Edward Everett Horton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Horton began his stage career in 1906, singing and dancing and playing small parts in vaudeville and in Broadway productions. In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began acting in Hollywood films. His first starring role was in the comedy Too Much Business (1922), but he portrayed the lead role of an idealistic young classical composer in the drama Beggar on Horseback (1925). In the late 1920s, he starred in two-reel silent comedies for Educational Pictures, and made the transition to talking pictures with Educational in 1929. As a stage-trained performer, he found more film work easily, and appeared in some of Warner Bros.' early talkies, including The Terror (1928) and Sonny Boy (1929). Horton initially used his given name, Edward Horton, professionally. His father persuaded him to adopt his full name professionally, reasoning that other actors might be named Edward Horton, but only one named Edward Everett Horton. Horton soon cultivated his own special variation of the time-honored double take (an actor's reaction to something, followed by a delayed, more extreme reaction). In Horton's version, he would smile ingratiatingly and nod in agreement with what just happened; then, when realization set in, his facial features collapsed entirely into a sober, troubled mask. Horton starred in many comedy features in the 1930s, usually playing a mousy fellow who put up with domestic or professional problems to a certain point, and then finally asserted himself for a happy ending. He is best known, however, for his work as a character actor in supporting roles. These include The Front Page (1931), Trouble in Paradise (1932), Alice in Wonderland (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934, the first of several Astaire/Rogers films in which Horton appeared), Top Hat (1935), Danger - Love at Work (1937), Lost Horizon (1937), Holiday (1938), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Pocketful of Miracles (1961), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and Sex and the Single Girl (1964). His last role was in the comedy film Cold Turkey (1971), in which his character communicated only through facial expressions.
Filmography
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Cold Turkey
as Hiram C. Grayson
Cold Turkey
as Hiram C. Grayson
The Perils of Pauline
as Caspar Coleman
The Perils of Pauline
as Caspar Coleman
Sex and the Single Girl
as The Chief
Sex and the Single Girl
as The Chief
The Emperor's Oblong Pancake
as Narrator
The Emperor's Oblong Pancake
as Narrator
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Mr. Dinckler
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Mr. Dinckler
Pocketful of Miracles
as Hudgins
Pocketful of Miracles
as Hudgins
The Wonderful World of Trains
as Professor Hotbox
The Wonderful World of Trains
as Professor Hotbox
The Story of Mankind
as Sir Walter Raleigh
The Story of Mankind
as Sir Walter Raleigh
Three Men on a Horse
as Mr. Carver
Three Men on a Horse
as Mr. Carver
Saturday Spectacular: Manhattan Tower
as Noah
Saturday Spectacular: Manhattan Tower
as Noah
Her Husband's Affairs
as J.B. Cruikshank
Her Husband's Affairs
as J.B. Cruikshank
Down to Earth
as Messenger 7013
Down to Earth
as Messenger 7013
The Ghost Goes Wild
as Eric
The Ghost Goes Wild
as Eric
Earl Carroll Sketchbook
as Dr. Milo Edwards
Earl Carroll Sketchbook
as Dr. Milo Edwards
Faithful in My Fashion
as Hiram Dilworthy
Faithful in My Fashion
as Hiram Dilworthy
Cinderella Jones
as Keating
Cinderella Jones
as Keating
Lady on a Train
as Mr. Haskell
Lady on a Train
as Mr. Haskell
Steppin' in Society
as Judge Avery Webster
Steppin' in Society
as Judge Avery Webster
The Town Went Wild
as Everett Conway
The Town Went Wild
as Everett Conway
Brazil
as Everett St. John Everett
Brazil
as Everett St. John Everett
Arsenic and Old Lace
as Mr. Witherspoon
Arsenic and Old Lace
as Mr. Witherspoon
Summer Storm
as Count "Piggy" Volsky
Summer Storm
as Count "Piggy" Volsky
Her Primitive Man
as Orrin
Her Primitive Man
as Orrin
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Farnsworth
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Farnsworth
Springtime in the Rockies
as McTavish
Springtime in the Rockies
as McTavish
I Married an Angel
as Peter
I Married an Angel
as Peter
The Magnificent Dope
as Horace Hunter
The Magnificent Dope
as Horace Hunter
The Body Disappears
as Professor Shotesbury
The Body Disappears
as Professor Shotesbury
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Messenger 7013
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
as Messenger 7013
Bachelor Daddy
as Joseph Smith
Bachelor Daddy
as Joseph Smith
Sunny
as Henry Bates
Sunny
as Henry Bates
Ziegfeld Girl
as Noble Sage
Ziegfeld Girl
as Noble Sage
You're the One
as Death Valley Joe Frink
You're the One
as Death Valley Joe Frink
That's Right – You're Wrong
as Tom Village
That's Right – You're Wrong
as Tom Village
The Gang's All Here
as Treadwell
The Gang's All Here
as Treadwell
Paris Honeymoon
as Ernest Figg
Paris Honeymoon
as Ernest Figg
Little Tough Guys in Society
as Oliver
Little Tough Guys in Society
as Oliver
Holiday
as Nick Potter
Holiday
as Nick Potter
College Swing
as Hubert Dash
College Swing
as Hubert Dash
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
as Marquis De Loiselle
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
as Marquis De Loiselle
Hitting a New High
as Lucius B. Blynn
Hitting a New High
as Lucius B. Blynn
The Great Garrick
as Tubby
The Great Garrick
as Tubby
The Perfect Specimen
as Mr. Grattan
The Perfect Specimen
as Mr. Grattan
Danger – Love at Work
as Howard Rogers
Danger – Love at Work
as Howard Rogers
Wild Money
as P.E. Dodd
Wild Money
as P.E. Dodd
Shall We Dance
as Jeffrey Baird
Shall We Dance
as Jeffrey Baird
Oh, Doctor
as Edward J. Billop
Oh, Doctor
as Edward J. Billop
The King and the Chorus Girl
as Count Humbert Evel Bruger
The King and the Chorus Girl
as Count Humbert Evel Bruger
The Man in the Mirror
as Jeremy Dilke
The Man in the Mirror
as Jeremy Dilke
Let's Make a Million
as Harrison Gentry
Let's Make a Million
as Harrison Gentry
The Singing Kid
as Davenport Rogers
The Singing Kid
as Davenport Rogers
Her Master's Voice
as Ned Farrar
Her Master's Voice
as Ned Farrar
Your Uncle Dudley
as Dudley Dixon
Your Uncle Dudley
as Dudley Dixon
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
His Night Out
as Homer B. Bitts
His Night Out
as Homer B. Bitts
Little Big Shot
as Mortimer Thompson
Little Big Shot
as Mortimer Thompson
Top Hat
as Horace Hardwick
Top Hat
as Horace Hardwick
The Private Secretary
as Rev. Robert Spalding
The Private Secretary
as Rev. Robert Spalding
Going Highbrow
as Augie Winterspoon
Going Highbrow
as Augie Winterspoon
In Caliente
as Harold Brandon
In Caliente
as Harold Brandon
$10 Raise
as Hubert T. Wilkins
$10 Raise
as Hubert T. Wilkins
The Devil Is a Woman
as Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito'
The Devil Is a Woman
as Gov. Don Paquito 'Paquitito'
All the King's Horses
as Count Josef 'Peppi' von Schlapstaat
All the King's Horses
as Count Josef 'Peppi' von Schlapstaat
The Night Is Young
as Baron Szereny
The Night Is Young
as Baron Szereny
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
as Leander 'Bunny' Nolan
Biography of a Bachelor Girl
as Leander 'Bunny' Nolan
The Merry Widow
as Ambassador Popoff
The Merry Widow
as Ambassador Popoff
The Gay Divorcee
as Egbert Fitzgerald
The Gay Divorcee
as Egbert Fitzgerald
Kiss and Make-Up
as Marcel Caron
Kiss and Make-Up
as Marcel Caron
It's a Boy
as Dudley Leake
It's a Boy
as Dudley Leake
Smarty
as Vernon
Smarty
as Vernon
Uncertain Lady
as Elliot Crane
Uncertain Lady
as Elliot Crane
The Poor Rich
as Albert Stuyvesant Spottiswood
The Poor Rich
as Albert Stuyvesant Spottiswood
Alice in Wonderland
as Mad Hatter
Alice in Wonderland
as Mad Hatter
Trouble in Paradise
as Francois
Trouble in Paradise
as Francois
Roar of the Dragon
as Busby
Roar of the Dragon
as Busby
But the Flesh Is Weak
as Sir George Kelvin
But the Flesh Is Weak
as Sir George Kelvin
The Great Junction Hotel
as The Groom
The Great Junction Hotel
as The Groom
The Front Page
as Bensinger
The Front Page
as Bensinger
Reaching for the Moon
as Roger, the Valet
Reaching for the Moon
as Roger, the Valet
Holiday
as Nick Potter
Holiday
as Nick Potter
Wide Open
as Simon Haldane
Wide Open
as Simon Haldane
Take the Heir
as Smithers
Take the Heir
as Smithers
The Aviator
as Robert Street
The Aviator
as Robert Street
The Sap
as The Sap, Bill Small
The Sap
as The Sap, Bill Small
Ask Dad
as Dad
Ask Dad
as Dad
Vacation Waves
as Eddie Davis
Vacation Waves
as Eddie Davis
Scrambled Weddings
as Eddie Howe
Scrambled Weddings
as Eddie Howe
Call Again
as Eddie
Call Again
as Eddie
Find the King
as Edward Fairchild
Find the King
as Edward Fairchild
Taxi! Taxi!
as Peter Whitby
Taxi! Taxi!
as Peter Whitby
The Nut-Cracker
as Horatio Slipaway
The Nut-Cracker
as Horatio Slipaway
La Bohème
as Benoit - Janitor
La Bohème
as Benoit - Janitor
Beggar on Horseback
as Neil McRae
Beggar on Horseback
as Neil McRae
Helen's Babies
as Uncle Harry
Helen's Babies
as Uncle Harry
To the Ladies
as Leonard Beebe
To the Ladies
as Leonard Beebe
Flapper Wives
as Vincent Platt
Flapper Wives
as Vincent Platt
Ruggles of Red Gap
as Ruggles
Ruggles of Red Gap
as Ruggles
The Right Bed
as Bobby Kent
The Right Bed
as Bobby Kent