Joseph H. Hazelton (c. 1853 – October 6, 1936), aka Joseph Hazleton, was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1922. As a boy program giver at Ford's Theatre, he witnessed the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.

Life and career

Hazelton debuted on stage as a child when a production at Grover's Theater in Washington, D.C. needed a boy to play a young prince in King John. Thereafter, he continued to stay around the theater, doing odd jobs and handing out programs. In 1910, he was a member of the Columbia Players in Washington, D.C.^[1]

When the Pasadena Community Playhouse presented Our American Cousin in 1930, Hazelton spoke during intermission of each performance, relating what he witnessed as he observed the assassination.^[2] In 1933, Hazelton gave a lecture at May Company Exposition Hall in Los Angeles and talked about watching Booth shoot Lincoln.^[3] An article in Good Housekeeping in its February 1927 edition, titled "This Man Saw Lincoln Shot," was the basis for a leaflet that Hazleton released to raise funds later in his life.^[4]

On Broadway, Hazelton performed in Skipper & Co., Wall Street (1903).^[5]

Hazelton died in Los Angeles, California on October 6, 1936.

Selected filmography