Edward Everett Horton
Encyclopedia
Edward Everett Horton was an American character actor
. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers
.
, to Isabella S. Diack and Edward Everett Horton. His mother was born in Matanzas
, Cuba
to Mary Orr and George Diack, immigrants from Scotland
. Many sources state that Edward Everett Horton's grandfather and namesake was Edward Everett Hale
, author of The Man Without a Country
. Horton attended the Boys' High School
, Brooklyn, and Baltimore City College
high school in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was inducted into that school's Hall of Fame. He attended college at Brooklyn Polytechnic and Columbia University
, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi
Fraternity. He began his college career at Oberlin College, Ohio. He was asked to leave after an incident where he climbed to the top of the Service Building, and after collecting an audience, threw off a dummy, causing the viewers to think he had jumped. His sense of humor exceeded that of the College administration.
and in Broadway
productions. In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, California
, and started getting roles in Hollywood films. His first starring role was in the 1922 comedy film Too Much Business, and he portrayed the lead role of an idealistic young classical composer in Beggar on Horseback
in 1925. In the late 1920s he starred in two-reel silent comedies for Educational Pictures
, and made the transition to talking pictures with Educational in 1929. As a stage trained performer, he found more film work easily, and appeared in some of Warner Bros.
' early talkies, including The Hottentot and Sonny Boy. His distinctive voice was one of his trademarks.
Horton originally went under his given name, Edward Horton. His father persuaded him to adopt his full name professionally, reasoning that there might be other actors named Edward Horton, but only one named Edward Everett Horton.
Horton's screen character was instantly defined from his earliest talkies: pleasant and dignified, but politely hesitant when faced with a potentially embarrassing situation. Horton soon cultivated his own special variation of the time-honored double take
(an actor's reaction to something, followed by a delayed, more extreme reaction). In Horton's version, he would smile ingratiatingly and nod in agreement with what just happened; then, when realization set in, his facial features collapsed entirely into a sober, troubled mask.
Horton starred in many comedy features in the 1930s, usually playing a mousy fellow who put up with domestic or professional problems to a certain point, and then finally asserted himself for a happy ending. He is best known, however, for his work as a character actor
in supporting roles. Some of his noteworthy films include The Front Page
(1931), Trouble in Paradise (1932), Alice in Wonderland
(1933), The Gay Divorcee
(1934), Top Hat
(1935, one of several Astaire
/Rogers
films in which Horton appeared), Danger - Love at Work
(1937), Lost Horizon (1937), Holiday
(1938), Here Comes Mr. Jordan
(1941), Arsenic and Old Lace
(1944), Pocketful of Miracles
(1961), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963). He last appeared in a non-speaking role in Cold Turkey
(1971).
Horton continued to appear in stage productions, often in summer stock. His performance in the play Springtime for Henry became a perennial in summer theaters.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald
lived in a cottage on Horton's estate for a time in the late 1930s.
In a scene in Friz Freleng
's cartoon Hare Trigger
, Yosemite Sam
(in his debut) calls himself "the meanest, toughest, rip-roarin'-est, Edward Everett Horton-est hombre what ever packed a six-shooter!"
. During the 1950s, Horton worked in television. One of his most famous appearances is an I Love Lucy
episode, where he is cast against type as a frisky, amorous suitor. (Horton, a last-minute replacement for another actor, received a special, appreciative credit in this episode.) Beginning in 1959 he narrated the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment of the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In 1965 he played the medicine man, Roaring Chicken, in the sitcom F Troop
. He parodied this role, portraying "Chief Screaming Chicken" on Batman
as a pawn to Vincent Price's Egghead in the villain's attempt to take control of Gotham City.
.
Shortly after he died, the city of Los Angeles
renamed a portion of Amestoy Avenue, the dead-end street where he lived in the district of Encino, "Edward Everett Horton Lane". For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Edward Everett Horton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard
.
Horton was greatly admired by the British DJ & comedian Maurice Cole, who took the stage name Kenny Everett
in his honor.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
.
Early life
Horton was born in Brooklyn, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Isabella S. Diack and Edward Everett Horton. His mother was born in Matanzas
Matanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to Mary Orr and George Diack, immigrants from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Many sources state that Edward Everett Horton's grandfather and namesake was Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale was an American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman. He was a child prodigy who exhibited extraordinary literary skills and at age thirteen was enrolled at Harvard University where he graduated second in his class...
, author of The Man Without a Country
The Man Without a Country
"The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published anonymously in The Atlantic in December 1863. It is the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend...
. Horton attended the Boys' High School
Boys and Girls High School
Boys and Girls High School, the oldest public high school in Brooklyn, is a comprehensive high school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York...
, Brooklyn, and Baltimore City College
Baltimore City College
The Baltimore City College , also referred to as The Castle on the Hill, historically as The College, and most commonly City, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. The City College curriculum includes the International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the classics...
high school in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was inducted into that school's Hall of Fame. He attended college at Brooklyn Polytechnic and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
Fraternity. He began his college career at Oberlin College, Ohio. He was asked to leave after an incident where he climbed to the top of the Service Building, and after collecting an audience, threw off a dummy, causing the viewers to think he had jumped. His sense of humor exceeded that of the College administration.
Stage and film career
Horton started his stage career in 1906, singing and dancing and playing small parts in VaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and in 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...
productions. In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and started getting roles in Hollywood films. His first starring role was in the 1922 comedy film Too Much Business, and he portrayed the lead role of an idealistic young classical composer in Beggar on Horseback
Beggar on Horseback
Beggar on Horseback is a play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly.A parody of the expressionistic parables that were popular at the time, it rails against the perils of trading one's artistic talents for commercial gain. At its core is Neil McRae, a poor, young classical composer...
in 1925. In the late 1920s he starred in two-reel silent comedies for Educational Pictures
Educational Pictures
Educational Pictures was a film distribution company founded in 1919 by Earle Hammons . Educational primarily distributed short subjects, and today is probably best known for its series of 1930s comedies starring Buster Keaton, as well as for a series of one-reel comedies featuring Shirley...
, and made the transition to talking pictures with Educational in 1929. As a stage trained performer, he found more film work easily, and appeared in some of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' early talkies, including The Hottentot and Sonny Boy. His distinctive voice was one of his trademarks.
Horton originally went under his given name, Edward Horton. His father persuaded him to adopt his full name professionally, reasoning that there might be other actors named Edward Horton, but only one named Edward Everett Horton.
Horton's screen character was instantly defined from his earliest talkies: pleasant and dignified, but politely hesitant when faced with a potentially embarrassing situation. Horton soon cultivated his own special variation of the time-honored double take
Double Take
Double take may refer to:*Double Take , an Australian sketch comedy*Double Take , a 1998 thriller*Double Take , a 2001 comedy*"Double Take" , a Code Lyoko episode...
(an actor's reaction to something, followed by a delayed, more extreme reaction). In Horton's version, he would smile ingratiatingly and nod in agreement with what just happened; then, when realization set in, his facial features collapsed entirely into a sober, troubled mask.
Horton starred in many comedy features in the 1930s, usually playing a mousy fellow who put up with domestic or professional problems to a certain point, and then finally asserted himself for a happy ending. He is best known, however, for his work as a character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
in supporting roles. Some of his noteworthy films include The Front Page
The Front Page (1931 film)
The Front Page is a 1931 American comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien. Based on a Broadway play of the same name, the film was produced by Howard Hughes, written by Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer, and distributed by United Artists. The...
(1931), Trouble in Paradise (1932), Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 film version of the famous Alice novels of Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Leon Schlesinger Productions.Stars featured...
(1933), The Gay Divorcee
The Gay Divorcee
The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners...
(1934), Top Hat
Top Hat
Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
(1935, one of several Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
/Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
films in which Horton appeared), Danger - Love at Work
Danger - Love at Work
Danger - Love at Work is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by James Edward Grant and Ben Markson focuses on an attorney's frustrating efforts to deal with a wildly eccentric family.-Plot:...
(1937), Lost Horizon (1937), Holiday
Holiday (1938 film)
Holiday is a 1938 is a film directed by George Cukor, a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film is a romantic comedy which tells the story of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family...
(1938), Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a comedy film in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes. The movie was adapted by Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller from the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry...
(1941), Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace (film)
Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 film directed by Frank Capra based on Joseph Kesselring's play of the same name. The script adaptation was by twins Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941, but it was not released until 1944, after the original stage version...
(1944), Pocketful of Miracles
Pocketful of Miracles
Pocketful of Miracles is a 1961 American comedy film that stars Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend is based on the screenplay Lady for a Day by Robert Riskin, which was adapted from the Damon Runyon short story "Madame La Gimp".The...
(1961), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963). He last appeared in a non-speaking role in Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey (film)
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
(1971).
Horton continued to appear in stage productions, often in summer stock. His performance in the play Springtime for Henry became a perennial in summer theaters.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
lived in a cottage on Horton's estate for a time in the late 1930s.
In a scene in Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
's cartoon Hare Trigger
Hare Trigger
Hare Trigger is a 1945 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon short starring Bugs Bunny directed by Friz Freleng. It marks the first appearance of Yosemite Sam, who appears as a train robber...
, Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
(in his debut) calls himself "the meanest, toughest, rip-roarin'-est, Edward Everett Horton-est hombre what ever packed a six-shooter!"
Radio and television
From 1945 to 1947, Horton hosted radio's Kraft Music HallKraft Music Hall
The Kraft Music Hall was a popular variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired on NBC radio and television from 1933 to 1971....
. During the 1950s, Horton worked in television. One of his most famous appearances is an I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
episode, where he is cast against type as a frisky, amorous suitor. (Horton, a last-minute replacement for another actor, received a special, appreciative credit in this episode.) Beginning in 1959 he narrated the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment of the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In 1965 he played the medicine man, Roaring Chicken, in the sitcom F Troop
F Troop
F Troop is a satirical American television sitcom that originally aired for two seasons on ABC-TV. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 and concluded its run on April 6, 1967 with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was filmed in black-and-white, but the show...
. He parodied this role, portraying "Chief Screaming Chicken" on Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
as a pawn to Vincent Price's Egghead in the villain's attempt to take control of Gotham City.
Death and influence
Horton died of cancer at age 84 in Encino, California. He is buried in Glendale's Whispering Pines section of Forest Lawn Memorial Park CemeteryForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
.
Shortly after he died, the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
renamed a portion of Amestoy Avenue, the dead-end street where he lived in the district of Encino, "Edward Everett Horton Lane". For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Edward Everett Horton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6427 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.
Horton was greatly admired by the British DJ & comedian Maurice Cole, who took the stage name Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
in his honor.
Selected filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1923 | Ruggles of Red Gap Ruggles of Red Gap Ruggles of Red Gap was serialized beginning December 26, 1914 in the Saturday Evening Post and became a best selling novel in 1915 by Harry Leon Wilson, adapted for the Broadway stage as a musical the same year, and made into a movie several times, most famously in 1935.In the comedy Western film... |
Ruggles | Credited as Edward Horton |
| 1926 | La Bohème La Bohème (1926 film) La Bohème is a 1926 silent drama film directed by King Vidor, based on the opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini.-Plot:The film takes place in Paris in 1830. Several bohemians try to survive on the streets, living under poor conditions and desiring to one day become famous. One of them is Marcel , a... |
Colline | |
| 1929 | Ask Dad Ask Dad Ask Dad is a 1929 American film directed by Hugh Faulcon and starring Edward Everett Horton, Winston Miller and Ruth Renick.-Cast:*Edward Everett Horton as Dad*Winston Miller as Tommy*Ruth Renick as Miss Grace Wilson... |
Dad | Short film |
| Sonny Boy | Crandall Thorpe | ||
| The Aviator The Aviator (1929 film) The Aviator was a 1929 all talking Vitaphone comedy film released by Warner Bros. Directed by Roy Del Ruth, the film was based on the play of the same name by James Montgomery and starred Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller... |
Robert Steele | ||
| 1930 | Holiday Holiday (1930 film) Holiday is a 1930 romantic comedy film which tells the story of a young man who is torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family. It stars Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames and Hedda Hopper... |
Nick Potter | |
| 1931 | Kiss Me Again Kiss Me Again (1931 film) Kiss Me Again is a musical operetta film filmed entirely in Technicolor. It was originally released in the United States as Toast of the Legion late in 1930, but was quickly withdrawn when Warner Bros. realized that the public had grown weary of musicals. The Warner Bros... |
René | Alternative title: Toast of the Legion |
| The Front Page The Front Page (1931 film) The Front Page is a 1931 American comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien. Based on a Broadway play of the same name, the film was produced by Howard Hughes, written by Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer, and distributed by United Artists. The... |
Roy V. Bensinger | ||
| Lonely Wives | Richard Smith/Felix, the Great Zero | ||
| 1932 | Trouble in Paradise | François Filiba | |
| 1933 | A Bedtime Story A Bedtime Story A Bedtime Story is a 1933 romantic comedy film starring Maurice Chevalier. Chevalier plays a Parisian playboy who finds himself obliged to care for an abandoned baby... |
Victor Dubois | |
| Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland (1933 film) Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 film version of the famous Alice novels of Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Leon Schlesinger Productions.Stars featured... |
The Hatter | ||
| Design for Living Design for Living (film) Design for Living is a 1933 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay by Ben Hecht is based on the 1933 play of the same name by Noël Coward. It concerns a trio of artistic Americans in Paris and their complicated three-way relationship.The film stars Fredric... |
Max Plunkett | ||
| It's a Boy It's a Boy (film) It's a Boy is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Tim Whelan and starring Leslie Henson, Albert Burdon and Edward Everett Horton. It is a farce about a blackmailer who attempts to demand money from a young woman on the brink of marriage... |
Dudley Leake | ||
| 1934 | Kiss and Make-Up Kiss and Make-Up Kiss and Make-Up is a 1934 romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant as a doctor who specializes in making women beautiful. Helen Mack and Genevieve Tobin play his romantic entanglements. The film was based on the play Kozmetika by István Békeffi. All of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1934 were cast in... |
Marcel Caron | |
| Ladies Should Listen Ladies Should Listen Ladies Should Listen is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle.-Cast:*Cary Grant as Julian De Lussac*Frances Drake as Anna Mirelle*Edward Everett Horton as Paul Vernet*Rosita Moreno as Marguerite Cintos*George Barbier as Joseph Flamberg... |
Paul Vernet | ||
| The Merry Widow The Merry Widow (1934 film) The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald... |
Ambassador Popoff | ||
| The Gay Divorcee The Gay Divorcee The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners... |
Egbert Fitzgerald | ||
| 1935 | The Private Secretary The Private Secretary (film) The Private Secretary is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edward Everett Horton, Barry MacKay, Judy Gunn and Oscar Asche... |
Reverend Robert Spalding | |
| The Devil Is a Woman | Governor Don "Paquitito" Paquito | ||
| All the King's Horses All the King's Horses (1935 film) All the Kings Horses is a 1935 American comedy musical film directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Carl Brisson and Mary Ellis. The film tells the story of a film actor who changes places with a Ruritanian prince... |
Count Josef von Schlapstaat | ||
| Going Highbrow | Augie Winterspoon | ||
| Top Hat Top Hat Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection... |
Horace Hardwick | ||
| 1936 | Man in the Mirror Man in the Mirror (film) Man in the Mirror is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin and Ursula Jeans. A withdrawn, mild mannered man is surprised when his reflection in the mirror comes to life. The reflection then begins to live the wild life that the man... |
Jeremy Dilke | |
| 1937 | Lost Horizon Lost Horizon (film) Lost Horizon is a 1937 American drama-fantasy film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the 1933 novel of the same title by James Hilton.... |
Alexander P. Lovett | |
| Shall We Dance | Jeffrey Baird | ||
| Danger - Love at Work Danger - Love at Work Danger - Love at Work is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by James Edward Grant and Ben Markson focuses on an attorney's frustrating efforts to deal with a wildly eccentric family.-Plot:... |
Howard Rogers | ||
| The Great Garrick The Great Garrick The Great Garrick is a motion picture directed by James Whale and starring Brian Aherne and Olivia de Havilland. It also features Lionel Atwill, Edward Everett Horton, and Melville Cooper. Lana Turner has a bit part... |
Tubby | ||
| Angel Angel (1937 film) Angel is a 1937 American comedy-drama film made by Paramount Pictures. It was produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson and Frederick Lonsdale, adapted by Guy Bolton and Russell Medcraft from the play Angyal by Melchior Lengyel. The music score was by Frederick... |
Graham | ||
| 1938 | Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Bluebeard's Eighth Wife Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is a 1938 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper. It is a farce about a millionaire banker and his wife... |
The Marquis De Loiselle | |
| College Swing College Swing College Swing, also known as Swing, Teacher, Swing in the U.K., is a 1938 comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, and Bob Hope... |
Hubert Dash | ||
| Holiday Holiday (1938 film) Holiday is a 1938 is a film directed by George Cukor, a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film is a romantic comedy which tells the story of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family... |
Professor Nick Potter | ||
| 1939 | That’s Right You’re Wrong That’s Right You’re Wrong That's Right You're Wrong is a musical film, directed by David Butler and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film starred Kay Kyser and his band, with a cast that included Adolphe Menjou, Lucille Ball, Edward Everett Horton, Roscoe Karns, and Ginny Simms .-Cast:*Kay Kyser as Kay Kyser*Adolphe... |
Tom Village | |
| The Gang's All Here The Gang's All Here (1939 film) The Gang's All Here is a 1939 British, black-and-white, crime, drama, musical, directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Ronald Shiner as Spider Ferris. It was produced by Associated British Picture Corporation. Subsequently, the film was released in 1943 with the film title of The Amazing Mr... |
Treadwell | ||
| 1941 | Ziegfeld Girl Ziegfeld Girl (film) Ziegfeld Girl is a 1941 American film starring James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner, and co-starring Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper, Eve Arden, and Philip Dorn. Released by MGM, it was directed by Robert Z... |
Noble Sage | |
| Sunny Sunny (1941 film) Sunny is a 1941 film American film directed by Herbert Wilcox. It was adapted by Sig Herzig from the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical play Sunny... |
Henry Bates | ||
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan Here Comes Mr. Jordan Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a comedy film in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes. The movie was adapted by Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller from the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry... |
Messenger 7013 | ||
| 1942 | The Magnificent Dope The Magnificent Dope That Magnificent Dope is a 1942 comedy film. As a publicity stunt, a down-on-his-luck success school operator searches for the least promising man in America to take his course.-Cast:*Henry Fonda as Thadeus Winship "Tad" Page*Lynn Bari as Claire Harris... |
Horace Hunter | |
| I Married an Angel I Married an Angel I Married An Angel is a musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled Angyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who,... |
Peter | ||
| Springtime in the Rockies Springtime in the Rockies Springtime in the Rockies is a Technicolor musical comedy film released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1942. A Betty Grable vehicle, with support from John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Horton. Also in the cast was Grable's future husband Harry James, and... |
McTavish | ||
| 1943 | Forever and a Day | Sir Anthony Trimble-Pomfret | |
| Thank Your Lucky Stars Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film) Thank Your Lucky Stars is a film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser. It was directed by David Butler and starred Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S. Z... |
Farnsworth | ||
| The Gang's All Here | Peyton Potter | ||
| 1944 | Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace (film) Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 film directed by Frank Capra based on Joseph Kesselring's play of the same name. The script adaptation was by twins Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941, but it was not released until 1944, after the original stage version... |
Mr. Witherspoon | |
| Brazil Brazil (1944 film) Brazil is a 1944 film directed by Joseph Santley. It is set in Brazil, and involves a composer masquerading as twins, trying to win the hand of an anti-Latin novelist.-Cast:* Tito Guízar as Miguel Soares* Virginia Bruce as Nicky Henderson... |
Everett St. John Everett | ||
| The Town Went Wild The Town Went Wild - Cast :*Freddie Bartholomew as David Conway*Jimmy Lydon as Bob Harrison*Edward Everett Horton as Everett Conway*Tom Tully as Henry Harrison*Jill Browning as Carol Harrison*Minna Gombell as Marian Harrison*Maude Eburne as Judge Bingle... |
Everett Conway | ||
| 1945 | Lady on a Train Lady on a Train Lady on a Train is a 1945 comedy film noir, starring Deanna Durbin and based on a story by Leslie Charteris.-Plot:Debutante Nikki Collins, an enthusiastic reader of detective stories, witnesses a murder in a building while passing by on a train entering New York's Grand Central Station. She goes to... |
Mr. Haskell | |
| 1947 | Down to Earth Down to Earth (1947 film) Down to Earth is a musical comedy starring Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, and Marc Platt, and directed by Alexander Hall. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, also directed by Hall. Edward Everett Horton and James Gleason reprise their roles from the earlier film, but Roland Culver... |
Messenger 7013 | |
| 1957 | The Story of Mankind | Sir Walter Raleigh | |
| 1961 | Pocketful of Miracles Pocketful of Miracles Pocketful of Miracles is a 1961 American comedy film that stars Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend is based on the screenplay Lady for a Day by Robert Riskin, which was adapted from the Damon Runyon short story "Madame La Gimp".The... |
Hudgins | |
| 1963 | One Got Fat One Got Fat One Got Fat is a 1963 bicycle safety film. It is narrated by F-Troop and Fractured Fairy Tales star, Edward Everett Horton.-Plot:In the film, ten friends who are children with monkey masks and tails, plan on going to the park for a picnic... |
Narrator | Short subject |
| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers... |
Cameo as Mr. Dinckler | ||
| 1964 | Sex and the Single Girl Sex and the Single Girl Sex and the Single Girl was written in 1962 by Helen Gurley Brown, as an advice book that encouraged women to become financially independent and experience sexual relationships before or without marriage... |
The Chief | |
| 1967 | The Perils of Pauline The Perils of Pauline (1967 film) The Perils of Pauline is a 1967 comedy film, which enjoyed neither the commercial nor critical success of the earlier Paulines. Inspired by the Batman TV series, with the same kind of florid villainy and dauntless heroics, this TV pilot starred Pamela Austin, best known for her appearances in Dodge... |
Caspar Coleman | |
| 1971 | Cold Turkey Cold Turkey (film) Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences... |
Hiram C. Grayson (non-speaking role) | Released posthumously |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | The Ford Theatre Hour Ford Theatre Ford Theatre was a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts... |
Sheridan Whiteside | 1 episode |
| 1952 | I Love Lucy I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System... |
Mr. Ritter | 1 episode |
| 1956 | General Electric Theater General Electric Theater General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:... |
Mr. Parkinson | 1 episode |
| 1957 | Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California... |
Mr. Carver | 1 episode |
| 1959–1964 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends | Many Roles | All episodes |
| 1960 | The Real McCoys The Real McCoys The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company... |
Mr. Medwick | 1 episode |
| 1962 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (TV series) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1962-1963 ABC sitcom starring Fess Parker as Eugene Smith, an honest but unsophisticated U.S. senator from an unidentified small-populated state. The half-hour program is based on the 1939 Frank Capra film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring James Stewart in... |
Senator Crabtree | 1 episode |
| 1962–1963 | Dennis the Menace | Ned Matthews | 3 episodes |
| 1965–1966 | F Troop F Troop F Troop is a satirical American television sitcom that originally aired for two seasons on ABC-TV. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 and concluded its run on April 6, 1967 with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was filmed in black-and-white, but the show... |
Roaring Chicken | 6 episodes |
| 1969 | It Takes a Thief | Lord Pelham-Gifford | 1 episode |
| 1970 | Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor Nanny and the Professor is a U.S. fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC and was last telecast... |
Professor Clarendon | 1 episode |
| 1971 | The Governor & J.J. The Governor & J.J. The Governor & J.J. is a television series that ran from 1969 to 1970 on CBS in the United States and in Canada, where it ran on CBC. Selected episodes were rerun by CBS during the summer of 1972. It was produced by Talent Associates and CBS Productions... |
Doc Simon | 2 episodes |