Snitz Edwards
| Snitz Edwards | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | January 1, 1868 (some sources state 1862) Budapest, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | May 1, 1937 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Unknown (1889-??; divorced) Eleanor Taylor (1906-1937; his death) |
| Children | 3 |
Snitz Edwards (January 1, 1868 (some sources state 1862) – May 1, 1937) was a stage and character actor of the early years of the silent film era into the 1930s.
Born Edward Neumann into a Jewish household on New Year's Day 1868 in Budapest, Hungary (then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire), Edwards emigrated to the United States and became a very successful Broadway stage actor during the early twentieth century. His first show was the musical comedy Little Red Riding Hood, which opened on January 8, 1900.
He often appeared in the first decade of the 20th century on Broadway in productions for such prominent stage directors as Arthur Hammerstein and Charles Frohman. He traveled with touring companies across the United States and in South America. On one trip, the company manager absconded with the box office receipts, leaving Snitz and the rest of the marooned troupers to find their way across Panama to catch a steamship back to New York City. In later years, Snitz told of touring cow towns in the American West where boardinghouses had signs saying that Jews, Indians and Irish were acceptable, but not actors.
Edwards transitioned to films rather easily and was quickly lauded as a talented character actor. With his expressive and "homely" face, he was considered by many directors to be well suited to light, comedic roles and often played characters written as a comic foil opposite starring actors. His "homely", pliable features eventually made Edwards a household name during the 1920s.
At his peak in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Edwards appeared with some of the most famous actors of the era, including: Mary Pickford, Clara Kimball Young, Barbara La Marr, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Wallace Reid, Lila Lee, Colleen Moore, Lionel Barrymore, Conrad Nagel, Mildred Harris, Rod La Rocque, Ramón Novarro, Marion Davies and countless others. In 1925 he was cast in one of his most memorable roles, that of Florine Papillon in the Rupert Julian directed box-office hit The Phantom of the Opera, opposite Lon Chaney, Sr. and Mary Philbin; and he co-starred with Douglas Fairbanks in Thief of Bagdad.
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