Edward Arnold (actor)

Edward Arnold
Arnold on the radio show Three Thirds of the Nation, May 6, 1942
Born	Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider (1890-02-18)February 18, 1890 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 26, 1956(1956-04-26) (aged 66) Encino, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cerebral haemorrhage
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1907–56
Spouse(s)	Harriet Marshall (1917–27) 3 children Olive Emerson (1929–49) Cleo McLain (1951–56) his death
Children	Edward Arnold Jr. (1920-1996) Jane Arnold Elizabeth Arnold

Edward Arnold (February 18, 1890 – April 26, 1956) was an American actor.

Arnold was born as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider on the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants Elizabeth (Ohse) and Carl Schneider. His schooling came at the East Side Settlement House.

Arnold was married three times: Harriet Marshall (1917–1927), with whom he had three children: Elizabeth, Jane and William (who had a short movie career as Edward Arnold, Jr.); Olive Emerson (1929–1948) and Cleo McLain (1951 until his death).

Interested in acting since his youth (he made his first stage appearance at the age of 12 as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice), Arnold made his professional stage debut in 1907. He found work as an extra for Essanay Studios and World Studios, before landing his first significant role in 1916's The Misleading Lady. In 1919, he left film for a return to the stage, and did not appear again in movies until he made his talkie debut in Okay America! (1932). He recreated one of his stage roles in one of his early films, Whistling in the Dark (1933). His role in the 1935 film Diamond Jim boosted him to stardom. He reprised the role of Diamond Jim Brady in the 1940 film Lillian Russell. He also played a similar role in The Toast of New York (1937), another fictionalized version of real-life business chicanery, for which he was billed above Cary Grant in the posters with his name in much larger letters.

Arnold appeared in over 150 movies. Although he was labeled "box office poison" in 1938 by an exhibitor publication (he shared this dubious distinction with Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn), he never lacked for work. Rather than continue in leading man roles, he gave up losing weight and went after character parts instead. Arnold was quoted as saying, "The bigger I got, the better character roles I received." He was such a sought-after actor, he often worked on two pictures at the same time.