Edmund Breese

American actor (1871–1936)

Genevieve Landry
Harriet Beach

Edmund Breese (June 18, 1871 – April 6, 1936) was an American stage^[1] and film actor of the silent era.

Biography

Breese was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Renshaw Breese and Josephine Busby.^[2]

The Opera House in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was the site of Breese's stage debut in the summer of 1895. He portrayed Adonis Evergreen in My Awful Dad.^[2]

Long on the stage with a varied Broadway career before entering films, Breese appeared with James O'Neill in The Count of Monte Cristo (1893), The Lion and the Mouse (1906) with Richard Bennett, The Third Degree (1909) with Helen Ware, The Master Mind (1913) with Elliott Dexter, the popular World War I era play Why Marry? (1917) with Estelle Winwood & Nat C. Goodwin and So This Is London (1922) with Donald Gallaher.^[3] He also acted in a stock company at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston.^[2]

Breese's film career began in 1914 with the Edison Studios.^[4] He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1935.He is best remembered as the advice-giving German businessman at the beginning of the war film All Quiet on the Western Front

His final role was on stage in Night of January 16th from September 1935 to April 1936. Just before the play ended its run, Breese developed peritonitis, from which he died on April 6, 1936^[5] at the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled.^[2] Funeral services were at the Church of the Transfiguration in New York City on April 8, 1936, after which his body was cremated.^[6]

Breese's first wife was Genevieve Landry. At the time of his death, he was married to Harriet Beach.^[2]

Selected filmography

The Master Mind (1914) as Richard Allen
The Walls of Jericho (1914) as Jack Frobisher
The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1915) as Jim Maxwell
The Song of the Wage Slave (1915) as Ned Lane
The Lure of Heart's Desire (1916) as Jim Carew
The Spell of the Yukon (1916) as Jim Carson
The Weakness of Strength (1916) as Daniel Gaynor
Someone Must Pay (1919)
His Temporary Wife (1920) as Judge Laton
Chains of Evidence (1920) as Judge Frank Sturgis
A Common Level (1920) as Matthew Ryan
Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1921) as King Cole
Beyond the Rainbow (1922) as Insp. Richardson
Sure Fire Flint (1922) as Johnny Jetts
The Curse of Drink (1922) as John Rand
Jacqueline (1923) as Edmund MacDonald
Luck (1923) as Alan Crosby
The Little Red Schoolhouse (1923) as Brent
You Are Guilty (1923) as Judge Elkins
Bright Lights of Broadway (1923) as Reverend Graham Drake
Marriage Morals (1923) as Harry's Father
The Fair Cheat (1923) as Morgan Van Dam
Three O'Clock in the Morning (1923) as Mr. Winthrop
Restless Wives (1924) as Hobart Richards
Damaged Hearts (1924) as Innkeeper
The Sixth Commandment (1924) as Col. Saunders
The Speed Spook (1924) as Chuck Brady
Those Who Judge (1924) as Henry Dawson
Playthings of Desire (1924) as Governor Cabbot
The Early Bird (1925) as The Great La Tour
Wildfire (1925) as Sen. Woodhurst
The Police Patrol (1925) as Tony Rocco
The Live Wire (1925) as Sawdust Sam
Womanhandled (1925) as Uncle Lester
The Highbinders (1926) as Mike Harrigan
The Brown Derby (1926) as John J. Caldwell
Stepping Along (1926) as Prince Ferdinand Darowitsky
Paradise for Two (1927) as Uncle Howard
Back to Liberty (1927) as Tom Devon / Reginald Briand
Home Made (1927) as Mr. Tilford
Finders Keepers (1928) as Col. Hastings
Burning Daylight (1928) as John Dossett
The Perfect Crime (1928) as Wilmot
The Wright Idea (1928) as Mr. Filbert
The Haunted House (1928) as Uncle Herbert
On Trial (1928) as Judge
Conquest (1928) as William Holden
Fancy Baggage (1929) as John Hardin
Sonny Boy (1929) as Thorpe
Girls Gone Wild (1929) as Judge Elliott
From Headquarters (1929) as Bit Part (uncredited)
The Gamblers (1929) as Bit Part (uncredited)
Girl Overboard (1929) as Jim Keefe
The Hottentot (1929) as Ollie
In the Headlines (1929) as Eddy
Hold Everything (1930) as Pop O'Keefe
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as Herr Meyer, the Stammtisch speaker
The Czar of Broadway (1930) as McNab
Rough Waters (1930) as Captain Thomas
The Sea Bat (1930) as Maddocks
Top Speed (1930) as Spencer Colgate
Bright Lights (1930) as Harris
Playboy of Paris (1930) as General (uncredited)
Kismet (1930) as Jawan
Tol'able David (1930) as Hunter Kinemon
Playthings of Hollywood (1930) as Unknown Role
The Painted Desert (1931) as Judge Matthews
The Last Parade (1931) as City Editor (uncredited)
Millie (1931) as Defense Attorney
The She-Wolf (1931) as William Remington
Young Sinners (1931) as Trent
The Good Bad Girl (1931) as Mr. J.P. Henderson
Defenders of the Law (1931) as Police Commander Randall
The Public Defender (1931) as Frank Wells
Wicked (1931)
Chinatown After Dark (1931) as Le Fong
Platinum Blonde (1931) as Conroy - the Editor
Morals for Women (1931) as Mr. Huston
Mata Hari (1931) as Warden
The Hatchet Man (1932) as Yu Chang
Cross-Examination (1932) as Dwight Simpson - Prosecuting Attorney
The Reckoning (1932) as Doc
Police Court (1932) as Judge Robert Webster
Love Bound (1932) as J.B. 'Lucky' Morrison
Young Bride (1932) as Mr. C. B. Chadwick, the Broker
As You Desire Me (1932) as Friar (uncredited)
Alias Mary Smith (1932) as Father
The Hurricane Express (1932) as Frank Stratton
Drifting Souls (1932) as Brad Martin
The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) as Holmes Scott
The Golden West (1932) as Sam Lynch
Women Won't Tell (1932) as Attorney for the Defense
Madame Butterfly (1932) as Cho-Cho's grandfather
The Match King (1932) as Olaf Christofsen
The Billion Dollar Scandal (1933) as Haddock
International House (1933) as Dr. Wong
Fighting with Kit Carson (1933, Serial) as Matt Fargo [Chs. 1–7, 12]
Laughing at Life (1933) as Cabinet Officer
The Stranger's Return (1933) as Dr. Craig (uncredited)
A Man of Sentiment (1933) as John Russell Sr.
Ladies Must Love (1933) as Thomas Van Dyne
Only Yesterday (1933) as Wall Street Investor
Female (1933) as Board Member (uncredited)
Duck Soup (1933) as Former President Zander, Firefly's predecessor
Above the Clouds (1933) as Crusty
On Your Guard (1933) as Prison Warden
Beloved (1934) as Maj. Tarrant
Dancing Man (1934) as J.C. Trevor
Come On, Marines! (1934) as Gen. Cabot
Return of the Terror (1934) as Editor
Treasure Island (1934) as Pirate of the Spanish Main
The Law of the Wild (1934, Serial) as Dr. R.N. Price [Chs. 6, 11-12] (uncredited)
Lost in the Stratosphere (1934) as Col. Brooks
Broadway Bill (1934) as Presiding Judge
The Marriage Bargain (1935) as Judge Robert Stanhope

References

^ Eaton, Walter Prichard (1910). The American Stage of Today. New york, NY: P.F. Collier & Son.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Edmund Breese, noted actor, dies". The New York Times. April 7, 1936. p. 25. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
^ Pictorial History of the American Theatre 1860-1985 c.1985 by Daniel Blum
^ Erickson, Hal. "Edmund Breese". AllMovie. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
^ "Illness is Fatal to Edmund Breese". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 7, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
^ "Rites for Edmund Breese". The New York Times. April 9, 1936. p. 23. Retrieved October 29, 2021.