Volume III: Biographies

EARLE, Edward *

Actor (1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Together with Cissy Fitzgerald, Charles E. Kimball, and Hal Forde, all of whom were players with other companies, Edward Earle was brought by automobile to New Rochelle one day early in 1916 to play a cameo part in What Doris Did, part of which re-enacted the 1915 Boston Exhibitors' Ball, at which Doris Grey won a chance at an acting career.

Biographical Notes: Born in Toronto, Canada on July 16, 1882 (some accounts say 1884), Edward Earle was educated there. As a youngster he was employed in many small jobs, including delivering newspapers, repairing bicycles, and working in a candy shop. At the age of 18 he worked in a department store for $3 per week. When his request for a raise to $3.25 was refused, he quit, after which he joined the Valentine stock company, then forming in Toronto.

With a month's training in the theatre at $6 per week, he left Canada and rode the rails to New York City. After much looking, he captured a job with The Dairy Farm, a small road show in which he eventually played many roles, including that of a black mammy. He then toured with Tim Murphy in A Pair of Spectacles, and with Wright Lorrimer he was seen in the short-lived production of Shepherd King. Then came opportunities with Henrietta Crosman in Sweet Kitty Bellairs and with Mary Mannering in Glorious Betsy. Later, Edward Earle appeared in many productions, including In the Bishop's Carriage, The Blue Moon (with James T. Powers), The Boys and Betty (with Marie Cahill), The Matinee Idol (with DeWolf Hopper), The Quaker Girl, and Dr. DeLuxe.

Edward Earle's screen career commenced with Edison, for whom he worked in early sound films (phonograph synchronized with moving images) and in regular productions. His first Edison picture was the April 1914 release of The Unopened Letter. Subsequent Edison films included the 1915 releases of Ranson's Folly and Eugene Aram, with Mabel Trunnelle, The Working of a Miracle, with Gladys Hulette, and the 1916 subject, The Innocence of Ruth, with Viola Dana. He followed Miss Dana when she went to Famous Players, and with that studio acted in such films as The Light of Happiness and The Gates of Eden.

Edward Earle later worked in films for Pathé. For Thanhouser he appeared in a cameo role in the 1916 release of What Doris Did. In 1917 he was in films with the Frohman Amusement Company and was seen in God's Man, released in April of that year. A 1916 trade directory noted that he was 5'11" tall and weighed 160 pounds (another contemporary account gives his height as 6' and his weight as 150). He had chestnut hair and hazel eyes. At the time his mailing address was care of the Screen Club, New York City. In 1969 his address was 261 East 18th Street, Costa Mesa, California. Edward Earle died on December 15, 1972 in the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital, Woodland Hills, California.

Thanhouser Career Synopsis:

1916: What Doris Did (3-1-1916)

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