Edward Brophy
Encyclopedia
Edward S. Brophy was an American
character actor
, voice artist, and comedian
. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he was known for portraying gangsters, both serious and comic.
when he was chosen to appear with Buster Keaton
in one sequence of Keaton's film The Cameraman. As two clients in a bath-house, Brophy and Keaton attempt to undress and put on bathing suits while sharing a single tiny changing room. Each time Keaton attempts to hang his clothes on one hook, Brophy removes the clothes and hands them back to Keaton and gestures to the other hook. He manhandles the smaller, more slender Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Appearing only in this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. Most of his long and prolific career was spent at MGM.
He played the main character's loyal manager in The Champ
(1931), a Rollo Brother in the movie Freaks
(1932), Joe Morelli from The Thin Man
(1934) and Nick Charles' friend Brogan from The Thin Man Goes Home
(1944). Brophy was most famous as the voice behind Timothy the mouse in Dumbo
, even though he was uncredited for this role.
. He was buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, voice artist, and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he was known for portraying gangsters, both serious and comic.
Career
In 1928, with only a few minor film roles to his credit, Brophy was working as a junior production executive for Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
when he was chosen to appear with Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
in one sequence of Keaton's film The Cameraman. As two clients in a bath-house, Brophy and Keaton attempt to undress and put on bathing suits while sharing a single tiny changing room. Each time Keaton attempts to hang his clothes on one hook, Brophy removes the clothes and hands them back to Keaton and gestures to the other hook. He manhandles the smaller, more slender Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Appearing only in this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. Most of his long and prolific career was spent at MGM.
He played the main character's loyal manager in The Champ
The Champ
The Champ is a 1931 American film written by Frances Marion, Leonard Praskins and Wanda Tuchock, and directed by King Vidor. The movie stars Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper , and tells the story of a washed up alcoholic boxer who tries to put his life together for the sake of his young son.The...
(1931), a Rollo Brother in the movie Freaks
Freaks
Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"...
(1932), Joe Morelli from The Thin Man
The Thin Man (film)
The Thin Man is a 1934 American comic detective film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Nick is a hard drinking retired detective and Nora a wealthy heiress...
(1934) and Nick Charles' friend Brogan from The Thin Man Goes Home
The Thin Man Goes Home
The Thin Man Goes Home is a 1945 motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.-Plot:...
(1944). Brophy was most famous as the voice behind Timothy the mouse in Dumbo
Dumbo
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
, even though he was uncredited for this role.
Death
Edward Brophy died on May 27, 1960 during the production of Two Rode TogetherTwo Rode Together
Two Rode Together is a western film directed by John Ford, and starring James Stewart, Richard Widmark, and Shirley Jones. The supporting cast includes Linda Cristal, Andy Devine, and John McIntire...
. He was buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery is located at 1847 14th Street in Santa Monica, California.-Notable burials:*Hugo Ballin , artist*Mabel Ballin , Actress*George Bancroft , actor...
.
Partial filmography
- The Cameraman (1928) (uncredited)
- Free and EasyFree and EasyFree and Easy is a 1941 film directed by George Sidney. It stars Robert Cummings and Ruth Hussey.-Cast:*Robert Cummings as Max Clemington*Ruth Hussey as Martha Gray*Judith Anderson as Lady Joan Culver*C. Aubrey Smith as Duke Colver...
(1930) - Those Three French GirlsThose Three French GirlsThose Three French Girls is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Fifi D'Orsay, Reginald Denny and Cliff Edwards. While on holiday in a small French town, an Englishman encounters three French girls and two American men. The dialogue was written by P.G....
(1930) - The ChampThe ChampThe Champ is a 1931 American film written by Frances Marion, Leonard Praskins and Wanda Tuchock, and directed by King Vidor. The movie stars Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper , and tells the story of a washed up alcoholic boxer who tries to put his life together for the sake of his young son.The...
(1931) - FreaksFreaksFreaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"...
(1932) - FleshFlesh (1932 film)Flesh is a 1932 black-and-white drama film directed by John Ford and starring Wallace Beery as a German wrestler. Some of the script was written by Moss Hart and an uncredited William Faulkner.-Cast :...
(1932) - What! No Beer?What! No Beer?What! No Beer? is a 1933 comedy film starring Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante, and directed by Edward Sedgwick. The studio had also paired Keaton and Durante as a comedy team during this period in The Passionate Plumber and Speak Easily....
(1933) (uncredited) - Beer and PretzelsBeer and PretzelsBeer and Pretzels is the second of five short subjects starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured Bonnie Bonnell, Healy's girlfriend at the time.-Plot:...
(1933 short) - Hello Pop!Hello Pop!Hello Pop! was the third of five short subjects starring Ted Healy and His Stooges released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A musical-comedy film, the short also featured the Albertina Rasch Dancers and Bonnie Bonnell. The film is now considered a lost film. The last known copy was at MGM's vault no.7...
(lost 1933 short) - The Thin ManThe Thin Man (film)The Thin Man is a 1934 American comic detective film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they solve crimes with ease. Nick is a hard drinking retired detective and Nora a wealthy heiress...
(1934) - Hide-OutHide-OutHide-Out is a 1934 comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Robert Montgomery and Maureen O'Sullivan. It also features a young Mickey Rooney.- Plot :...
(1934) - Death on the DiamondDeath on the DiamondDeath on the Diamond is a 1934 mystery film starring Robert Young as a baseball player who has to figure out who is trying to murder the members of his team, the Saint Louis Cardinals...
(1934) - Evelyn PrenticeEvelyn PrenticeEvelyn Prentice is a 1934 film teaming William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Rosalind Russell in her film debut. The movie was based on the 1933 novel of the same name....
(1934) - 1,000 Dollars a Minute1,000 Dollars a Minute1,000 Dollars a Minute is a 1935 comedy film directed by Aubrey Scotto. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording.-Cast:* Roger Pryor as Wally Jones* Leila Hyams as Dorothy Summers* Edward Brophy as Benny Dolan...
(1935) - The Whole Town's TalkingThe Whole Town's TalkingThe Whole Town's Talking is a 1935 comedy film starring Edward G. Robinson as a law-abiding man who bears a striking resemblance to a killer, with Jean Arthur as his love interest. It was directed by John Ford from a screenplay by Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin based on a story by W.R...
(1935) - Naughty Marietta (1935)
- Mad LoveMad Love (1935 film)Mad Love is a 1935 American horror film adaptation of Maurice Renard's story The Hands of Orlac. Directed by German-émigré film maker Karl Freund, the film stars Peter Lorre as Dr. Gogol, Frances Drake as Yvonne Orlac and Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac. The plot revolves around Doctor Gogol's...
(1935) - China SeasChina Seas (film)China Seas is a 1935 adventure film starring Clark Gable as a brave sea captain, Jean Harlow as his brassy paramour, and Wallace Beery as an extremely suspicious-looking character...
(1935) - Remember Last Night?Remember Last Night?Remember Last Night? is a 1935 American mystery comedy film directed by James Whale. The film, based on the novel The Hangover Murders, is about the investigation of the murder of one of a group of friends. The survivors are unable to recall the events of the night of the murder because they were...
(1935) - Wedding PresentWedding Present (1936 film)Wedding Present is a 1936 romantic comedy film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Richard Wallace, and starred Joan Bennett and Cary Grant...
(1936) - Great GuyGreat GuyGreat Guy is a crime film starring James Cagney and Mae Clarke. An honest inspector for the New York Department of Weights and Measures takes on corrupt merchants and politicians.-Cast:*James Cagney as Johnny Cave*Mae Clarke as Janet Henry...
(1936) - The Girl Said No (1937)
- The Last GangsterThe Last GangsterThe Last Gangster is a 1937 crime drama film, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart and Rose Stradner.-Plot:...
(1937) - A Slight Case of MurderA Slight Case of MurderA Slight Case of Murder is a 1938 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on a play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay. The offbeat comedy stars Edward G...
(1938) - Romance on the RunRomance on the Run- Cast :*Donald Woods*Patricia Ellis*Grace Bradley*Edward Brophy*William Demarest*Craig Reynolds*Andrew Tombes*Bert Roach*Leon Weaver*Edwin Maxwell*Granville Bates*Jean Joyce*Georgia Simmons*Herman Schlom*Alberto Colombo*Ernest Miller*Ernest J. Nims...
(1938) - Hold That KissHold That KissHold That Kiss is a romantic comedy film starring Maureen O'Sullivan and Dennis O'Keefe.-Plot:Travel agency clerk Tommy Bradford delivers tickets to wealthy J. Westley Piermont at the lavish wedding of his daughter. Piermont introduces him to model June Evans , but neglects to mention neither...
(1938) - Gold Diggers in ParisGold Diggers in ParisGold Diggers in Paris is a 1938 Warner Bros. movie musical directed by Ray Enright with musical numbers created and directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenkins.-Plot:...
(1938) - You Can't Cheat an Honest ManYou Can't Cheat an Honest ManYou Can't Cheat an Honest Man is a comedy film starring and scripted by W. C. Fields.-Production background:Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. The whimsical title comes from a line spoken by Fields about ten minutes into...
(1939) - Golden BoyGolden Boy (film)Golden Boy is a 1939 black-and-white Columbia Pictures drama film based on the Clifford Odets play of the same name. It features William Holden in the role that made him a star: a promising violinist who wants to be a boxer. Barbara Stanwyck plays his love interest. The supporting cast included Lee J...
(1939) - Golden GlovesGolden Gloves (1940 film)-Cast:* Richard Denning as Bill Crane* Jeanne Cagney as Mary Parker* J. Carrol Naish as Joe Taggerty* Robert Paige as Wally Matson* William Frawley as Emory Balzar* Edward Brophy as Potsy Brill* Robert Ryan as Pete Wells* George Ernest as Joey Parker...
(1940) - Dance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, Dance is a film released in 1940, directed by Dorothy Arzner.In 2007, Dance, Girl, Dance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", describing it as Arzner's...
(1940) - The Invisible WomanThe Invisible WomanThe Invisible Woman is a science fiction, comedy film that was released near the end of 1940 by Universal. It is the third film follow Invisible Man and The Invisible Man Returns which had been released earlier in the year. The comedic writers Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo wrote the screenplay in...
(1940) - The Bride Came C.O.D.The Bride Came C.O.D.The Bride Came C.O.D. is a 1941 Warner Bros. screwball romantic comedy starring James Cagney as a pilot and Bette Davis as a runaway heiress. Although the film was publicized as the first movie pairing of Warner Bros.' two biggest stars, they had actually made Jimmy the Gent together in 1934.The...
(1941) - DumboDumboDumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
(1941) (voice) (uncredited) - The Gay FalconThe Gay FalconThe Gay Falcon is the first in a series of films about a suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. The 1941 B film was intended by RKO Radio Pictures to introduce a replacement for The Saint, after RKO decided that renewing the film rights to the latter character would be too expensive...
(1941) - All Through the NightAll Through the Night (film)All Through the Night is a light-hearted thriller film released by Warner Brothers in 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by Vincent Sherman.-Plot:An elderly baker named Miller is murdered by a sinister stranger...
(1941) - Larceny, Inc.Larceny, Inc.Larceny, Inc. is an American film. Originally released on May 2, 1942 by Warner Brothers, the film is a cross between the comedy and gangster genres. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, it stars Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, and Edward Brophy.The film is based...
(1942) - BroadwayBroadway (1942 film)Broadway is a 1942 film about Broadway theatre with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Gwynne, and S.Z. Sakall. Raft plays himself, recalling an incident early in his pre-movie career as a dancer. The movie was directed by William A....
(1942) - Air Force (1943)
- DestroyerDestroyer (1943 film)Destroyer is a 1943 war film starring Edward G. Robinson and Glenn Ford as U.S. Navy sailors in World War II.-Plot:Steve "Boley" Boleslavski helps build the destroyer John Paul Jones, the namesake of the ship he served on in World War I...
(1943) - Cover Girl (1944)
- It Happened TomorrowIt Happened TomorrowIt Happened Tomorrow is a 1944 fantasy film starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell and Jack Oakie, and featuring Edgar Kennedy and Sig Ruman. It was directed by René Clair.-Plot:...
(1944) - The Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes HomeThe Thin Man Goes Home is a 1945 motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe. It is the fifth of the six Thin Man films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's dapper private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora.-Plot:...
(1945) - Wonder ManWonder Man (film)Wonder Man is a 1945 film starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. It is based on a short story by Arthur Sheekman, adapted for the screen by a staff of writers led by Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1945) - Renegade GirlRenegade Girl- Cast :*Ann Savage as Jean Shelby*Alan Curtis as Capt. Fred Raymond*Edward Brophy as Bob Crandall*Russell Wade as Jerry Long*Jack Holt as Maj. Barker*Claudia Drake as Mary Manson*Ray Corrigan as William Quantrill*John 'Dusty' King as Cpl. Brown...
(1946) - It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
- Arson, Inc.Arson, Inc.- Cast :*Robert Lowery as Joe Martin*Anne Gwynne as Jane Jennings*Edward Brophy as Pete Purdy*Marcia Mae Jones as Betty - Fender's Secretary*Douglas Fowley as Frederick P. 'Fred' Fender*Maude Eburne as Grandma*William Forrest as Deputy Fire Chief / Narrator...
(1949) - Bundle of JoyBundle of JoyBundle of Joy is a musical remake of the comedy film Bachelor Mother . It stars Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and Adolphe Menjou. An unmarried salesgirl at a department store finds and takes care of an abandoned baby...
(1956) - The Last HurrahThe Last Hurrah (1958 film)The Last Hurrah is a 1958 film adaptation of the novel The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor. It was directed by John Ford and starred Spencer Tracy as a veteran mayor preparing for yet another election campaign...
(1958)