Volume III: Biographies

ERIC, Fred *

Actor (1916-1917)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Fred Eric was an actor with Thanhouser in 1916 and 1917.

Biographical Notes: Born in Peru, Indiana (one account says Chicago) in 1874, the actor known as Fred Eric studied drama at the Chicago Conservatory. The name "Fred Eric" was contrived for the stage, from his first name, Frederick. The actor felt that the name was sufficiently short and distinctive to be given good display space in advertising, especially on electric signs which had a limited amount of space.

He made his stage debut at the age of 18 in 1892, when he appeared with E.S. Willard in John Meddhow's Double. Later, he joined Julia Marlowe's company for six seasons, during which stint he eventually played the lead in The Countess Valeska. After this engagement Fred Eric went on tour with his own company in the American West. The Little Princess, staged in 1903, furnished the occasion for his first appearance in New York City.

In 1906 Eric was seen in his first Shakespearean role, Laertes in Hamlet. For the next decade he specialized in Shakespeare's works with stock companies and with his own Fred Eric Players, in addition to appearances in numerous other plays. In 1907 he was on stage in London in The Sunken Bell, after which he returned to America to become the leading man to Maude Adams in Quality Street. He appeared as a juvenile in Omar, the Tentmaker, and spent several further seasons in stock. On the stage he was said to have appeared in 43 different productions, including many Shakespeare plays, over the years.

In general his stage reviews were favorable, with one writer suggesting that he was a worthy successor to famous stage actor Richard Mansfield. However, there were exceptions, and, for example, a review of Quality Street, in The Brooklyn Eagle, January 7, 1908, stated that Eric's role as Valentine Brown was poorly done and that he needed considerable prompting.

Fred Eric's motion picture career is believed to have started in the spring of 1915, with Gustave Frohman's production of The Builder of Bridges. His stay with Frohman was followed by a short stint in 1916 with Pathé. In the same year he worked for Thanhouser. He appeared in the 1917 Thanhouser film, The Woman and the Beast. Directories published in 1916 and 1918 noted he was 5'10" tall, and had dark hair and complexion and brown eyes. At the time his home address was given as 5311 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, and his studio address as Thanhouser in New Rochelle. Later, he was with World. Fred Eric played in films in the 1920s, including the role of Columbus in The Yale University Chronicle. In 1932 he was on stage in the role of John Wilkes Booth in If Booth Had Missed. The year after he essayed his final role, in The Yellow Jacket.

Fred Eric's death occurred on April 16, 1935 in New York City, at his apartment in the Flanders Hotel, 135 West 47th Street. He had been ill for the previous two years. He was survived by his wife and several brothers and sisters, including Mrs. John E. Muhlfield, of Scarscale, New York. Fred Eric was buried in Glenside, Pennsylvania. His wife, the former Alice Coburn Murphy, was an actress under the name of Alice Eric and appeared in many roles with her husband. She was a native of Philadelphia and was educated there. Later, she wrote under the nom de plume of "Thespia." She had an illustrious stage career in her own right, dating from her stage debut as Portia at the Broad Street Theatre in Philadelphia.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1917: The Woman and the Beast (Graphic Features 4-17-1917)

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