Hamilton Deane (1880â€"1958) was an Irish actor, playwright and
director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897
novel Dracula as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film.[1]Deane was born
in New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland, and grew up in Clontarf, a
suburb of Dublin.[2] His family lived close to the families of both
Bram Stoker and Florence Balcombe (Stoker's wife), and his mother had
been acquainted with Bram Stoker in her youth.[3]Deane entered the
theater as a young man, first appearing in 1899 with the Henry Irving
Company (Stoker was stage manager for Henry Irving for many years).
Even before he formed his own troupe in the early 1920s, Deane had
been thinking about bringing Dracula to the stage. Stoker had
attempted this in 1897 but the verdict from Irving consigned it to the
waste-paper basket. Unable to find a scriptwriter to take on the
project, Deane wrote the play himself in a four-week period of
inactivity while he was suffering with a severe cold. He then
contacted Florence Stoker, Bram's widow, and negotiated a deal for the
dramatic rights.[4]Deane re-imagined Count Dracula as a more urbane
and theatrically acceptable character who could plausibly enter London
society. It was Deane's idea that the count should wear a tuxedo and
stand-up collar, and a flowing cape which concealed Dracula while he
slipped through a trap-door in the stage floor, giving the impression
that he had disappeared.[5] Deane also arranged to have a uniformed
nurse available at performances, ready to administer smelling salts
should anyone faint.
director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897
novel Dracula as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film.[1]Deane was born
in New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland, and grew up in Clontarf, a
suburb of Dublin.[2] His family lived close to the families of both
Bram Stoker and Florence Balcombe (Stoker's wife), and his mother had
been acquainted with Bram Stoker in her youth.[3]Deane entered the
theater as a young man, first appearing in 1899 with the Henry Irving
Company (Stoker was stage manager for Henry Irving for many years).
Even before he formed his own troupe in the early 1920s, Deane had
been thinking about bringing Dracula to the stage. Stoker had
attempted this in 1897 but the verdict from Irving consigned it to the
waste-paper basket. Unable to find a scriptwriter to take on the
project, Deane wrote the play himself in a four-week period of
inactivity while he was suffering with a severe cold. He then
contacted Florence Stoker, Bram's widow, and negotiated a deal for the
dramatic rights.[4]Deane re-imagined Count Dracula as a more urbane
and theatrically acceptable character who could plausibly enter London
society. It was Deane's idea that the count should wear a tuxedo and
stand-up collar, and a flowing cape which concealed Dracula while he
slipped through a trap-door in the stage floor, giving the impression
that he had disappeared.[5] Deane also arranged to have a uniformed
nurse available at performances, ready to administer smelling salts
should anyone faint.
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