Edwin Carewe


Edwin Carewe was a Native American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. His birth name was Jay John Fox; he was born in Gainesville, Texas. His father, Frank Fox, was white; his mother Sallie Fox was Chickasaw. Edwin and his two brothers, F. Finis and Wallace Carewe were enrolled members of the Chickasaw Nation. He was likely the most prolific of Native American directors of feature films in Hollywood history.

Career

After brief studies at the Universities of Texas and Missouri and a period of work with regional theatrical groups, Carewe moved to New York City in 1910, where he became a member of the Dearborn Stock Company. Although Jay Fox was his given name, Carewe chose Edwin and Carewe from a character he was playing.
Carewe was on stage as an actor before he worked for Lubin studios. Later, he directed films for MGM, First National, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and United Artists. During his career, he provided early screen exposure to many actors such as Dolores del Río, Warner Baxter, Francis X. Bushman and Gary Cooper. He directed 58 films including the acclaimed 1928 version of Ramona starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter, which was rediscovered and restored by the Library of Congress and had its world premiere at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014.
Carewe and his two brothers, Wallace Fox and Finis Fox, were all registered Chickasaw according to the 1907 Chickasaw Rolls.
Another of Carewe's notable films was Evangeline in 1929 also with Dolores del Río and written by his brother Finis Fox. Evangeline was based upon the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and earned praise for its exceptional lighting and camera work.
Although Carewe directed and produced a number of critically and financially successful pictures during the silent era, he was not fully able to make the transition to sound. After resorting to sound remakes of his earlier successes, and later to low-budget and religious films, he made his last feature Are We Civilized? in 1934.
Carewe was married three times, twice to actress Mary Akin. By his first wife, Mary Jane Croft, he had two daughters, Violette and Mary Jane. During his first marriage to his second wife, Mary Akin, he had two children, Sally Ann and William. During his second marriage to Mary Akin, they had one more child, Carol Lee.

Death

Carewe died from a heart ailment in his Hollywood apartment, and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

Director