Edward Ellis (actor)
Encyclopedia
Edward Mayne Ellis was an American
film
actor
. He is best known for playing the title role in The Thin Man
, as well as in A Man to Remember
.
, the second child of Edward C. Ellis, a playwright and actor and Ruth McCarthy Ellis, an actress. He was the younger brother of stage actress and writer Edith Ellis
.
. He was an actor, screenwriter and producer on Broadway
before going into films. His first adult performance was in Mary and John in 1905. He toured all over America
and also played in England
. Edward Ellis was a dramatic author and also wrote the screenplay for the 1934 play Affair of a Gentleman.
In films, he played mostly supporting roles, his only leading roles being in Main Street Lawyer (1939) and in A Man to Remember
(1938). He starred in 38 films, but is probably best remembered for his roles as the resolute sheriff in Fury
, as Shirley Temple
's uncle in Little Miss Broadway
and the leading role in A Man to Remember. He is also well known as Clyde Wynant, the wealthy industrialist, whose disappearance private eye Nick Charles (played by William Powell
) had been hired to investigate in the 1934 hit MGM film The Thin Man
. The title does not refer to Powell's character, as is so widely assumed, but to Ellis' character, the murder victim in the film.
His last appearance was as Mr. Vane in The Omaha Trail (1942).
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known for playing the title role in The Thin Man
The Thin Man (film)
The Thin Man is a 1934 American comic detective film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Nick is a hard drinking retired detective and Nora a wealthy heiress...
, as well as in A Man to Remember
A Man to Remember
A Man to Remember is a American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working...
.
Early life
Ellis was born in Coldwater, MichiganColdwater, Michigan
Coldwater is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County....
, the second child of Edward C. Ellis, a playwright and actor and Ruth McCarthy Ellis, an actress. He was the younger brother of stage actress and writer Edith Ellis
Edith Ellis (playwright)
-Biography:Ellis was born in Coldwater, Branch County, Michigan. The daughter of Edward C Ellis, playwright and actor, and Ruth McCarty Ellis, an actress, she was 'born on the stage'. Her first part was at age 6, and by 10 she was a star...
.
Career
He made his first stage appearance in 1879 in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He was an actor, screenwriter and producer on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
before going into films. His first adult performance was in Mary and John in 1905. He toured all over America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and also played in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Edward Ellis was a dramatic author and also wrote the screenplay for the 1934 play Affair of a Gentleman.
In films, he played mostly supporting roles, his only leading roles being in Main Street Lawyer (1939) and in A Man to Remember
A Man to Remember
A Man to Remember is a American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working...
(1938). He starred in 38 films, but is probably best remembered for his roles as the resolute sheriff in Fury
Fury (1936 film)
Fury is a 1936 American drama film which tells the story of an innocent man who narrowly escapes being lynched and the revenge he seeks. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney and Bruce Cabot and features Walter Abel, Edward...
, as Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
's uncle in Little Miss Broadway
Little Miss Broadway
Little Miss Broadway is a 1938 American musical film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen. The film stars Shirley Temple in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants, and was originally titled Little Lady of Broadway...
and the leading role in A Man to Remember. He is also well known as Clyde Wynant, the wealthy industrialist, whose disappearance private eye Nick Charles (played by William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
) had been hired to investigate in the 1934 hit MGM film The Thin Man
The Thin Man (film)
The Thin Man is a 1934 American comic detective film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Nick is a hard drinking retired detective and Nora a wealthy heiress...
. The title does not refer to Powell's character, as is so widely assumed, but to Ellis' character, the murder victim in the film.
His last appearance was as Mr. Vane in The Omaha Trail (1942).
Personal life
He was married to silent film actress Josephine Stevens for 35 years, from 1917 to 1952. They had a daughter, Ruth Ellis. Edward Ellis died on July 26, 1952 at the age of 81 from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Filmography
- The Law That Failed (19171917 in filmThe year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
) - The Great Bradley Mystery (1917)
- Out Yonder (19191919 in filmThe year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists...
) - Frontier of the Stars (19211921 in film-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
) - I Am a Fugitive from a Chain GangI Am a Fugitive from a Chain GangI Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a Pre-Code crime/drama film starring Paul Muni as a wrongfully convicted convict on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. The film was written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from Robert Elliott Burns's autobiography, I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain...
(19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Girl Missing (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Strictly PersonalStrictly Personal-Personnel:*Don Van Vliet - vocals, harmonica*Alex St. Clair - guitar*Jeff Cotton - guitar*Jerry Handley - bass guitar*John French - drums-External links:* at the Captain Beefheart Radar Station....
(1933) - After TonightAfter TonightAfter Tonight is a 1933 World War I drama film starring Constance Bennett as a woman who falls in love with a captain, who is actually her enemy. They begin a romance, but when he finds out she is his enemy, he is forced to arrest her...
(1933) - From Headquarters (1933)
- Hi, Nellie! (19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - The Ninth Guest (1934)
- The Trumpet BlowsThe Trumpet BlowsThe Trumpet Blows is a film directed by Stephen Roberts, featuring George Raft as a Mexican matador, Adolphe Menjou as a retired bandito clearly based on Pancho Villa, and Frances Drake as Chulita, the woman they both want to marry....
(1934) - The Last Gentleman (film) (1934)
- The President VanishesThe President VanishesThe President Vanishes is a political novel by Rex Stout that was published in 1934. It was written after, but published before, Fer-de-Lance, the first Nero Wolfe novel....
(1934) - The Thin ManThe Thin Man (film)The Thin Man is a 1934 American comic detective film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Nick is a hard drinking retired detective and Nora a wealthy heiress...
(1934) - Transient Lady (19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - Village Tale (1935)
- Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935)
- The Return of Peter Grimm (1935)
- ChatterboxChatterbox- In music :* "Chatterbox", a song by composer Jerome Brainin for the musical film That’s Right You’re Wrong * Chatterbox , a 1990 album by Toadies frontman Todd Lewis and guitarist Darrel Herbert...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - WintersetWinterset (film)Winterset is a 1936 crime film directed by Alfred Santell, based on the play by Maxwell Anderson.The film greatly changes the ending of the play, in which the lovers Mio and Miriamne are shot to death by gangsters...
(1936) - FuryFury (1936 film)Fury is a 1936 American drama film which tells the story of an innocent man who narrowly escapes being lynched and the revenge he seeks. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney and Bruce Cabot and features Walter Abel, Edward...
(1936) - The Texas RangersThe Texas Rangers (1936 film)The Texas Rangers is a 1936 action and Western film directed by King Vidor that starred Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie. It was nominated for Best Sound at the 1936 Oscars....
(1936) - The Lady Consents (1936)
- Maid of SalemMaid of SalemMaid of Salem is a 1937 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.-Plot:It tells the story of a young girl in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, who has an affair with adventurer...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Let Them Live (1937)
- The Man in Blue (1937)
- Midnight Madonna (1937)
- Little Miss BroadwayLittle Miss BroadwayLittle Miss Broadway is a 1938 American musical film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay was written by Harry Tugend and Jack Yellen. The film stars Shirley Temple in a story about a theatrical boarding house and its occupants, and was originally titled Little Lady of Broadway...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - A Man to RememberA Man to RememberA Man to Remember is a American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working...
(1938) - Man of ConquestMan of ConquestMan of Conquest is a 1939 Western film directed by George Nichols Jr.. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound and Best Art Direction .-Cast:* Richard Dix - Sam Houston...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - CareerCareer (1939 film)Career is a 1939 drama film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Anne Shirley and Edward Ellis. The film was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and centers on a rivalry between two men who are in love with the same girl....
(1939) - Three Sons (1939)
- Main Street Lawyer (1939)
- A Man Betrayed (19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - The Omaha Trail (19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
)