Joseph Macauley

Joseph Macauley, sometimes given as Joseph Macaulay, (1 April 1891 – 6 October 1967) was an American actor and singer. A native of San Francisco, he originally trained as a lawyer at the University of California and also studied singing with Henry Bickford Pasmore. In his early acting career he performed with various theatre troupes in Northern California from 1913 to 1915 and was often seen in outdoor amphitheaters in public parks such as the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mount Tamalpais and the Forest Theater in Carmel. In 1916 he toured in John E. Kellerd's Shakespeare troupe, and then settled in New York City where he trained under George Arliss as a member of The Theatre Workshop in 1916–1917.

Macauley had a lengthy career as a stage actor and singer in New York City. He appeared in plays, musicals, and light operas, and continued to train his baritone singing voice in New York with Estelle Liebling. His professional debut on the New York stage occurred on November 15, 1917 when he had roles in two one act plays that were performed for the grand opening of the Greenwich Village Theatre (GVT). He was a regular performer at the GVT through 1920. In 1921 he made his Broadway debut at the 48th Street Theatre as King Stefan in Gabriela Zapolska's Sonya (original foreign language title Der Zarewitsch). He appeared in more than 40 productions on Broadway over the next 45 years; notably creating parts in original plays by George Bernard Shaw, Eugene O'Neill and John Galsworthy, and appearing in the original casts of musicals created by composers Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Frederick Loewe, and Rudolf Friml. His final stage role was the part of Tom Keeney in the original cast of Funny Girl; a role he played on Broadway from 1964 until shortly before his death in 1967.

While mainly a stage actor, Macauley also worked periodically in film and television. He made his film debut in 1930 as Alberto in the United Artists film The Lottery Bride. His best known role on screen was as Ben Fraser, Sr. in the American soap opera From These Roots; a role he took over from the actor Rod Hendrickson in 1961. He portrayed that role in 266 episodes of the series. He also appeared as a guest actor in shows like Naked City and I Spy.