1. Hamilton Deane was an Irish actor, playwright and director.
10 Facts About Hamilton Deane
1. 2.
Hamilton Deane played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film.
3.
Hamilton Deane's family lived close to the families of both Bram Stoker and Florence Balcombe, and his mother had been acquainted with Bram Stoker in her youth.
4.
Hamilton Deane entered the theater as a young man, first appearing in 1899 with the Henry Irving Company.
5.
Unable to find a scriptwriter to take on the project, Hamilton Deane wrote the play himself in a four-week period of inactivity while he was suffering with a severe cold.
6.
Hamilton Deane then contacted Florence Stoker, Bram's widow, and negotiated a deal for the dramatic rights.
7.
Hamilton Deane re-imagined Count Dracula as a more urbane and theatrically acceptable character who could plausibly enter London society.
8.
Hamilton Deane arranged to have a uniformed nurse available at performances, ready to administer smelling salts should anyone faint.
9.
Hamilton Deane's play premiered at the Grand Theatre, Derby on 15 May 1924.
10.
Hamilton Deane initially intended to play the role of the count himself.