Wikipedia

E. E. Clive

Edward Erskholme Clive(28 August 1879 – 6 June 1940) 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.[1]

E. E. Clive
Clive in the 1939 filmThe Little Princess.
Born
Edward Erskholme Clive

(1879-08-28)28 August 1879
Blaenavon,Monmouthshire,Wales
Died6 June 1940(1940-06-06)(aged 60)
North Hollywood, California,U.S.
CitizenshipBritish
Years active1932–1940
Spouse
Eleanor Ellis
​
(m.1915⁠–⁠1940)​
Partner1
ChildrenDavid J. Clive (1923–2001)

Biography

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E. E. Clive was born on 28 August 1879[citation needed]in Blaenavon inMonmouthshire.[1]He attended Pembroke Preparatory School and the University of Wales. His father, a minister, opposed Clive's becoming an actor.[2]Clive studied for a medical career, and had completed four years of medical studies atSt Bartholomew's Hospitalbefore 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 U.S. in 1912, where after working in theOrpheumvaudevillecircuit he set up his own stock company inBoston.By the 1920s, his company was operating in Hollywood; among his repertory players were such up-and-comers asRosalind Russell.He also worked at theBroadwayin several plays. Clive's obituary inThe New York Timesstated that he acted in "1,159 Legitimate Plays Before Going into Moving Pictures".[1]

Clive made his film debut as a village police constable in 1933'sThe Invisible ManwithClaude Rains,then spent the next seven years showing up in wry supporting and bit parts, where he often portrayed comical versions of English stereotypes, sometimes also as a humourless authority figure.[3]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 incompetentBurgomasterinJames Whale's horror classicBride of Frankenstein(1935). He was a semi-regular as 'Tenny the Butler' inParamount Pictures'Bulldog Drummond"B" series starringJohn Howard;he also played butlers in other movies likeBachelor MotherwithDavid NivenandGinger Rogers.In 1939, Clive appeared inThe Little Princessas the lawyer Mr. Barrows, and the first two entries of the classicSherlock Holmesseries starringBasil Rathbone.One of Clive's last roles was Sir William Lucas in the 1940 literature adaptionPride and Prejudice(1940) withLaurence OlivierandGreer Garson.

Clive died on 6 June 1940, of aheart ailment,in his Hollywood home.[1]Clive was a member of the Euclid lodge ofFreemasonsin Boston.[citation needed]

Complete filmography

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E.E. Clive as Sir Harry Lorradaile inDavid O. Selznick'sLittle Lord Fauntleroy

References

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  1. ^abcd"E.E. Clive, Actor, Dead in the West. Veteran of Stage and Screen Former Manager of Copley Theatre in Boston. Appeared in 1,159 Legitimate Plays Before Going into Moving Pictures".The New York Times.7 June 1940.Retrieved17 July2009.
  2. ^"Minister's son, trained to be doctor, became actor".Los Angeles Times.24 December 1933. p. 24.Retrieved4 November2022– viaNewspapers.
  3. ^Quinlan's Film Character Actors: E E Clive
  4. ^Great Movie Musicals on DVD– A Classic Movie Fan's Guideby John Howard Reid – Google search with book preview
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