboys, playing in the hotel lobby and viewed by a little boy peeking from the banister.

Jerry Tone (left) and Franchot Tone (right) with their burro in Arizona.
Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

When Frank came down with a serious illness, the family moved to a more restorative climate in Tucson, Arizona. In Arizona, Jerry and Franchot had a burro, pictured above with Franchot on top and Jerry on the stairs. Franchot shared:

We were never off his back for a moment and the neighborhood kids joined in the fun, too...And I recall this vivid reaction—that while it didn't bother me to ride the burro to death in the daytime, I'd cry about him at night because of the awful way he was treated.

Franchot (left) and Jerry (right).
Franchot has this exact same stance
later in so many film scenes!
Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

When living in Arizona didn't appear to make any changes to Frank's health, the family returned to New York—first to Saranac Lake and then to Franchot's birthplace of Niagara Falls. Eventually, Frank regained his health fully.

Franchot swimming as a child. Source: http://lantern.mediahist.org

Franchot loved wandering off and seeking adventure. Except for writing poems, Franchot didn't care for school very much. Here is one of his childhood compositions:

It reads:

I was going to a schol my 

mother siad I cood not go for 

she siad you wood see there 

something that wood make 

you crie and crie until thie 

one eyess wood be out of 

thie one hed which ye 

see in your one vishuns 

in the night.

O human best, O giv me bak
my hart O didst yee now
yee hast my hart? O giv
me bak my hart; I will neverey be
cinde to yee inlest yee giv
me bak my hart.
-By S.P. Franchot Tone.

Upon return to Niagara Falls, Franchot went to a private school with Miss Otis. Still not much for school, Franchot would lead the rest of the kids down Buffalo Avenue to the Shredded Wheat factory where they would join the groups of tourists that were allowed to sample biscuits with fruit and cream. 

Franchot remembered that his first love was named Alice and he kissed her on the porch when tourists goaded him into it one day. He liked movies, banana splits, Charlie Chaplin, Pearl White, eating, fighting with another gang of kids, and being in charge.

Franchot. Source: Photoplay, May 1937.

When Franchot entered The Hill School (in Pottstown, Pennsylvania) in 1919, he worked on the newspaper and managed the football team. His family moved into a nicer house at 131 Buffalo Avenue and when he came home for the holidays, Franchot liked to cruise around Niagara Falls with a pretty girl by his side in the family Buick. Just as he'd fallen for Alice as a kid, teenaged Franchot now set his eyes on a local girl named Caroline. 

As a teen, Franchot contracted scarlet fever and spent eight weeks in the school infirmary before being sent to specialists in Atlantic City and Philadelphia. It was a long, slow time of recuperation and Franchot felt he was missing out on all the fun. He later reflected:

I was alone so much that I really think that period was a big turning point in my life. I started to read good books. I got a chance to rearrange my outlook on life and people and transpose or change many former ideas and ideals. Where before, I had merely accepted—I began to question everything and find new answers. Many of the ideals I formed at that time are still working for me, unchanged.

Then, in December 1923, Franchot received a letter dismissing him from The Hill School for being a "subtle influence for disorder":

I think I shall never forget that phrase: subtle influence for disorder. I didn't know that the real reason had been a senior class rebellion after I had left for the holiday and that the professors had traced the spirit of the rebellion to me. At that moment, as I read those words, it seemed as though the whole four years of my life at The Hill were passing in review on that small piece of white paper. As though it were unwinding on a motion picture screen, I could see myself waging campaigns for more self government among the students (this was the reason)...agitation for more senior class liberties...my head bowed deeply as I stood outside the church on Sunday awaiting the more devout students with whom I would argue religion vs. agnosticism for hours, later...the long summer twilights and the rendezvous with the 'Town Girls' who would wander out to the edge of town to meet the upperclassmen...those nonchalant affairs somehow became terribly important in retrospect...quick mental flashes of my contempt for rules and the secret satisfaction I got out of shooting-a-smoke in the basement of the professors' building on the very morning the treasurer of the school was showing the insurance salesman how little fire hazard there was about such a building...the happy hours I had spent at the editor's desk of the newspaper and the literary desk of the school magazine...

No, there was nothing they could pin on me definitely—I'd seen to it that I was never caught infringing any rule. But there was my notice. I was fired! There it was on cold, white paper and I had to show it to father. Just before my graduation, too. I remember walking into my father's study, handing him the paper, and walking slowly upstairs to my room. 

Franchot at 20. Source: Cornell University Yearbook.

Franchot's older brother Jerry had the idea for Franchot to take this opportunity to test and enter Cornell University early. (Jerry was already a student at Cornell.) Franchot passed all his exams. Soon, Franchot was an active member (and later president) of Cornell's dramatic club. Three students joined Franchot in renting a house that they named "The Little Gray Home in the West." Franchot said:

If that paints a quiet, sentimental picture, it's a false one. If The Little Gray House could talk, it would certainly have tales to tell of Saturday night beer busts, of dishes that were never washed, floors that were left unswept and of a big, blazing fireplace that soon became the focal point of every mentally undigested idea or notion in the clan. We had grand times, great talks and sometimes a heavy beer hang-over. The four of us did almost everything—including joining the Book & Bowl Club and acquring a model T Ford. When a fire broke out in The Little Gray Home, we spent three winter weeks with nothing but a canvas flap over the burned-away front door. And I'll never forget the night my Ford went "nuts" and chased the night watchman all over the campus—well, no one knows the truth of that little incident but the model T and myself.

Franchot at 22. Source: Cornell University Yearbook.

Several years into his Cornell education, Franchot enrolled in a French school and spent weekends with a Yvonne whom he described as a "cute little girl at Zelli's in Montmartre. There, at a small table in a far and dimly-lighted corner, we'd sit over a bottle of wine and she would speak to me in French. I learned a lot from her—about French, I mean—and I grew rather fond of her in the bargain."

You can read more about Franchot's childhood and school years in these earlier posts:

Childhood of FT

Family

~I think this definitely wins Most Adorable Post in this blog's 4.5 year history for all these childhood Franchot pics. What a cutie! I squeaked when I saw the first photo while swiping through the online Photoplay archives. I'm so glad Franchot shared these photos and stories with Walter Ramsey! ~

Sources:

Ramsey, Walter. "The Intimate Life of a Gentleman Rebel." Photoplay. May 1937.

Ramsey, Walter. "The Intimate Life of a Gentleman Rebel." Photoplay. June 1937.

Franchot in North Carolina

Last month, I was searching digital archives in California and New York and coming up with the same articles and photos I've seen time and again. I took a chance and searched my home state of North Carolina's digital archives, which I've never thought to do for Franchot before. And...

Franchot visiting Pat on campus.
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photographic Laboratory Collection #P0031,
North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I was finding Franchot all over again! I knew that Franchot's oldest son Pat attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but never even considered Franchot was sitting right in their archives.

Franchot visited Pat on campus in April 1964 and, fortunately for us, photos were taken of father and son and Franchot was interviewed by the local paper.

Franchot said:

Well, I just couldn't resist an opportunity to come down to Chapel Hill and spend a pleasant week with my son, Pat. Of course, since I've been here, I've been wearing out the pavement between the Carolina Inn and Swain Hall, and the only chance I've had to see Pat is during meals.

When asked about his acting career, Franchot said:

 ...just one of those things that happened. I was exposed to the old silent movies and I also had the opportunity of seeing a number of stage plays. After I would see a picture or a play, I used to go home and stand in front of a mirror and act out scenes for myself...Nowadays, an actor works in all the media. There are differences, of course. The stage actor must act with his whole body because the audience always sees him that way. In films and, to a large extent in television, the acting is in his eyes.

And what did Franchot think of Pat, who had been in several university plays, becoming an actor? Franchot smiled:

Who knows? He seems to have the bug, but he may come to his senses.

The reporter summarized his meeting with Franchot by writing:

By his own admission, he has found a full and complete life in acting, and he went out for the final rehearsal with an air of confidence and satisfaction which indicated he was doing the thing he loved best.

Franchot visiting Pat on campus. 
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photographic Laboratory Collection #P0031, 
North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In a separate article, the Daily Tar Heel examined how the son of a movie star came to study in North Carolina. Bob Quincy reported that sophomore Pat Tone was making a name for himself with a javelin at UNC-Chapel Hill. The coach commented that Pat was "strong and works hard."

Quincy noted:

Pat and his actor dad spent several weeks together here recently...He and his son are quite close and spent many hours enjoying the good life. The Tones have a track background, and it began at the same institution. Both attended the Hill School in New Jersey*. Papa Franchot was a manager of the track team in his time. Pat excelled in weights and dashes.

*My note: The Hill School was actually in Pennsylvania. 

The javelin caught Pat's eye after watching UCLA athletes when visiting his mother Jean Wallace and he chose to move to North Carolina because a lot of his peers were moving south to attend school. Franchot must've approved this choice, because Pat notes:

Dad had gone to Cornell. But he is a very good friend of Paul Green, the playwright, who lives near the Carolina campus. They have worked together on many projects.

Shakespeare: A Portrait

I was already thrilled to my core to find these two articles and two photographs, but there's more! While he was in town, Franchot appeared in the university's 90-minute television show commemorating William Shakepeare's 400th birthday anniversary. The show was entitled Shakespeare: A Portrait and aired on the local WUNC-TV on April 23, 1964. It seems that the Chairman of the Department of Radio, Television and Motion Pictures requested Franchot's participation and Franchot accepted. Franchot praised the students and crew that worked with him on the project. I was unaware of this production and am now digging into whether or not a recording or photographs of it still exist in the university or WUNC-TV archives.

Sources: 
Digital NC: http://www.digitalnc.org/
Digital Public Library of America:  https://dp.la/
Hardy, William M. "Tone Kills 2 Birds with 1 Stone." The Daily Tar Heel. April 19, 1964.
Quincy, Bob. "Former Actor's Son Goes Own Way with NC Javelin." The Daily Tar Heel. April 18, 1964.

Gatineau Treasure

Last year, I wrote about Franchot's ties to the Gatineau region of Quebec. Franchot always spoke fondly of his time outdoors fishing on the Thirty-One Mile lakes, hunting in the woods, and relaxing in his cabin there. Franchot escaped his hectic life in Hollywood by returning to this region and shared its beauty with all four wives, spending several of his honeymoons here. It's easily one of my favorite aspects of Franchot's life to research, because it's so in contrast to the gentleman role in which he was often typecast and because it seems like such a joyous place for him. My original detailed post on the Tone family cabin and Franchot's visits can be found here. Franchot's fourth wife Dolores Dorn described her honeymoon there and I wrote about that here.

Recently, multiple 16 mm film of home movies belonging to Franchot's brother, Jerry, were up for auction on eBay. Most of the film was dedicated to Jerry's family with glimpses of Franchot's parents here and there. I didn't see any indication that Franchot would appear in most of the reels. Then, I saw one small preview picture of a 1938 reel from Gatineau and there he was with a huge grin on his face fishing from a boat. There was also a separate film of Gatineau from 1935, but I doubted Franchot would pop up there because '35 was a busy year for him. I bid on both despite the fact that I have no means to play or transfer 16 mm film. My plan was to find a way to transfer the film to digital, so that I could share the videos here. I bid as high as I felt I could, but a more competitive bidder took it home instead. eBay can be quite an emotional roller coaster! Ever since the auction ended, I've gone back and forth between devastation that I didn't bid just a little bit higher and relief that I didn't bid above my means.

Sadly, I didn't win but my hope is that the person who did win was either 1. Franchot's family (and if so, I apologize for the bidding war!) 2. a library or archive or  3. a fan like me who plans to transfer the film for others to enjoy.

I did, however, save the preview shots that were posted on eBay and they give a wonderful view of life at Franchot's family cabin in Canada!

From the 1938 color reel:

Franchot fishing. I love this candid shot!

 

Franchot with his father Frank J. Tone

 



Franchot's father Frank J. Tone and brother Jerry

 

I did not see any indication that Franchot appears in the '35 film, but it still gives a wonderful view of what vacation life was like for the Tones there. From the 1935 black and white reel:



Franchot's father Frank J. Tone with other family members

Don't forget that my Franchot Tone Blogathon happens later this week! Check back this weekend for great entries on Mr. Tone from multiple bloggers.

A Political Ancestry: Franchot & Politics

For this week's (belated) entry into my Franchot & Politics series, I'd like to share with you some biographical sketches on the political figures of Franchot's maternal family. Franchot's grandfather and great grandfather held Republican seats in the Senate and Congress, respectively. Franchot's mother was a progressive liberal who fought for women's equality and was an anti-war activist. Franchot's uncles also had political positions.

Note: Since Franchot is the given name of the main subject of this blog and the surname of his ancestors, I will avoid confusion by using Franchot Tone's ancestors given names. Also, Franchot Tone's full name was Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone, a name passed down through generations. In some sources, I've seen Pascal spelled as Paschal. For the purposes of this blog, I am going to stick with the spelling that Franchot Tone used: Pascal.

Richard Hansen Franchot (1816-1875)-Franchot's Great Grandfather

Richard Hansen Franchot, Franchot Tone's great grandfather.
Source: www.geni.com

Born in Otsego County, New York in 1816, Richard Franchot was the well-educated son of French emigrant Stanislaus Pascal Franchot. A civil engineer, Richard was engaged in mercantile and manufacturing before becoming a member of the Thirty-seventh Congress, representing the Nineteenth District of New York from 1861 to 1863. He had also served as a general in the U.S. Volunteers.

His business and civil engineering interests led Richard to help form the New York Central railroad and become an important member of the Pacific Railroad Committee.  After leaving Congress, Richard was hired by railroad magnate Collis Huntington to lobby Congress to enact legislation that would support the Central Pacific. Author Stephen E. Ambrose, in his book Nothing Like It in the World, suggests that Richard Franchot was more than likely the first paid lobbyist and that he made quite a lot of money in this new role.

This description of Richard in Notable Men in the House is reminiscent of some comments I've read about his great grandson Franchot:

And notwithstanding his quiet ways and unpretending manners, he was well known in the political canvasses of those days as an intelligent and effective platform-champion of his party. Although born and bred a gentleman, and accustomed from infancy to the most refined and elevating associations, he early learned to know and appreciate the great, true heart of the masses, and the people loved him; and in this was the mighty secret of his political success and power.

Stanislaus Pascal Franchot (1851-1908)-Franchot's Grandfather

Stanislaus P. Franchot, Franchot Tone's grandfather.
Source: National Library of Canada.

Stanislaus Pascal Franchot, often referred to in print as S.P., was the son of Congressman Richard H. Franchot. A civil engineer by education, S.P. was involved in lumber, oil producing, mining, and chemical businesses. He patented an electrolyte process for manufacturing and managed the National Electrolyte Company.  A police commissioner in Niagara Falls in the early 1900's, S.P. was elected to the State Senate, representing the Forty-seventh Senate District, in 1906.

S.P.'s brother Nicholas Van Vranken Franchot (1855-1943) was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in the 1890's and in 1905, was appointed New York State Superintendent of Public Works. N.V.V. Franchot also served as mayor of Olean, New York.

S.P.'s children were Edward Eells Franchot, Nicholas Van Vranken Franchot II, and Gertrude Van Vranken Franchot (Franchot Tone's mother.)

S.P. passed down the political involvement he had acquired from his father Richard. Son Edward was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention and son Nicholas was a member of the New York State Assembly.

Gertrude Van Vranken Franchot Tone (1876-1953)-Franchot's Mother

Gertrude Franchot Tone, Franchot's mother.
Source:The New Movie Magazine.

Like her father and grandfather before her, Gertrude Franchot was passionate about politics. Unlike the male Franchots, however, Gertrude was a progressive liberal who was an early champion for women's rights. 

Gertrude led the Suffragists' State Convention in 1917. Involved in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915, Gertrude was a key member during the formation of the Women's Peace Society in 1919. Gertrude became an active member and served as treasurer of the new Women's Peace Union of the Western Hemisphere in the 1920's. According to a letter the union submitted to The Nation in 1921, members differentiated the two groups in this manner: The Women's Peace Society focused on education while the new Women's Peace Union would work on "political and economic lines." To join the Women's Peace Union, Gertrude made the following affirmation:

I affirm it is my intention never to aid in or sanction war, offensive or defensive, international or civil, in any way, whether by making or handling munitions, subscribing to war loans, using my labor for the purpose of setting others free for war service, helping by money or work any relief organization which supports or condones war.

Not content to be the stay-at-home wife of wealthy businessman Frank J. Tone, Gertrude welcomed WPU-related travel to Washington, D.C. and New York City. A financial advisor for the union, Gertrude was often in charge of lobbying for the group.

I've read that when Franchot was in NYC he would avoid dining at restaurants where his mother publicly crusaded. I don't know if that's true or not. Gertrude certainly seemed to live an interesting personal and political life (I requested some additional books that mention Gertrude, but they did not arrive at my library in time for this post.) Franchot contributed to many war relief organizations and sold war bonds during World War II, so I wonder if, given his mother's formal affirmation to the WPU, Franchot's support caused any minor or major rift with Gertrude. It would seem to me that Gertrude would've disliked Franchot's role as a WWII pilot in Pilot No. 5, but liked his non-fighting pacifist in The Hour Before the Dawn.

Franchot Tone and the Screen Actors' Guild

As you can see, Franchot Tone came from a long line of politicians and political activists. The Franchot family was involved in many historic American moments. Richard Franchot helped form and support the Transcontinental Railroad and his granddaughter Gertrude fought for women's right to vote. Franchot must have been shaped by his ancestors' political history. By pursuing a career as an actor, Franchot broke the chain of political positions, but never abandoned his well-versed knowledge in political history and support of social causes. Many of his films and plays take place in a political setting or take on political issues. Also, Franchot was active in the Screen Actors' Guild.

In 1937, Franchot joined the negotiating committee of the Screen Actors' Guild and fought (and succeeded) to get the Guild officially recognized by studio heads. He served as a prominent board member of SAG until the following by-law was passed in 1946:

no actor or actress who becomes a motion picture producer or director and who, in the judgment of the Board of Directors after a hearing and full examination of the facts, is found to have primarily and continually the interest of an employer, rather than that of an actor, shall hold office in the Screen Actors Guild.

Once this resolution was passed, Franchot, James Cagney, Dick Powell, Robert Montgomery, John Garfield, Harpo Marx, and Dennis O'Keefe all resigned. Since the resigned Robert Montgomery had been long-time president, the board of directors held a secret vote and replaced Montgomery with future U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

Next week, I'll be covering the 1962 Preminger film Advise & Consent, in which Franchot plays the president, for Pop Culture Reverie's Hail to the Chief Blogathon. Additional posts I've written in my Franchot & Politics series include:

The Nixon Luncheon

Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

Franchot Targeted in the Blacklist

Sources:

• Alonso, Harriet Hyman. The Women's Peace Union and the Outlawry of War, 1921-1942. Syracuse University Press, 1989.
• Ambrose, Stephen E. Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. Simon and Schuster, 2000.
• "Franchot Family of New York." Political Graveyard. www.politicalgraveyard.com/families/18090.html
• Glyndon, Howard. Notable Men in the House: A series of sketches of prominent men in the House of Representatives, members of the Thirty-seventh Congress. Baker & Godwin, 1862.
• Greiner, James. Subdued by the Sword: A Line Officer in the 121st New York Volunteers. SUNY Press, 2012.
• Guide to the Mary E. Gawthorpe Papers. The Taminent Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_275/
• Hills, Frederick Simon. New York State Men: Biographical Studies and Character Portraits. Argus Company, 1910.
• Hoffman, Ethel. "Pamp Tone Makes Good." The New Movie Magazine. October 1934. 54-55.
• Hubbard, John T. and James W. Geary. Biographical Dictionary of the Union: Northern Leaders of the Civil War. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995.
• Richard Hansen Franchot Genealogy. https://www.geni.com/people/Brevet-Brig-General-Richard-Franchot-USA/6000000012697659426
• Screen Actors' Guild Timeline: 1930's. http://www.sagaftra.org/sag-timeline-1930s
• Screen Actors' Guild Timeline: 1940's. http://www.sagaftra.org/sag-timeline-1940s
• "The Women's Peace Union of the Western Hemisphere." The Nation. September 21, 1921. 321.

Franchot's Ties to the Gatineau Fish & Game Club

"I love every stick and stone in this wonderful country."

Spurred on by an interesting discussion with Ann on the Finding Franchot Facebook page (thanks, Ann!), I've been researching Franchot's ties to the Gatineau Fish & Game Club in Ottawa for the past few weeks. I have always been intrigued by Franchot's connection to the Canadian wilderness, because the land and activities there seemed to be such an important part of Franchot's life. I love that Franchot had this love of land, solitude, and survival so deeply embedded in him and how greatly it contradicts those journalists and critics who incorrectly peg Franchot as a rich playboy and little else. My research is by no means complete, but I thought you might like to see what I've discovered so far.

Background
The Gatineau Valley Historical Society has published many interesting articles on the Franchot and Tone families in its Up the Gatineau! publication. Archie Pennie and Carol Martin, in their article "A Century of the Gatineau Fish and Game Club," described S.P. Franchot's (Franchot Tone's grandfather) involvement:

On March 5th, 1894, four Quebec businessmen met in Hull, Quebec and decided to form a hunting and fishing club on Pemichangan and Thirty-One Mile Lakes in northern Quebec. They were Alexander Maclaren of Buckingham, and Dr. W. F. Scott, Charles Leduc and J. M. McDougall of Hull. The original membership included four others to make a total of eight charter members: Albert Maclaren of Buckingham, S. P. Franchot of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and John Scott and Joseph Bourque of Hull. On June 27, 1894, a meeting of the stockholders was held and it was agreed that the Club should lease these two lakes from the Quebec Government for a period of ten years at a rate of $500 per annum. Incorporation of the Gatineau Fish and Game Club dates from November 16 of that year.

Pennie and Martin's full article, which goes into detail about the Club and its early days, can be found online here.

Franchot's maternal grandfather S.P. Franchot was an impressive man. The son of a congressman, S.P. would be a civil engineer, businessman, patent holder for his electrolyte process, and senator before his death in 1908.

In various early Hollywood articles, Franchot Tone mentions spending his childhood summers in Canada and in 1937, Franchot's father Frank Jerome Tone purchased additional property (the estate of W.W. Butler) on the club limits.

Newspaper Mentions of Franchot's Involvement
From the Montreal Gazette on July 23, 1940:

When Franchot Tone wants a holiday he picks for real pleasure a fishing trip in Ontario…Mr. Tone arrived at St. Hubert Airport yesterday afternoon, visited Montreal briefly and left by plane for Ottawa at 7 o’clock. In Ottawa he is to meet his father, Frank J. Tone, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the two of them will spend two weeks, maybe three, fishing and relaxing with perhaps a little golf on the side…born in Niagara Falls, Mr. Tone knows that part of Ontario just across the border pretty well, having spent his summer holidays from the age of three to 23 around there.

In Ottawa Citizen, May 19, 1960:

As you read this column (Rod and Gun by Vern Bower), Cliff and I will be in the far north of the Eagle Depot country with a group of friends including actor Franchot Tone…and mayor Jean Paul Desjardins of Gracefield. We move north from our Danford Lake headquarters to Kazabazua Creek, then sweep north to the Picante and from there we push on to Cayamant and on into the Eagle…Our headquarters will be in a cedar cabin, sweet-smelling because it was built from the reclaimed timber of a barn. Very unusual, and in a long stretching line, will be the tents in which Franchot Tone and his friends prefer to live while in Canada.

On August 28, 1960, the New York Times reported:

Henrik Ibsen’s rarely staged “When We Dead Awaken” will be rehearsed at a fishing camp in the Canadian wilds…Franchot Tone, who will be starred, along with Viveca Lindfors and Betsy von Furstenberg, has invited the cast to his fishing retreat at a lake near Gracefield, Que., about sixty miles north of Ottawa.

From the Montreal Gazette on June 2, 1966:

MLA Fournier has not been alone in his efforts to develop the county’s full potential as a mecca for Canadian and American tourists. He has had the valued support of veteran Hollywood actor Franchot Tone, who maintains a year-long residence in the Gracefield area.

In the Ottawa Citizen's obituary of Franchot in 1968:

Stage and screen star Franchot Tone, whose second home from early childhood was the Gatineau area, died at his home in New York City Wednesday of lung cancer...Tone sought privacy away from the gossip columns in the Thirty-One Mile Lake area 28 miles south of Maniwaki. His father was one of the first to build a summer home on Thirty-One Mile Lake near Gracefield, Quebec. Eventually the camp on Thirty-One Mile Lake became the Gatineau Fish and Game Club. Tone visited the area annually in the summer and fall to fish and hunt moose. He held a lease on at least a dozen good trout lakes. He sometimes visited Gracefield area in winter to hunt wolves on snow sleds. He was an excellent outdoorsman. When rehearsing a Broadway play, he would frequently invite the cast to Thirty-One Mile Lake for long weekends. He was a lifelong friend of the late Jean Paul Desjardins, mayor of Gracefield for many years. "I love every stick and stone in this wonderful country," he once said. 

Joan Crawford's Visits
It is possible that Franchot first showed Joan the Gatineau area in 1933, but I cannot prove it. When they were dating in November 1933, Franchot and Joan visited New York together. It's possible that Franchot would've taken this holiday to show Joan the Canadian home that he loved, too.

In July 1940, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Franchot was in the Gatineau Valley area on a vacation with his father and that he would be there for several weeks. In August 1940, the Ottawa Citizen included the headline,"Joan Crawford Pays Surprise Visit to Ottawa." The article read:

Recognized by only a few Ottawa people though she passed hundreds on foot and while driving around the Capital during an automobile ride, Joan Crawford, titian haired star of the screen, paid a flying visit to this city yesterday to do some shopping at the end of a four-day visit to the Ottawa district and Gatineau Valley, where she enjoyed what she termed a ‘real Canadian holiday’…Miss Crawford, who came to Canada unaccompanied, spent the greater part of the afternoon in Ottawa and left by train for New York. During her short stay here she was escorted by D. Leo Dolan, director of the Canadian Travel Bureau, and an old personal friend who had met her in Hollywood.

Something tells me that Franchot and Joan vacationed a bit together during this surprise visit. They were divorced at the time, but remained friendly, and Joan would visit the area with Franchot several more times after this. I've no proof, but I feel that there is no way Franchot would've been in the Gatineau Valley in July and August of 1940 and Joan would've been there in August and not been with each other at some point in their trips. I think they were just excellent secret keepers.

On March 26, 1955, the Ottawa Citizen stated about Joan:

As to Canada, she said she ‘adored’ Canada and particularly liked Lake Louise and Banff. She admitted being in Ottawa three years ago but ‘kept it quiet’.

Again, another trip to the region "kept quiet" in about 1952.

In June 1965, Franchot and Joan were photographed at the Jean Lesage International Airport after having vacationed together at Franchot's home in Gracefield. You can view those photos here.

Friends' Remembrances
John Strasberg (son of Lee Strasberg) wrote in his autobiography:

I don’t remember feeling any peace or harmony from the moment we moved back to New York in 1947 until I began spending summers in Canada with Franchot Tone when I was twelve. We hunted and fished, camping in Quebec’s wilderness country. Franchot’s wealthy industrious family owned three houses that sat on the ridge of land between two lakes that were part of the Gatineau Fish and Game Club, near Gracefield, Quebec. We portaged deep into land that he owned, smearing honey under the canoes of poachers so that the bears would destroy them. Franchot became one of my heroes, once I realized that heroes could be human…He exposed me to a world that I loved and felt at home in…Above all, he taught me that work is part of one’s natural respect and love of human life, but it is not a way to ignore it or dominate it.

In his autobiography, actor Burgess Meredith wrote:

There were also some quiet times in Canada at his hunting lodge. Tone had a secret side to him. It was his love of the Canadian woods. He was a fine woodsman.

Today
Franchot's family still owns property and is active in the Gatineau area. Franchot's grandson (also named Franchot Tone) performed at the Gatineau Fish and Game Club in 2013.

Sources:

• The Concluding Chapter of Crawford: http://www.theconcludingchapterofcrawford.com/1965.html
• Hills, Frederick Simon. New York State Men: Biographical Studies and Character Portraits. Vol. 1. 158-159.
• Ottawa Citizen: November 16, 1933, July 20, 1937, July 23, 1940, August 28, 1940, March 26, 1955, May 19, 1960, June 2, 1966, September 19, 1968.
• Meredith, Burgess. So Far, so Good: A Memoir. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. 72-76. Print.
• Pennie, Archie and Carol Martin. "A Century of the Gatineau Fish and Game Club." Up the Gatineau! Vol. 21: http://www.gvhs.ca/publications/utga-a-century.html
• Strasberg, John. Accidentally on Purpose: Reflections on Life, Acting, and the Nine Natural Laws of Creativity. New York: Applause, 1996. Print. 8-9.

Franchot Tone's Early Life in Niagara Falls

Franchot was born on February 27, 1905 in Niagara Falls, New York. His father Frank Jerome Tone was the Works Manager and President of the Carborundum Company and made many scientific and technological contributions. There's an impressive bio on Frank J. Tone here. Franchot's mother was Gertrude Franchot Tone and he had an older brother named Frank Jerome "Jerry" Tone.

Franchot as a boy.
This photo originally appeared in a 1930s fan magazine.
I saved it, but I cannot find the original article in my files today.
It's somewhere in the Media History Digital Library database. http://lantern.mediahist.org/
 

The 1905 New York Census shows an 8 month old baby Franchot living with his father Frank J., mother Gertrude, and brother Jerry at 613 Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York. Franchot would later describe his street as the "main residential street of Niagara Falls" running from "the Falls and passes the Shredded Wheat factory. This is one of the points of interests for visiting tourists, so this particular street carried a lot of traffic". Also in the house are Lizzie Spooker, a German maid, and Lizzie Oates, a Canadian cook. The state census also shows a Tusch family and does not give them a separate street number. Herman Tusch is a special agent (am I reading that right?), so I'm not sure if or how he is connected to the Tones. There are other Tuschs at residences near the Tones, so I don't know if this is a census error or if the Tuschs indeed lived in the Tone residence.

1905 New York Census, www.ancestry.com
 

The 1915 New York Census shows the Tone family on the same street, but with a different street number. Frank J. Tone is still the head of the Carborundum Company, with wife Gertrude, 13-year-old Frank J. "Jerry", and 9-year-old Franchot. In their household at this time is an English maid named Georgiana Pittman and an Irish cook named Anna H. Ryan. In this census, there are many Franchot households around the Tone residence (Franchot being Gertrude Tone's maiden name).

1915 New York Census, www.ancestry.com

In the article, "I've Always Been a Show-Off" attributed to Franchot and published in Hollywood Magazine in 1935, Franchot shared the following childhood memories:

I can remember when I was only four years old. I was taken to a summer resort in the Canadian woods. Some boys were trying to spear fish and I was watching them. Suddenly I looked up, and there was a beautiful little girl standing a few feet away. Immediately I grabbed a spear and tried to show how good I was. Instead, I went in head first. Of course, I was too young to know how to swim and actually I was going down for the third time when my nurse came along and jumped in after me. She couldn't swim either but she managed to hold me up until help came...

 Another time I remember when some new people moved in next door to us. They had a boy just about my age and, of course, I was curious to know what he was like. He played in his yard and I played in mine. I kept watching him out of the corner of my eye, but whenever he looked over, I would assume the most innocent air of indifference. One day a truckload of coal arrived. The boy next door completely ignored me by concentrating on the man emptying the coal into the basement. I had a new bicycle, so I ran and jumped on it. I pedaled furiously and tried to do all sorts of fancy tricks. Then something happened. The wheel gave a sudden twist and I found myself sitting in the middle of the coal-chute.

Sources:

• Tone, Franchot. "I've Always Been a Show-Off". Hollywood Magazine. June 1935. Page 23, 55.
• New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1915; Election District: 01; Assembly District: 02; City: Niagara Falls Ward 02; County: Niagara; Page: 21
• New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: E.D. 02; City: Niagara Falls Ward 01; County: Niagara; Page: 11

Jean on Franchot, Part 1

"After six-and-a-half years of marriage, Franchot Tone is the most exciting, handsome, lovable, exasperating, beguiling and challenging man in my world. His poise is a Gibraltar of strength—now that we've each done a little reforming. He's taught me to be more controlled—I've helped him discover the release an occasional outburst can be. He actually allowed himself to be angry when a business associate double-crossed him recently, and I was mighty proud of him! Never making a fuss, never aggressive about privileges he's earned—that I can cheer him for. But I've been burned to a crisp when he's allowed people to take advantage of his generosity and kindness. And I don't burn silently. Not Mrs. Tone!

His knowledge of subjects as unrelated as the ballet and the pruning of fig trees, acting and a recipe for frijoles, politics and the intricate mechanism of television, blown glass and the history of rare gems, religion and psychiatrics—no longer amazes me. Proving you can get used to anything.

Franchot's rather particularly unpredictable, I'd say. Just when you think he's a mind he makes some ridiculous off-beam investment—like the winery. We have heaven knows how many cases of wine in storage, all we have to show for quite a tidy investment he made one smart day. He won't drink a drop of the stuff. "It cost about a thousand dollars a case," says he. "And no drink is worth it."

His independence is colossal. Even when he has a cold in the head he remains aloof from any evidence of needing help or attention. He can always tie his dress tie expertly without getting the househould into an uproar. He never goes barging around blaming elusive dress shirt studs or collar buttons on my carelessness, or the kids' explorations into his dresser drawers. Of course, he doesn't have to plant any blame—he always knows just where they are!"

 Jean Wallace Tone

(part 2 to follow tomorrow)

Source: "Franchot's Femmes: Four Women in His Life Tell All, About the Suave and Elegant Mr. Tone." Screenland. July 1948. Vol 52, No.9.Page 42-43, 64-65.

Franchot and Jean Celebrating Stork Business

Franchot and Jean. Photoplay 1942.

Original caption for Photoplay photo above

Hill School fight leaves Jean defeated

 

The photograph above makes my heart ache for Jean Wallace. She looks so devastated moments after a court supported Franchot's urging that his son attend The Hill School, which had been a Tone tradition. It probably didn't help matters that her husband Cornel Wilde looks so chummy with ex Franchot for the photograph. According to reports of the day, Jean had a difficult and emotional time during her divorce and custody battles with Franchot. I'm sure this extra battle (which would place son Pascal away from her in Pottstown, Pennsylvania for a good part of the year) was painful for her. Below is an article that described the court's decision.



Franchot the Fisherman

 

Source: Ottawa Citizen, May 23, 1959.

 

This is currently my favorite photo of Franchot. In a flannel shirt and casual hat, a proud Franchot, with his catch of the day, looks so relaxed and completely in his element in the Canadian woods. The caption that accompanied this photo reads, "Franchot Tone, veteran of stage, screen and television and many a marital outing, answered the call of the wild once again this week. With some Canadian friends, Tone trekked into the northern Pontiac for a week's fishing and impressed The Citizen's Fish and Game Editor Vern Bower with his ways in the outdoors. A rugged individualist, Tone resembled anything but the suave screen lover when he emerged from the bush. His weather-wracked face was beaming as he waved a pair of speckled trout." 

 

His friend Burgess Meredith wrote in his 1994 autobiography, "Tone had a secret side to him. It was his love of the Canadian woods. He was a fine woodsman." Archival Ottawa Citizen newspaper articles make many references to Franchot and his father's trips to their Canadian homestead as well as their reputation as outdoorsmen.

Franchot's Parents: The Love Letters

Franchot was born to Frank Jerome Tone and Gertrude Franchot Tone. Some research has been compiled on Frank Tone, a prominent Niagara Falls resident and president of the Carborundum Company. One article that I came across references a collection of sweet and meaningful love letters sent from Frank to Gertrude and dating back to 1890. You can read Bob Kostoff's article "The Unabashedly Romantic Frank Jerome Tone" and view a photo of Franchot's father on NiagaraHub.

Franchot Tone's grandson on Franchot Tone

In a 2007 interview with Matt Kettmann of Santa Barbara Independent, Franchot Tone's grandson, a musician and producer also named Franchot, said a few words about people recognizing his namesake. Here's the link:

http://www.independent.com/news/2007/jul/05/culver-city-dub-collective/