Edmund Gwenn
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| Edmund Gwenn | |||||||||||
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 from the trailer for the film Pride and Prejudice (1940). |
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| Born | Edmund Kellaway September 26, 1877 Wandsworth, London, England |
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| Died | September 6, 1959 (aged 81) Woodland Hills, California |
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| Years active | 1910 - 1957 | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Minnie Terry (1901-1901) | ||||||||||
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Edmund Gwenn (September 26, 1877–September 6, 1959) was an Academy Award-winning English theatre and film actor.
Born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, England[1] Gwenn started his acting career in theatre in 1895. Playwright George Bernard Shaw was impressed with his acting, and cast him in the first production of Man and Superman, and subsequently in five more of his plays. Gwenn's career was interrupted by his military service during World War I; however, after the war ended, he started appearing in films in London. (Cecil Kellaway was his cousin.)
Gwenn appeared in more than eighty films during his career, including the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice, Cheers for Miss Bishop, Of Human Bondage, and The Keys of the Kingdom. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Upon receiving his Oscar, he said "Now I know there is a Santa Claus!" He received a second nomination for his role in Mister 880 (1950). Near the end of his career he played one of the main roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955). He has a small but hugely memorable role as a Cockney assassin in another Hitchcock film, Foreign Correspondent (1940)
In 1954, Gwenn played Dr. Harold Medford in the classic science fiction film Them! with James Arness and James Whitmore.
Edmund Gwenn died from pneumonia after suffering a stroke, in Woodland Hills, California. He was cremated and his ashes are stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California.
Edmund Gwenn has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street for his contribution to motion pictures.
[edit] Selected filmography
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| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Harold Russell for The Best Years of Our Lives |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1947 for Miracle on 34th Street |
Succeeded by Walter Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre |
| Preceded by Clifton Webb for The Razor's Edge |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1948 for Miracle on 34th Street |
Succeeded by Walter Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre |
| Preceded by James Whitmore for Battleground |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1951 for Mister 880 |
Succeeded by Peter Ustinov for Quo Vadis |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Edmund Gwenn at the Internet Movie Database
- Edmund Gwenn in Screen Director's Playhouse: Miracle on 34th Street (1949) (Downloadable mp3 and streaming audio)
- Edmund Gwenn in Lux Radio Theater: Miracle on 34th Street (1948) (Downloadable mp3 and streaming audio)
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Gwenn, Edmund |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kellaway, Edmund |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1877-9-26 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wandsworth, London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1959-9-6 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Woodland Hills, California |
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