Edward G. Robinson

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For other people named Edward Robinson, see Edward Robinson (disambiguation).
Edward G. Robinson
Edward g robinson.jpg
1931 studio publicity photo
Born Emanuel Goldenberg
(1893-12-12)December 12, 1893
Bucharest, Romania
Died January 26, 1973(1973-01-26) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1913–1973
Spouse(s) Gladys Lloyd (m. 1927–1956)
Jane Robinson (m. 1958–1973)

Edward G. Robinson (Yiddish: עמנואל גאָלדנבערג Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893 – January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-born American actor.[1] A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo.

Other memorable roles include insurance investigator Barton Keyes in the film noir Double Indemnity, Dathan (adversary of Moses) in The Ten Commandments, and his final performance as Sol Roth in the science-fiction story Soylent Green.[2]

Robinson was selected for an Honorary Academy Award for his work in the film industry, which was posthumously awarded two months after the actor's death in 1973. He was included in the American Film Institute's list of the 25 greatest male stars in American cinema.

Contents

Early years and education [edit]

Robinson was born as Emanuel Goldenberg to a Yiddish-speaking Romanian Jewish family in Bucharest, the son of Sarah (née Guttman) and Morris Goldenberg, a builder.[3]

After one of his brothers was attacked by an antisemitic mob, the family decided to emigrate to the United States. Robinson arrived in New York City on February 14, 1903. He grew up on the Lower East Side,[4] had his Bar Mitzvah at First Roumanian-American congregation,[5] and attended Townsend Harris High School and then the City College of New York.[citation needed] An interest in acting led to him winning an American Academy of Dramatic Arts scholarship,[citation needed] after which he changed his name to Edward G. Robinson (the G. signifying his original last name).[citation needed]

Career [edit]

Robinson in his breakout role, Little Caesar (1931)
In Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944)

He began his acting career in the Yiddish Theater District[6][7][8] in 1913 and made his Broadway debut in 1915.[citation needed] He made his film debut in a minor uncredited role in 1916;[citation needed] in 1923 he made his named debut as E. G. Robinson in The Bright Shawl. One of many actors who saw his career flourish in the new sound film era rather than falter, he made only three films prior to 1930 but left his stage career that year and made 14 films between 1930–1932.

Robinson made 101 films in his fifty-year career. An acclaimed performance as the gangster Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello in Little Caesar (1931) led to him being typecast as a "tough guy" for much of his early career in works such as Five Star Final (1931), Smart Money (1931; his only movie with James Cagney), Tiger Shark (1932), Kid Galahad (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and A Slight Case of Murder. Due to age, he could not qualify for military service during World War II.[9] In the 1940s, Robinson demonstrated his ability to succeed in comedic and film noir roles, including Raoul Walsh's Manpower (1941) with Marlene Dietrich and George Raft, Larceny, Inc. (1942) with Jane Wyman and Broderick Crawford, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window (1944) with Joan Bennett and Raymond Massey, Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945) with Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea, and Orson Welles' The Stranger (1946) with Orson Welles and Loretta Young. He appeared for director John Huston as gangster Johnny Rocco in Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart and the only one in which Bogart did not play a supporting role.

Robinson was an outspoken critic of fascism and Nazism, and donated more than US$ 250,000 to 850 political and charitable groups between 1939 and 1949. He was host to the Committee of 56 who gathered at his home on December 9, 1938, signing a "Declaration of Democratic Independence" which called for a boycott of all German Products.[10] He played FBI agent Turrou in Confessions of a Nazi Spy, the first American film which showed Nazism as a threat to the United States in 1939, and Paul Ehrlich in Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and Paul Julius Reuter in A Dispatch from Reuter's, both Jewish Biography films of 1940. In 1942, he volunteered for military service and was sent to London.[11]

On three occasions in 1950 and 1952, he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and was threatened with blacklisting.[12] Robinson took steps to clear his name, such as having a representative go through his check stubs to ensure that none had been issued to subversive organizations.[12][13] He did not give names of Communist sympathizers, but he repudiated the organizations he had belonged to in the 1930s and 1940s and his own name was cleared, but he only received smaller roles and even those less frequently. Robinson "continued his ritual of rehabilitation by humiliation" in October 1952, when he wrote an article titled "How the Reds made a Sucker Out of Me", that was published in the American Legion Magazine.[14] In spite of this, he was once again called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in January 1954.[15]

During this time, he appeared in numerous "B" movies for American International Pictures and other low-budget studios while attempting to regain his prior status as a major film actor. Some of these films, such as Vice Squad (1953) proved excellent in their own right, while others, such as 1958's Tank Battalion, were critical and commercial failures. Anti-communist director Cecil B. DeMille cast him as Dathan in The Ten Commandments in 1956, freeing him to make A-list films again. Robinson's acting career was subsequently bolstered by notable roles in 1959's A Hole in the Head opposite Frank Sinatra and The Cincinnati Kid (1965), which showcased Robinson alongside Steve McQueen.

Robinson's last-filmed scene of his last acting role was a euthanasia sequence in the science fiction cult film Soylent Green (1973). Immediately prior to filming the emotional scene, Robinson told his co-star, and longtime friend Charlton Heston that he was dying from cancer and had weeks to live, at best.[citation needed] Robinson died twelve days later.

Personal life [edit]

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Robinson and his son in a 1962 episode of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.

Robinson married his first wife, stage actress Gladys Lloyd, in 1927; born Gladys Lloyd Cassell, she was the former wife of Ralph L. Vestervelt and the daughter of Clement C. Cassell, an architect, sculptor, and artist. The couple had one son, Edward Goldenberg Robinson, Jr. (a.k.a. Manny Robinson, 1933–1974), as well as a daughter from Gladys Robinson's first marriage.[16] In 1956 he was divorced from his wife.[citation needed] In 1958 he married 38-year-old Jane Bodenheimer, a dress designer known as Jane Arden.[citation needed]

Robinson spoke seven languages.[citation needed] He built up a significant art collection and partnered with Vincent Price in running an art gallery. In 1956, he sold his collection to Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos to raise cash for his divorce settlement with Gladys Robinson;[citation needed] his finances had suffered due to underemployment in the early 1950s. One of his chief pastimes was collecting records of the world's leading concerts.[citation needed] An inveterate cigar smoker, Robinson smoked cigars in many of his movie roles to accentuate his character.

A liberal Democrat, he attended the 1960 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, California.[17]

Robinson died of bladder cancer[18] in 1973, and is buried in a crypt in the family mausoleum at Beth-El Cemetery[19] in the Ridgewood area of the borough of Queens in New York City.

Legacy [edit]

Robinson has been the inspiration for a number of television characters. Firstly, an early version of the gangster character Rocky, featured in the Bugs Bunny cartoon Racketeer Rabbit, shared his likeness. This version of the character also appears briefly in Justice League, in the episode "Comfort and Joy", as an alien with Robinson's face and non-human body, who hovers past the screen as a background character. Similar caricatures also appeared in The CooCooNut Grove, Thugs with Dirty Mugs and Hush My Mouse. Another character based on Robinson's gangster image was The Frog from the cartoon series Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse. The voice of B.B. Eyes in The Dick Tracy Show was based on Robinson, with Mel Blanc and Jerry Hausner sharing voicing duties. Voice actor Hank Azaria has said that the voice of Simpsons character police chief Clancy Wiggum is an impression of Robinson.[20] This has been explicitly joked about in episodes of the show. In "The Day the Violence Died" (1996), a character states that Chief Wiggum is clearly based on Robinson. In 2008's "Treehouse of Horror XIX", Wiggum and Robinson's ghost each accuse the other of being rip-offs.[citation needed]

Robinson was never nominated for an Academy Award, but in 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen ... in sum, a Renaissance man".[citation needed] He had been notified of the honor, but died two months before the award ceremony, thus the award was collected by his widow Jane Robinson.[2]

Filmography [edit]

See also [edit]

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References [edit]

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, January 31, 1973, page 71.
  2. ^ a b "Edward G. Robinson, 79, Dies; His 'Little Caesar' Set a Style; Man of Great Kindness Edward G. Robinson Is Dead at 79 Made Speeches to Friends Appeared in 100 Films". The New York Times. January 27, 1973, Saturday. Retrieved July 21, 2007. "Edward G. Robinson, whose tough, sinister appearance on movie screens concealed the soul of a gentle man, died today at the age of 79. Mr. Robinson succumbed at Mount Sinai Hospital where he had undergone tests in recent weeks. The cause of death was not immediately determined" 
  3. ^ Parish, James Robert; Marill, Alvin (1972). The Cinema of Edward G. Robinson. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes. p. 16. ISBN 0-498-07875-2. 
  4. ^ Ross, Steven (2011). Hollywood Left and Right. How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-19-518172-2. Retrieved March 20, 2012. 
  5. ^ Epstein (2007), p. 249
  6. ^ Morgen Stevens-Garmon (February 7, 2012). "Treasures and "Shandas" from the Collection on Yiddish theater". Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved March 10, 2013. 
  7. ^ Hy Brett (1997). The Ultimate New York City Trivia Book. Thomas Nelson Inc. Retrieved March 10, 2013. 
  8. ^ Cary Leiter (2008). The Importance of the Yiddish Theatre in the Evolution of the Modern American Theatre. ProQuest. Retrieved March 10, 2013. 
  9. ^ Wise, James: Stars in Khaki: Movie Actors in the Army and Air Services. Naval Institute Press, 2000. ISBN 1-55750-958-1. Page 228.
  10. ^ Ross, pp. 99–102
  11. ^ Ross, p. 106
  12. ^ a b Sabin, Arthur J. In Calmer Times: The Supreme Court and Red Monday, p. 35. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999
  13. ^ Bud and Ruth Schultz, It Did Happen Here: Recollections of Political Repression in America, p. 113. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
  14. ^ Ross, Stephen J. "Little Caesar and the McCarthyist Mob", USC Trojan Magazine. Los Angeles: University of Southern California, August 2011 issue. Accessed on Jan 10, 2013. [1]
  15. ^ Ross, pp. 121–123
  16. ^ "Edward G. Robinson, Jr. Is Dead; Late Screen Star's Son Was 40". The New York Times. February 27, 1974, Wednesday. Retrieved July 21, 2007. "Edward G. Robinson Jr., the son of the late screen actor, died yesterday. Mr. Robinson, who was 40 years old, was found unconscious by his wife, Nan, in their West Hollywood home. His death was attributed to natural causes." 
  17. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7opAIZ9dv3E
  18. ^ Gansberg, pp. 246, 252–253.
  19. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=880
  20. ^ Joe Rhodes (October 21, 2000). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide. 

Further reading [edit]

  • Epstein, Lawrence Jeffrey (2007). Edge of a Dream: The Story of Jewish Immigrants on New York's Lower East Side, 1880–1920. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-7879-8622-3. 
  • Robinson, Edward G.; Spigelgass, Leonard (1973). All My Yesterdays; an Autobiography. Hawthorn Books. LCCN 73005443. 

External links [edit]

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