Edward G. Robinson
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Born:December 12, 1893 |
Born as:Emmanuel Goldenberg |
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Died:January 26, 1973 |
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Some people have youth, some have beauty - I have menace.
Biography:
Robinson was born in Romania (Europe) but emigrated with his parents at age 10 and grew up on New York. After winning a scholarship (1911) to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his stage debut in Paid in Full (1913) after changing his name to "Edward G." (for Goldenberg).1
He made it to Broadway in 1915 and over the next 15 years appeared with increasing recognition in a wide variety of plays, including The Kibitzer (1929), a three–act comedy that he also wrote. He won fame in Hollywood playing the trigger-happy gangster boss Enrico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931).
After the success of Little Caesar, Robinson joined James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart in Warner Brothers' crop of gangster movies in the 1930s and '40s.
Robinson portrayed the title character in several biographical works, such as Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) and A Dispatch from Reuter's (1940). Psychological dramas included Flesh and Fantasy (1943), Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945). He continued to portray gangsters such as Johnny Rocco in John Huston's Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart.
In the early fifties he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee for being a communist. He was eventually exonerated of Communist affiliations. Robinson was no longer a major star, though he continued to act in notable films such as The Ten Commandments (1956), A Hole in the Head (1959), and The Cincinnati Kid (1965).
Edward was never nominated for an Academy Award but in 1973 he was posthumously awarded an honorary Academy Award. He died before his autobiography, All My Days, was published in 1974.
Academy awards:
1973 Won: Honorary Award
Selected Movies:
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- Key Largo (1948)
- The Ten Commandments (1956)
- Scarlet Street (1945)
- The Woman in the Window (1944)
- The Sea Wolf (1941)
- The Stranger (1946)
Bibliography » Books:
