Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portrayed dumb cops and gangsters, both serious and comic.
He is best remembered for his roles in the Falcon film series, based on the suave detective of the same name, and for voicing Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo (1941).
Career
Edward Santree Brophy was born in New York City. His screen debut was in Yes or No (1920).[1]
In 1928, with only a few minor film roles to his credit, Brophy was working as a junior production executive for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when he was chosen to appear with Buster Keaton in one sequence of Keaton's film The Cameraman. As two clients in a bath-house, Brophy and Keaton attempt to undress and put on bathing suits while sharing a single tiny changing room. Each time Keaton attempts to hang his clothes on one hook, Brophy removes the clothes and hands them back to Keaton and gestures to the other hook. He manhandles the smaller, more slender Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Appearing only in this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. Though he did appear in a few theatre roles, most of his long and prolific career was in film and was spent at the studio's of MGM.
He played the main character's loyal manager in The Champ (1931),
a Rollo Brother circus proprietor in the movie Freaks (1932),
Joe Morelli from The Thin Man (1934)
and Nick Charles' friend Brogan from The Thin Man Goes Home (1944).
Brophy made a lasting impression on Disney fans as the voice of Timothy the mouse in Dumbo, even though he was uncredited for this role. He also made several appearances in the films of director John Ford.
Death
Edward Brophy died on May 27, 1960 during the production of Ford's Two Rode Together. (One source says Brophy "died while watching a prizefight on television."[2]) He is buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery next to his wife Ann S. Brophy who died in 1963.[3]
Partial filmography
Yes or No? (1920)
Something Different (1920)
The Cameraman (1928) (uncredited)
Free and Easy (1930)
Those Three French Girls (1930)
Doughboys (1930)[4]
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
The Champ (1931)
Freaks (1932)
Speak Easily (1932)
Flesh (1932)
What! No Beer? (1933) (uncredited)
Beer and Pretzels (1933 short)
Hello Pop! (1933 short)
The Thin Man (1934)
Hide-Out (1934)
Death on the Diamond (1934)
Evelyn Prentice (1934)
1,000 Dollars a Minute (1935)
The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
Naughty Marietta (1935)
Mad Love (1935)
China Seas (1935) as Timmons
Remember Last Night? (1935)
Wedding Present (1936)
Great Guy (1936)
The Soldier and the Lady (1937)
The Girl Said No (1937)
The Last Gangster (1937)
A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
Romance on the Run (1938)
Hold That Kiss (1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)
Golden Boy (1939)
The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939)
Golden Gloves (1940)
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
The Invisible Woman (1940)
Calling Philo Vance (1940)
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
Dumbo (1941) as Timothy Q. Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
The Gay Falcon (1941)
All Through the Night (1942) as Joe Denning
Larceny, Inc. (1942)
Madame Spy (1942)
Broadway (1942)
Air Force (1943)
Destroyer (1943)
Cover Girl (1944)
It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
The Falcon in San Francisco (1945)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Wonder Man (1945)
Renegade Girl (1946)
The Falcon's Adventure (1946)
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
Arson, Inc. (1949) as Pete Purdy
Danger Zone (1951) as Prof. Frederick Simpson Schicker
Roaring City (1951) as 'Professor' Frederick Simpson Schicker
Pier 23 (1951) as Prof. Shicker
Bundle of Joy (1956) as Dance Contest Judge
The Last Hurrah (1958) as 'Ditto' Boland
Two Rode Together (1961) as Minor Role (uncredited; last appearance)
References
1. Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. P.171.
2. "Edward Brophy Dies". The Kansas City Times. May 31, 1960. p. 1.
3. "Edward Brophy, Movie Actor, Dies Watching Fight". The Times Record. May 31, 1960. p. 7.
4. Imdb
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