John Alexander

John Alexander (November 29, 1897 – July 13, 1982) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life He was born on November 29, 1897, in Newport, Kentucky. His father owned steamboats and his mother was a telegraph operator. Career He had a career spanning more than 55 years on Broadway with his first role as the title character in Elmer Brown, the Only Boy in Town in 1908/1909. He is best remembered for his performance as Teddy Brewster, a lunatic who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt, in the 1944 classic film Arsenic and Old Lace opposite Cary Grant. He had previously portrayed that role in the 1941 Broadway play of the same name on which the film was based. He went on to play the "real" Roosevelt in the 1950 Bob Hope comedy Fancy Pants and reprised his role as Teddy "Roosevelt" Brewster in the 1955 TV adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace in the anthology series The Best of Broadway.