Alan Dinehart

Alan Dinehart
Alan Dinehart in Big Town Girl (1937)
Born	Harold Alan Dinehart (1889-10-03)October 3, 1889 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	July 18, 1944(1944-07-18) (aged 54) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Other names	Allan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1931–1944
Spouse(s)	Louise Dyer Dinehart ​ ​ (m. 1912; div. 1932)​ Mozelle Britton ​ (m. 1933)​
Children	3, including Mason Alan Dinehart

Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager.

Dinehart was born in St. Paul, Minnesota.^[1] He initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. His first acting experience came at Missoula University in Montana.^[2] He left school to pursue a career on stage.^[1] He was active in Vaudeville before moving into other areas of entertainment.^[2]

Dinehart debuted on stage at the Bush Temple of Music in Chicago, and a year later he worked at the Palace Theatre in New York. His first full-length play performance came in The Gypsy Trail in 1918.^[1]

He had no screen experience when he signed a contract with Fox in May 1931. He became a character actor and supporting player in at least eighty-eight films between 1931 and 1944. Earlier, he appeared in more than twenty Broadway plays.

Dinehart co-wrote and starred in the Broadway play Separate Rooms, which opened on March 23, 1940 at the Maxine Elliott Theatre and ran for 613 performances.^[3]

Dinehart's likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi's, the New York City theater district restaurant. The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.^[4]

Dinehart's second son, Mason Alan Dinehart, was cast in several 1950s television series, including the role of a young Bat Masterson in the ABC/Desilu Studios western, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

In 1936, Dinehart had his name legally changed to Mason Alan Dinehart. He had been baptized Harold Alan Dinehart, but his wife explained that the change would permit their son to be legally named Alan Dinehart III.^[5]

Dinehart was married to actress Louise Dyer until they were divorced in 1932. He married actress Mozelle Britton in 1933. He had two sons, one of whom is Mason Alan Dinehart.^[1]

Dinehart died of heart disease on July 18, 1944. He was 54 years old.^[6] (Another source says that he died in Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital on July 17, 1944, aged 48.^[1] His body was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, on July 20, 1944, with no service.^[7] A committal service was held in Glendale on August 18, 1944, and his ashes were placed in Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Columbarium of Memory.^[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alan Dinehart.

• Alan Dinehart at IMDb
• Alan Dinehart at the Internet Broadway Database
• "Alan Dinehart". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 3, 2010.