Edward Mayne Ellis (November 12, 1870 – July 26, 1952) was an American actor. He is best known for playing the title role in ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main ch ...

'', as well as in '' A Man to Remember''.

Early life

Ellis was born in

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in Branch County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan. The city is surrounded by C ...

, 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.

Career

He made his first stage appearance in 1879 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He was an actor, playwright and producer on Broadway before going into films. His first adult performance was in ''Mary and John'' in 1905. He toured all over

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

and also played in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Edward Ellis was a dramatic author and also wrote the playscript 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) and '' Three Sons'' (1939), a remake of

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931 ...

's '' Sweepings'' (1933). He starred in 37 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 William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters crea ...

) had been hired to investigate in the 1934 hit MGM film ''

''. The title does not refer to Powell's character, as is so widely assumed, but to Ellis' character in the film. In 1939,

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

offered Ellis the role of the President of the Senate in ''

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a 1939 American Political drama, political Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold (actor), Edward Arnold. ...

'', however he refused the part which went to Harry Carey. His last appearance was as Mr. Vane in '' The Omaha Trail'' (1942).

Personal life

He was briefly married to silent film actress from 1917 to the mid 1920s. Their union produced one daughter, Ruth Helen Ellis born in 1918. Ellis died on July 26, 1952 at the age of 81 from heart failure due to prostate cancer.

Partial filmography

*''The Law That Failed'' (1917) - Luke Rodin *''The Great Bradley Mystery'' (1917) - Bradley *'' The Delicious Little Devil'' (1919) - Detective (uncredited) *'' Out Yonder'' (1919) - Joey Clark *''

Frontier of the Stars ''Frontier of the Stars'' is a lost 1921 American drama silent film directed by Charles Maigne and written by Charles Maigne and Albert Payson Terhune. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Faire Binney, Alphonse Ethier, Edward Ellis, Gus Weinberg a ...

'' (1921) - Gregory *'' I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' (1932) - Bomber Wells *'' Girl Missing'' (1933) - Inspector McDonald *'' Strictly Personal'' (1933) - Soapy Gibson *'' After Tonight'' (1933) - Maj. Lieber *'' From Headquarters'' (1933) - Dr. Van de Water *'' Hi, Nellie!'' (1934) - O'Connell *'' The Ninth Guest'' (1934) - Tim Cronin *'' The Trumpet Blows'' (1934) - Chato *'' The Last Gentleman'' (1934) - Claude *''

'' (1934) - Clyde Wynant *'' The President Vanishes'' (1934) - Lincoln Lee *'' Transient Lady'' (1935) - Nick Kiley *'' Village Tale'' (1935) - Old Ike *'' Wanderer of the Wasteland'' (1935) - Dismukes *'' The Return of Peter Grimm'' (1935) - Dr. Andrew Macpherson *'' Chatterbox'' (1936) - Uriah Lowell *'' Winterset'' (1936) - Jim Talbot *'' Fury'' (1936) - Sheriff *'' The Texas Rangers'' (1936) - Major Bailey *'' The Lady Consents'' (1936) - Judge Gaunt *'' Maid of Salem'' (1937) - Elder Goode *'' Let Them Live'' (1937) - Pete Lindsey *''

The Man in Blue ''The Man in Blue'' is the title of two films: * ''The Man in Blue'' (1925 film), a silent drama starring Herbert Rawlinson * ''The Man in Blue'' (1937 film), a drama starring Robert Wilcox {{set index, films, Man in Blue, The ...

'' (1937) - Martin Dunne *'' Midnight Madonna'' (1937) - Judge Clark *'' Little Miss Broadway'' (1938) - Pop Shea *'' A Man to Remember'' (1938) - Dr. John Abbott *'' Man of Conquest'' (1939) - Andrew Jackson *''

Career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

'' (1939) - Stephen Cruthers *'' Three Sons'' (1939) - Daniel Pardway *'' Main Street Lawyer'' (1939) - Abraham Lincoln 'Link' Boggs *'' A Man Betrayed'' (1941) - Tom Cameron aka Boss Cameron *'' Steel Against the Sky'' (1941) - Pop Aloysius Evans *'' The Omaha Trail'' (1942) - Mr. Vane (final film role)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Edward 1870 births 1952 deaths 19th-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Michigan American male film actors American male stage actors American male silent film actors American male child actors Deaths from prostate cancer People from Coldwater, Michigan American theatre managers and producers American male screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters