Snitz Edwards (January 1, 1868(some sources state 1862) – May 1, 1937) was a notable
character actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads...
of the early years of the
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
era into the 1930s.
Born
Edward Neumann into a
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish household on
New Year's DayNew Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome . In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the...
, 1868 in Budapest, Hungary (then, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire), Edwards emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and became a very successful
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
stage actor during the early twentieth century.
Snitz Edwards (January 1, 1868(some sources state 1862) – May 1, 1937) was a notable
character actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads...
of the early years of the
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
era into the 1930s.
Biography
Born
Edward Neumann into a
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish household on
New Year's DayNew Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome . In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the...
, 1868 in Budapest, Hungary (then, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire), Edwards emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and became a very successful
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
stage actor during the early twentieth century. His first show was the musical comedy
Little Red Riding Hood which opened on January 8, 1900. Edwards often appeared in the first decade of the twentieth-century on the Broadway stage in productions for such prominent stage directors as
Arthur HammersteinArthur Hammerstein , was the son of Oscar Hammerstein I and uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was an opera producer and one of the writers of the song "Because of You," a major hit for Tony Bennett in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film I Was an American Spy...
and
Charles FrohmanCharles Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer.One of three Frohman brothers, he was born in Sandusky, Ohio. He was the youngest, his older brothers being: Daniel Frohman and Gustave Frohman...
. He also traveled with touring companies across the United States and in South America. On one trip, the company manager absconded with the box office receipts, leaving Snitz and the rest of the marooned troupers to find their way across
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
to catch a steam ship back to New York. In later years, Snitz told of touring cow towns in the American West, where boarding houses had signs saying Jews, Indians and Irish were acceptable, but not actors.
Edwards transitioned to films rather easily and was quickly lauded as a talented character actor. With his expressive and "homely" face, he was considered by many directors to be well-suited to light, comedic roles and often played characters written as a comic foil opposite starring actors. Ironically, it was his "homely", pliable features that eventually made Edwards a household name during the 1920s.
At his peak in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Edwards appeared with some of the most famous actors of the era, including:
Mary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian motion picture actor, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Known as "America's Sweetheart," "Little Mary" and "The girl with the curls," she was one of the first Canadian...
,
Clara Kimball YoungClara Kimball Young was an American film actress of the early silent film era.- Early life :Clara Kimball Young was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.; her parents Edward M. Kimball and Pauline Maddern were travelling stock actors...
,
Barbara La MarrBarbara La Marr was an American stage and film actress, cabaret artist and screenwriter.-Early life:She was born Reatha Dale Watson to William Wallace and Rosana "Rose" Watson in Yakima, Washington...
, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.,
Wallace ReidWallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to by Motion Picture Magazine as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
,
Lila LeeLila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film era.-Early life:Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young...
,
Colleen MooreColleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
,
Lionel BarrymoreLionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, radio and film. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul .-Early life:...
,
Conrad NagelConrad Nagel was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well known television actor and radio performer.- Biography :...
,
Owen MooreOwen Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. Along with his brothers Tom, Matt, & Joe , he emigrated to America and they all went on to successful careers in motion pictures in Hollywood, California. Moore made 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937, possibly more than any...
,
Mildred HarrisMildred Harris was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Mildred Harris made her first screen appearances at the age of eleven in the Francis Ford and Thomas H...
,
Rod La RocqueRod La Rocque was an American actor.He was born Rodrique la Rocque de la Rour in Chicago, Illinois of French and Irish descent. He began appearing in stock theater at the age of seven and eventually ended up at the Essanay Studios in Chicago where he found steady work until the studios closed...
,
Ramón NovarroRamón Novarro was a Mexican actor who achieved fame as a "Latin lover" in silent films.-Early life and career:...
,
Marion DaviesMarion Davies was an American film actress.Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
and countless others. In 1925 he was cast in one of his most memorable roles, that of Florine Papillon in the
Rupert JulianRupert Julian was a cinema actor, director, writer and producer.Born Thomas Percival Hayes in Whangaroa, New Zealand, Rupert Julian performed on stage and in film in his native New Zealand and Australia before emigrating to the United States in 1911, starting his career as an actor in Universal...
directed box-office hit
The Phantom of the Opera, opposite
Lon Chaney, Sr.Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema. He is best remembered for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his...
and
Mary PhilbinMary Philbin was a notable film actress of the silent film era. Philbin is probably best remembered for playing the roles of Christine Daaé in the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera opposite screen legend Lon Chaney and Dea in The Man Who Laughs...
, and he co-starred with Fairbanks in "Thief of Bagdad."
Edwards was married to actress Eleanor Taylor and the couple had three daughters: Cricket, Evelyn and Marian. Edwards was a popular Hollywood personality, and he and Eleanor hosted lively parties as well as being guests of Marion Davies at San Simeon Castle.
Edwards also was personally chosen by actor and director
Buster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton VI was an American comic actor and filmmaker. Best known for his silent films, his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the seventh greatest director of all...
to act in three of Keaton's films: 1925's
Seven ChancesSeven Chances is an American comedy silent film directed by and starring Buster Keaton, based on a play written by David Belasco. Additional casts members include T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, Ruth Dwyer, and others. The film also stars Jean Arthur, a future 1930s screwball actor, in an...
, 1926's
Battling ButlerBattling Butler is a 1926 comedy silent film directed by and starring Buster Keaton.-Plot summary:Alfred's father wants him to make of a man of himself so sends him off on a hunting and fishing trip.-Cast:*Buster Keaton as Alfred Butler...
, and the extremely popular 1927 film
College.
By the early 1930s and the advent of talkies, Edwards was already in his 60s, suffering from crippling arthritis, but remaining active until his last role, a part in the 1931
William A. WellmanWilliam Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
directed crime drama
The Public EnemyThe Public Enemy is a pre-Code American crime drama film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The movie relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America. The supporting players include Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan...
opposite actors
Jean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Platinum Blonde" and the "Blonde Bombshell" due to her platinum blonde hair, Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
,
James CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.For his first performing...
, and
Joan BlondellRose Joan Blondell was an American actress.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career. Establishing herself as a sexy wisecracking blonde, she was a pre-Hays Code staple of Warner Brothers and appeared in more than 100 movies and television productions...
. Originally, the part was a significant one, but the first scenes were shot were in driving rain, causing Edwards to become severely ill. In the surviving film, he appears in only a few scenes (breezily saying "Hi Ya Boys" to the juvenile Cagney and pal in the beer parlor, dropping a dime into a pay phone to rat out Cagney, refusing to open the door to Cagney after his first big job at the fur wearhouse goes bad.)
Edwards died of natural causes on May 1, 1937 in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
at the age of 69. His wife Eleanor continued to act as a dress extra until World War II, when she volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen. Snitz's and Eleanor's three daughters continued careers in the movie industry; Cricket was an executive for Carl Foreman and for Columbia Pictures, Evelyn was a writer, story analyst and story editor for MGM and CBS, and Marian (married to writer Irwin Shaw) produced numerous plays in Europe. Eleanor died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Calabasas California in 1968.
External links/References