Erskine Sanford(1885-1969)

Character actor, associated for 15 years with the Theatre Guild, which he left in 1936 to join Orson Welles' Mercury Players. The story goes, that 17 year old Welles had first been introduced to Sanford backstage, much taken with his performance in "Mr.Pim Passes By" (Welles' first exposure to the stage, in his hometown, Kenosha, Wisconsin). After congratulating Sanford on an 'admirable performance', he was strongly encouraged to chose the performing arts as a career path for himself.