Sydney Leslie Deane was a first-class cricket

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

er and entertainer, and the first Australian to appear in a Hollywood movie

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

.

Born in Balmain

Balmain

Balmain can refer to:Places:* Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia* Balmain East, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia...

, Sydney, to Edward and Sophia, Deane was a promising junior Rugby Union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player and represented New South Wales

New South Wales Waratahs

The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...

 against Queensland

Queensland Reds

The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...

. Along with his cousins, Australian Test captain

Australian national cricket captains

Australia played in the first-ever Test match in cricket in 1877, the first-ever One Day International in 1971 and the first-ever Twenty20 international in 2005...

 Billy Murdoch

Billy Murdoch

William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...

 and Norman Deane, who played first-class cricket for New South Wales, Deane also excelled in cricket, and made his first-class debut for New South Wales

New South Wales Blues

The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...

, against Victoria

Victorian Bushrangers

The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...

, at the Association Ground, Sydney

Sydney Cricket Ground

The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...

 on 25 January 1890. A wicket-keeper, Deane held six catches, at that time an Australian first-class record and caught the attention of the selectors for the Australian squad for the upcoming Ashes

The Ashes

The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...

 tour of Britain. In the next match, against South Australia

Southern Redbacks

The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...

, Deane also performed well, and starred in a non first-class match against a Queensland XV

Queensland Bulls

The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...

.

On 19 February 1890, Deane was selected in the Australian cricket squad. However, the Victorian members of the squad protested against Deane's inclusion, arguing that it was favouritism towards New South Wales. Victorian wicket keeper Jack Blackham

Jack Blackham

John McCarthy Blackham was a Test cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia.A specialist wicket-keeper, Blackham played in the first Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877 and the famous Ashes Test match of 1882...

, a key member of the Australian side, went as far as to threaten to boycott the tour if Deane was selected ahead of fellow Victorian Jack Harry. Eventually a compromise wicket keeper, Tasmanian

Tasmanian Tigers

The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...

 Kenneth Burn

Kenneth Burn

Edwin James Kenneth 'Kenny' Burn was an Australian cricketer who played in two Tests on the tour to England in 1890...

 was selected, although Burn had never kept wicket in his life.

Following the Test selection drama, Deane moved to Melbourne after accepting an offer to appear with J.C. Williamson's theatrical troupe. Deane "possessed a magnificant tenor voice" and quickly became a leading performer around Australia and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, appearing in Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...

 operattas such as The Gondoliers

The Gondoliers

The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...

. Deane also moved into theatre production management, co-founding and managing the Elite Vaudeville Company, which ran a number of productions starring Deane, including a farce based on Trilby

Trilby (novel)

Trilby is a novel by George du Maurier and one of the most popular novels of its time, perhaps the second best selling novel of the Fin de siècle after Bram Stoker's Dracula. Published serially in Harper's Monthly in 1894, it was published in book form in 1895 and sold 200,000 copies in the United...

entitled Trill-B!, in which Deane played the character of Sven-Garlic.

He also continued to play cricket, and although unable to break into the Victorian side, due to the presence of Blackham, Deane represented East Melbourne against an English touring side in 1892.

Deane left Australia for the United States of America in the late 1890s, where he soon became a leading Vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 entertainer, appearing on Broadway musicals, including the original cast of Florodora

Florodora

Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...

, which ran for 553 performances, The Woggle-Bug, (based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

), The Knickerbocker Girl and My Lady Molly.

Impressed by his acting ability, Deane was recruited by Jesse Lasky to join the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, which relocated to Hollywood to produce films. Deane made his film debut in 1914

1914 in film

The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.-Events:*The 3,300-seat Mark Strand Theatre opens in New York City....

 in the original version of Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions (1914 film)

Brewster's Millions is a 1914 comedy film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille. It's an adaptation of the novel written by George Barr McCutcheon. The novel had also been turned into a successful 1906 Broadway play that also starred Edward Abeles...

, which was Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...

's second film. Deane appeared in a number of DeMille's early films before signing a contract with Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

, where he appeared in movies alongside Lon Chaney Sr..

While acting, Deane continued to play cricket, firstly in New York for the "New York Veterans" and later in California, where he played into his late fifties.

Deane's final film appearance was in the 1924 film America, directed by D.W. Griffith, after which he retired to New York, where he died, aged 71. Unusually for an actor and cricketer of his significance, neither Variety

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

or Wisden ran his obituary.

Filmography

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1914 film) Brewster's Millions is a 1914 comedy film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille. It's an adaptation of the novel written by George Barr McCutcheon. The novel had also been turned into a successful 1906 Broadway play that also starred Edward Abeles...	1914	Jonas Sedgwick
The Call of the North The Call of the North The Call of the North is a 1914 silent adventure-drama film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille.-Cast:* Robert Edeson - Ned & Graehme Stewart* Theodore Roberts - Galen Albert* Winifred Kingston - Virginia* Horace B...	1914	McTavish
The Virginian The Virginian (1914 film) The Virginian is a 1914 film based upon the novel by Owen Wister, and starring Dustin Farnum as the Virginian. The movie is the first of several versions, including a 1929 movie with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston and a 1960 television series. The 1914 film was directed by Cecil B....	1914	Uncle Hughey
The Making of Bobby Burnit	1914	Silas Trimmer	aka Bobby Burnit
What's His Name What's His Name What's His Name is a 1914 comedy/drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille.-Cast:* Max Figman - Harvey* Lolita Robertson - Nellie* Sydney Deane - Uncle Peter* Richard L'Estrange - Best Man* Merta Carpenter - Friend Of Nellie's* Fred Montague - Fairfax...	1914	Uncle Peter
Ready Money	1914	Owner of the Skyrocket
Rose of the Rancho Rose of the Rancho Rose of the Rancho is a 1914 Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film cost $16,988 to make, and grossed $87,028.-Plot:Esra Kincaid takes land by force and, having taken the Espinoza land, his sights are set on the Castro rancho...	1914	Ranch Owner
The Girl of the Golden West The Girl of the Golden West (1915 film) The Girl of the Golden West is a 1915 Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was originally a play by David Belasco, which he then turned into a novel. It became an opera by Giacomo Puccini in 1910. Prints of the film survive in the Library of Congress film archive...	1915	Sidney Duck
The Goose Girl	1915	Prince Regent of Jugendheit
The Warrens of Virginia	1915	General Harding
A Gentleman of Leisure	1915	Sir Thomas Blunt
Stolen Goods	1915	Mr. North
The Arab The Arab (1915 film) The Arab is a 1915 silent adventure film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Edgar Selwyn had starred in the Broadway play version of the story in 1911. This film is based on that play. A print of the film survives at the Gosfilmfond film archive.-Cast:...	1915	Dr. Hilbert
The Secret Orchard	1915	Nanette's father
The Scarlet Chastity	1916
Playthings of the Gods	1916
The Evil Women Do	1916	Malgat/Papa Ravinet	Billed as "Sydney Dean". The film was also known as The Clique of Gold.
Melting Millions	1917	Uncle Peter
The Grip of Love	1917
The Field of Honor	1917	Poole	Billed as "Sidney Deane".
A Doll's House A Doll's House (1917 film) A Doll's House is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Dorothy Phillips - Nora Helmer* William Stowell - Torvald Helmer* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Nils Krogstad* Sydney Deane - Dr. Rank...	1917	Dr. Rank
The Gray Ghost The Gray Ghost (serial) The Gray Ghost is a 1917 crime-drama film serial directed by Stuart Paton.-Cast:* Harry Carter - The Gray Ghost* Priscilla Dean - Morn Light* Emory Johnson - Wade Hildreth* Eddie Polo - Marco* Gypsy Hart - Cecilia* Wilton Taylor - Ashby...	1917
The Reed Case	1917	John Reed	Billed as "Sydney Dean".
Sirens of the Sea	1917	Wellington Stanhope	Released as Darlings of the Gods in the United Kingdom.
Beloved Jim	1917	Lawrence Darcy
The Wife He Bought	1918	James Brierson
The Midnight Trail	1918	Reverend Robert Moreland
Breakers Ahead	1918	Hiram Hawley
No Man's Land	1918
Lure of the Circus	1918	Reynolds	Billed as "Sidney Deane".
A Man and His Money	1919	John Sturgeon
The Crimson Gardenia	1919	Papa la Forge	Billed as "Sidney Deane".
Male and Female Male and Female Male and Female is a 1919 silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Its main themes are gender relations and social class. It is based on the J. M. Barrie play "The Admirable Crichton".-Plot:...	1919	Thomas
The Midlanders	1920	Judge Van Hart
Treasure Island Treasure Island (1920 film) Treasure Island is a 1920 silent film adaptation of the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, directed by Maurice Tourneur, and released by Paramount Pictures...	1920	Squire Trelawney
The Strange Boarder	1920	Dawson
Once a Plumber	1920	Fenelon	Billed as "Sidney Deane".
The Last of the Mohicans	1920	General Webb
Find the Woman	1922	Sofford
Missing Millions	1922	Donald Gordon
Her Own Story	1922
The Broken Violin	1923	Dr. Mason
America	1924	Sir Ashley Montague	Released as Love and Sacrifice in the UK.