[1]: 152  He made his first hit in the legitimate drama with Stuart Robson in The Comedy of Errors and other Shakespearian plays.

He had successes as Le Blanc the Notary in the Victorian burlesque Evangeline (1873) and The Henrietta (1881, with Robson) by Bronson Howard.

Subsequently Crane appeared in various eccentric character parts in such plays as The Senator and David Harum.

[2] In his 70s, Crane appeared in a number of films, notably in a reprise of his role in David Harum (1915).

[4] At Crane's summer home in Cohasset (which he called the "Fishing Box"[5]) his long-time friend, Chicago saloonkeeper Lewis Williams debuted Cohasset Punch, a blend of rum, wine, and fruit that became very popular in Chicago for decades afterward.