Edward Everett Horton
Born March 18, 1886 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Died September 29, 1970 in Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA (cancer)
Birth Name Edward Everett Horton Jr.
Nicknames Eddie and Ned.
Height 6'1"
Mini Bio (1)
It seemed like Edward Everett Horton appeared in just about every Hollywood comedy made in the 1930s. He was always the perfect counterpart to the great gentlemen and protagonists of the films. Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Isabella S. (Diack) and Edward Everett Horton, a compositor for the NY Times. His maternal grandparents were Scottish and his father was of English and German ancestry. Like many of his contemporaries, Horton came to the movies from the theatre, where he debuted in 1906. He made his film debut in 1922. Unlike many of his silent-film colleagues, however, Horton had no problems in adapting to the sound, despite--or perhaps because of--his crackling voice. From 1932 to 1938 he worked often with Ernst Lubitsch, and later with Frank Capra. He has appeared in more than 120 films, in addition to a large body of work on TV, among which was the befuddled Hekawi medicine man Roaring Chicken on the western comedy F Troop (1965).
Family (1)
Parents Horton Sr., Edward Everett
Edward Everett Horton
Isabella Horton
Trade Mark (2)
Quavering, slightly effeminate voice
The triple take--an extended double take
Trivia (18)
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA., in the Whispering Pines section at the top of the hill.
Contrary to some reports, he was not the grandson of namesake Edward Everett Hale, author of "The Man Without a Country.".
Played the role of Professor Nick Potter in Holiday (1930) and again in the 1938 remake directed by George Cukor.
Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 281-283. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Tommy Bond was a regular on Horton's radio show in the 1930s.
Diagnosed with cancer, he was hospitalized at Glens Falls, New York, for several weeks before returning to his San Fernando, California, home, where he died at the age of 84.
According to an in-depth article by Eve Golden in "Classic Images" magazine, Edward's longtime companion was actor Gavin Gordon, who was 15 years his junior. Not much was ever documented on the couple. They appeared in one movie together, Pocketful of Miracles (1961).
Appeared in a number of revivals of the comedy play "Springtime for Henry" beginning in the 1930s and extending into the 1960s. He played the part of the effete Henry Dewlip more than 3,000 times.
In the 1920s he acted in and managed the Majestic Theater in Los Angeles with his brother and business manager, George.
Like Zasu Pitts, Horton excelled in comedy and specialized in the fretful, woebegone "Nervous Nellie" types. The duo were the only actors who could utter the simple words "Oh, dear!" and make it sound like it was the end of the world.
Joined a Gilbert and Sullivan stock company in 1907 on Staten Island and performed in several shows, including "The Mikado". He went on to join several theatre companies in the 1910s, including the Orpheum Players in Philadelphia, The Baker Stock Company in Oregon, and the Crescent Theatre in Brooklyn.
Studied business at both Polytechnic Institute and Columbia. At Columbia, however, he began acting in collegiate plays and that changed the direction of his life.
His father, Edward Everett Horton, Sr., had English and German ancestry, and his mother, Isabella S. (Diack), was born in Matanzas, Cuba, to Scottish parents. He was the eldest of four children; George, Winter Davis, and Hannahbelle were his siblings. The family remained close throughout their lives. Edward's mother lived with him until she died at the age of 101. His brothers and sister also spent their later years residing at his Encino estate.
Beginning in 1959 through 1964, he narrated the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment as well as playing multiple characters in various supporting features of the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show .
He owned an estate in Encino on Amestoy Avenue that he named "Belly Acres".
Was in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: The Front Page (1931), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Lost Horizon (1937) and Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Edward Everett Horton is mentioned in the Warner Bros. cartoon "Hare Trigger" (1945).
He appeared in five films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Front Page (1931), Trouble in Paradise (1932), Top Hat (1935), Lost Horizon (1937) and The Gang's All Here (1943).
Personal Quotes (4)
[at the suggestion of retirement, c. 1966, aged 80] Dear Lord! I would go right out of my mind.
[on Rita Hayworth] She was so sweet and hard-working. She asked me to watch her work out her dance routines and go over her lines with her. I'd tell her little things and she'd whisper, "Don't tell the director, please." She was so modest and affectionate.
[on Douglas Sirk] He was delightful and ambitious and so well-informed.
I have my own little kingdom. I do the scavenger parts no one else wants and I get well paid for it.
Salary (2)
Too Much Business (1922) $150 /week
Roar of the Dragon (1932) $3,500 /week
Amanda S. Stevenson 
