Fred Stone was a multifaceted circus performer who rose to fame in turn-of-the-century America, known for his talents in tightrope walking, acrobatics, and clowning.
Born in a log cabin in Valmont, Colorado, in the summer of 1873, Stone ran away from home at the age of 11 and eventually joined a traveling circus show.
By his teens, he had taught himself the high-wire act and other athletic skills, earning a name for himself under the big top.
Stone met and teamed up with fellow circus performer David Craig Montgomery in 1895, and they became a prominent song-and-dance duo in burlesque houses and minstrel shows.
They appeared in a number of hit revues, including "The Red Mill" and "Chin Chin," and one of their most famous pairings was in the 1903 Broadway musical version of L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz," where Stone portrayed the Scarecrow to Montgomery's Tin Man.
After Montgomery's unexpected death in 1917, Stone continued solo, often appearing with his wife Allene Crater in musical shows such as "Criss Cross" and "Ripples."
Stone also extended his talents to the movies, although he didn't become a steady fixture, and he had wrangled a few of his own comedy and western vehicles to make a dent.
He made an auspicious return to the movies in the sound era, appearing in films such as "Alice Adams" and "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine."
Given such a rousing reception, the 63-year-old was offered his own secondary feature, top-lining such comedy efforts as "The Farmer in the Dell" and "Grand Jury."
Stone retired completely from show business in 1950, after suffering from advancing blindness and heart trouble, and he died at his Los Angeles home in March of 1959 at the age of 85.
Stone was the patriarch of a show-biz family, with daughters Dorothy Stone, Paula Stone, and Carol Stone also appearing with their father at various times on Broadway.
