Edward Earle(1882-1972)
- Actor
- Writer
Canadian native Edward Earle was born in Toronto on July 16, 1882, and
was raised and schooled there. His stage career took form in Canada
with an early emphasis on musical comedy, and he later toured in
vaudeville and stock in association with Belasco,
DeWolf Hopper Sr.,
Marie Cahill and the Schuberts, among other
theatrical illuminaries. Making his Broadway debut in the comedy "The
Triumph of Love" in 1904, his work on the stage eventually led to film
parts in 1914.
Earle entered via the Edison film company and emerged a star not long
after, distinguishing himself at other studios as well, including
Vitagraph, Famous Players, Metro, Warners and Columbia, with a tally of
over 400 silent and talking films by the time he retired four decades
later. Tawny blond, blue-eyed, well-built and with a clean-cut
handsomeness, Earle was a natural for dashing, romantic silent film
leads. He gained initial film attention starring in Edison's "Olive's
Opportunities" one-reeler series paired opposite
Mabel Trunnelle in 1914 and 1915. Adding
dash and verve to such silents as
Ranson's Folly (1915), a western
also showcasing Ms. Trunelle;
The Innocence of Ruth (1916);
The Light of Happiness (1916)
and The Gates of Eden (1916),
all opposite a dramatic Viola Dana, he went
on to dress up everything from stalwart war dramas
(For France (1917)) to mystery
comedies
(The Blind Adventure (1918)).
From 1917 through 1919, he and Agnes Ayres
enjoyed great success in a series of two-reeler shorts based on the
works of O. Henry.
Earle ventured into the 1920s with such stylish movie showcases as
East Lynne (1921),
False Fronts (1922) and
The Dangerous Flirt (1924),
but then began to falter into second leads and support roles, which
including the George Arliss starrer
The Man Who Played God (1922),
the Marie Prevost comedy
How to Educate a Wife (1924),
little Baby Peggy's showcase
The Family Secret (1924),
Colleen Moore's comedy romance
Irene (1926), the
John Gilbert/Joan Crawford
sea tale
Twelve Miles Out (1927), and
Conrad Nagel's part talking prohibition
tale Kid Gloves (1929). Come the
advent of sound Earle was offered character parts and by the end of the
pre-Code talkies era was relegated to bit and unbilled extra parts in
Shirley Temple, Laurel and Hardy and Marx
Bros. flicks.
He continued to appear throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and tended
to be more visible in oaters and serial cliffhangers. Extremely
athletic with a daredevil instinct, he tried his hand as an artist,
aviator and automobile racing car driver. Retiring in the early 1960s,
Earle eventually retired to the Woodland Hills, California Motion
Picture Country Home, where he passed away from complications of old
age at age 90 in 1972.
was raised and schooled there. His stage career took form in Canada
with an early emphasis on musical comedy, and he later toured in
vaudeville and stock in association with Belasco,
DeWolf Hopper Sr.,
Marie Cahill and the Schuberts, among other
theatrical illuminaries. Making his Broadway debut in the comedy "The
Triumph of Love" in 1904, his work on the stage eventually led to film
parts in 1914.
Earle entered via the Edison film company and emerged a star not long
after, distinguishing himself at other studios as well, including
Vitagraph, Famous Players, Metro, Warners and Columbia, with a tally of
over 400 silent and talking films by the time he retired four decades
later. Tawny blond, blue-eyed, well-built and with a clean-cut
handsomeness, Earle was a natural for dashing, romantic silent film
leads. He gained initial film attention starring in Edison's "Olive's
Opportunities" one-reeler series paired opposite
Mabel Trunnelle in 1914 and 1915. Adding
dash and verve to such silents as
Ranson's Folly (1915), a western
also showcasing Ms. Trunelle;
The Innocence of Ruth (1916);
The Light of Happiness (1916)
and The Gates of Eden (1916),
all opposite a dramatic Viola Dana, he went
on to dress up everything from stalwart war dramas
(For France (1917)) to mystery
comedies
(The Blind Adventure (1918)).
From 1917 through 1919, he and Agnes Ayres
enjoyed great success in a series of two-reeler shorts based on the
works of O. Henry.
Earle ventured into the 1920s with such stylish movie showcases as
East Lynne (1921),
False Fronts (1922) and
The Dangerous Flirt (1924),
but then began to falter into second leads and support roles, which
including the George Arliss starrer
The Man Who Played God (1922),
the Marie Prevost comedy
How to Educate a Wife (1924),
little Baby Peggy's showcase
The Family Secret (1924),
Colleen Moore's comedy romance
Irene (1926), the
John Gilbert/Joan Crawford
sea tale
Twelve Miles Out (1927), and
Conrad Nagel's part talking prohibition
tale Kid Gloves (1929). Come the
advent of sound Earle was offered character parts and by the end of the
pre-Code talkies era was relegated to bit and unbilled extra parts in
Shirley Temple, Laurel and Hardy and Marx
Bros. flicks.
He continued to appear throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and tended
to be more visible in oaters and serial cliffhangers. Extremely
athletic with a daredevil instinct, he tried his hand as an artist,
aviator and automobile racing car driver. Retiring in the early 1960s,
Earle eventually retired to the Woodland Hills, California Motion
Picture Country Home, where he passed away from complications of old
age at age 90 in 1972.