Thomas A. Curran

Thomas A. Curran (May 29, 1879 – January 24, 1941), was an Australian-born American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. Between 1915 and 1941 he appeared in 60 films, the last of which was Citizen Kane, in which he played the uncredited role of Theodore Roosevelt in the "News on the March" newsreel sequence.

Thomas A. Curran
Curran in 1916
Born	(1879-05-29)May 29, 1879 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	January 24, 1941(1941-01-24) (aged 61) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1897–1941

Biography

Thomas A. Curran was born on May 29, 1879, in Sydney, Australia. He studied acting in the United States, where he made his stage debut in 1897. After returning to Australia for a few years, he returned to the U.S. in 1912 or 1913 and worked in vaudeville and repertory theatre. He acted in the original productions of Excuse Me written by Rupert Hughes (later adapted twice for the screen) and Oh! Oh! Delphine.^[1]

Curran was signed to a three-year contract by the Thanhouser Company in 1915 and made 22 films, including The World and the Woman with Jeanne Eagels and Inspiration, the first non-pornographic American film to show full female nudity. In his later years he moved to California and made his living playing bit parts and small roles in studio films. His last film appearance was as Teddy Roosevelt in the "News on the March" sequence in Citizen Kane. The film had not yet been released when Curran, aged 61, died in Hollywood January 24, 1941.^[1]

Filmography

Audrey Munson and Thomas A. Curran in Inspiration (1915)

The Vicar of Wakefield (1917)

Curran (waving hat) as Teddy Roosevelt, campaigning with Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) in the "News on the March" sequence in Citizen Kane (1941)

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1915	From the River's Depths		[1]
1915	The Price of Her Silence	The Artist	[2]
1915	The Earl of Pawtucket	Fordyce	[2]
1915	Greater Love Hath No Man	Dr. Merton	[2]
1915	The Commuted Sentence	Governor	[1][3]
1915	In Baby's Garden	Jack	[1][4]
1915	Inspiration	The Artist	Reissued as The Perfect Model (1918)[1]
1915	Her Confession	Emerald Vinton	[1][5]
1915	The Necklace of Pearls	The Banker	[1][6]
1916	The Bubbles in the Glass		[1]
1916	Silas Marner	Godfrey	[2]
1916	The Cruise of Fate		[1]
1916	The Sailor's Smiling Spirit		[1]
1916	The Weakling		[1]
1916	The Nymph		[1]
1916	Brothers Equal		[1]
1916	The Black Terror		[1]
1916	The World and the Woman	James Palmer	[1]
1917	A Modern Monte Cristo	William Deane	[2]
1917	The Vicar of Wakefield	Geoffrey; Mr. Burchell	[1][7]
1917	When Love Was Blind	John Grayson	[2]
1917	The Candy Girl		[1]
1917	An Amateur Orphan		[1]
1917	The Heart of Ezra Greer	Denbeigh's guardian	[1]
1918	The Girl and the Judge	Frank Lorimer	[2]
1928	Ships of the Night	Police chief	[8]
1928	The Black Pearl	Silas Lathrop	[2]
1929	Object: Alimony	Philip Stone	[2]
1929	Two Sisters	Judge Rhodes	[2]
1929	Anne Against the World	Emmett	[2]
1929	The Phantom in the House	Judge Thompson	[9]
1930	The Kibitzer	Briggs	[2]
1930	Worldly Goods	Secretary	[2]
1930	Morocco		[10]
1931	Mother and Son	Broker	[11]
1932	Ghost City		[2]
1934	David Harum	Banker	[2]
1935	The Cowboy Millionaire	Hotel clerk	[2]
1935	Annapolis Farewell	Officer on Congress	[2]
1936	The Milky Way		[2]
1936	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town		[2]
1936	The White Angel	Officer in barracks	[2]
1936	Yours for the Asking		[2]
1936	Wanted! Jane Turner		[2]
1936	Swing Time		[2]
1936	Parole!	Board chairman	[2]
1937	Champagne Waltz		[2]
1937	Wells Fargo		[2]
1939	Our Leading Citizen	Member	[2]
1941	Citizen Kane	Theodore Roosevelt	[2]

References

1. "Thomas A. Curran Biography". thanhouser.org. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
2. "Thomas Curran". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
3. "New Releases on the Mutual Program: The Commuted Sentence". Reel Life. November 6, 1915. p. 5. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
4. "New Releases on the Mutual Program: In Baby's Garden". Reel Life. November 6, 1915. p. 10. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
5. "New Releases on the Mutual Program: Her Confession". Reel Life. December 4, 1915. p. 9. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
6. "New Releases on the Mutual Program: The Necklace of Pearls". Reel Life. December 11, 1915. p. 9. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
7. "The Vicar of Wakefield". The Progressive Silent Film List. The Silent Era Company. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
8. "Ships of the Night". The Progressive Silent Film List. The Silent Era Company. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
9. "The Phantom in the House". The Progressive Silent Film List. The Silent Era Company. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
10. Reid, John Howard (2008). Silent Films & Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press. p. 178. ISBN 9781435710733.
11. "Mother and Son". BFI Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2016.

External links

• Thomas A. Curran at IMDb