Person Details
Birthday: 1879-08-26 09:07:37
Death: 1940-06-06 09:07:37
Aliases: Edward Erskholme Clive , Edward E. Clive , E. E. Clive
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 52
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
Biography
Edward Erskholme Clive was a Welsh stage actor and director who had a prolific acting career in Britain and America. He also played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood movies between 1933 and his death. E. E. Clive was born on 28 August 1879 in Blaenavon in Monmouthshire. Clive studied for a medical career, and had completed four years of medical studies at St Bartholomew's Hospital before switching his focus to acting at age 22. Touring the provinces for a decade, Clive became an expert at virtually every sort of regional dialect in the British Isles. He moved to the US in 1912, where after working in the Orpheum vaudeville circuit he set up his own stock company in Boston. By the 1920s, his company was operating in Hollywood; among his repertory players were such up-and-comers as Rosalind Russell. He also worked at the Broadway in several plays. E. E. Clive made his film debut as a village police constable in 1933's The Invisible Man with Claude Rains, then spent the next seven years showing up in wry supporting and bit parts, where he often portrayed comical versions of English stereotypes. He often played butlers, reporters, aristocrats, shopkeepers and cabbies during his short film career. Though his roles were often small, Clive was a well-known and prolific character actor of his time. Among his best-known roles was the incompetent Burgomaster in James Whale's horror classic Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He was a semi-regular as Tenny the Butler in Paramount Pictures' Bulldog Drummond B series, starring John Howard; he also played butlers in other movies like Bachelor Mother with David Niven and Ginger Rogers. In 1939, Clive appeared in The Little Princess as the lawyer Mr. Barrows, and the first two entries of the classic Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone. One of Clive's last roles was Sir William Lucas in the 1940 literature adaption Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. E. E. Clive died on 6 June 1940, of a heart ailment, in his Hollywood home. He was survived by his wife Eleanor and their child. Clive was a member of the Euclid lodge of Freemasons in Boston.
Most Famous Work
The Bride of Frankenstein
(1935) BurgomasterThe Invisible Man
(1933) Constable JaffersTarzan Escapes
(1936) MastersForeign Correspondent
(1940) Mr. Naismith (uncredited)The Charge of the Light Brigade
(1936) Sir Humphrey HarcourtPride and Prejudice
(1940) Sir William LucasCaptain Blood
(1935) Clerk of the CourtDracula's Daughter
(1936) Detective Sergeant WilkesActing
Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
---|---|---|
1964 | Cosgrove Dabney in 'Personal Property' (arch. foot.) (uncred.) | |
1940 | Mr. Naismith (uncredited) | |
Mr. Naismith (uncredited) | ||
Sir William Lucas | ||
Mr. MacPherson | ||
Horace Snell | ||
Mr. Redwood | ||
1939 | Barraclough | |
Inspector Bristol | ||
Tenny | ||
Butler | ||
Hotchkiss | ||
Barouche Driver | ||
Mr. Arthur, Duke of Cricklewood | ||
Tenny | ||
London Cabbie John Clayton | ||
Mr. Barrows | ||
Port Commandant General (uncredited) | ||
1938 | Major Barclay | |
Tenny | ||
N/A | ||
'Tenny' Tennison | ||
Room Steward | ||
Minister MacDougall | ||
Tenny | ||
Chester Blascomb | ||
Alf | ||
1937 | 'Tenny' Tennison | |
Lord Nigel Braemer | ||
Mr. Palmiston | ||
First Butler | ||
Wilbur | ||
Tenny | ||
Captain Bowden | ||
Auctioneer | ||
Guide | ||
Cosgrove Dabney | ||
Sir Samuel Buffington | ||
Cabby | ||
Bilge | ||
Stiles | ||
"Tenny" Tennison | ||
1936 | Saint Gaudens (uncredited) | |
Magistrate | ||
Masters | ||
Sir Humphrey Harcourt | ||
. Montgomery Brantley | ||
Montgomery Brantley | ||
Dr. Hardy | ||
Fishing Instructor | ||
Charles Fendwick | ||
London Gossip Editor Bill Mechan | ||
Dr. Smith (uncredited) | ||
Barkins | ||
Morgan | ||
King | ||
Walker | ||
Sir Arthur | ||
N/A | ||
Detective Sergeant Wilkes | ||
Lord Henry Hathaway | ||
Yacht Captain (uncredited) | ||
Sir Harry Lorridaile | ||
Foot, the Butler | ||
1935 | Clerk of the Court | |
Judge in 'Old Bailey' | ||
Lord Holloway | ||
Grammaphone Man (uncredited) | ||
Crane | ||
Coroner's Photographer (uncredited) | ||
Higgins - Pub Proprietor (uncredited) | ||
Coachman | ||
Monogram Shirtmaker (uncredited) | ||
McIntosh | ||
Jevons | ||
Burgomaster | ||
Thorpe's Chauffeur Westbrook (uncredited) | ||
Mayor Thomas Sapsea | ||
Sheriff's Man (uncredited) | ||
1934 | Sheriff Greer | |
Sergeant Dawes | ||
Chief Customs Inspector (uncredited) | ||
Det. Sgt. Thacker | ||
London Bobbie | ||
Chayne | ||
Major Mills (uncredited) | ||
Lord Fetherstone | ||
Spot Hawkins | ||
1933 | Constable Jaffers | |
1932 | Steward | |
Year | Character | Movie/Tv |