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Damon Runyon's famous stories of the hustlers, gamblers, and near-do-wells of New York's Broadway (many of whom had hearts of gold) were among my favorites, the Lemon Drop Kid, Dave the Dude, Harry the Horse, and Nathan Detroit among them.
At this time of year the classic movie channels pull out warm-hearted family pictures in keeping with the holidays. But along with those, they also run many comedies, pictures usually chock full with delightful character actors. Damon Runyon's famous stories of the hustlers, gamblers, and near-do-wells of New York's Broadway (many of whom had hearts of gold) were among my favorites, the Lemon Drop Kid, Dave the Dude, Harry the Horse, and Nathan Detroit among them.
When I think of a typical Damon Runyon character actor, the first one that comes instantly to mind is Edward Brophy. Animated movie fans would recognize his voice as Timothy Mouse, companion and loyal friend to Dumbo from Walt Disney's 1941 classic film of the same name. The first time I heard Brophy's voice was undoubtedly in that picture, either as a re-release to theaters or on the Disney television show. But as I got older and my movie watching expanded I soon discovered this funny little character actor in many other movies. His appearance in any picture instantly made the film more delightful and interesting.
Edward S. Brophy was born on February 27, 1895 in New York City and was educated at the University of Virginia, initially to become a lawyer, but soon he got the acting bug and dropped the law. At some point soon after he started "hanging around" Norma Talmadge's film studio in New York from 1918 in the hope of picking up work as a movie extra.
He became a bit and small-part player in the movies beginning in 1919, but for the sake of job security he switched to work behind the scenes, although he continued making appearances on-screen whenever the opportunity arose. While working as a property master for Buster Keaton's production unit at MGM, Brophy had a chance to appear in a memorable sequence in Keaton's classic "The Cameraman" 1928.
It seems an actor failed to show up, and rather than having to wait for the studio to send a substitute, Keaton recruited Brophy on the spot to take the actor's place. The bit is hilarious, as the two occupants of 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, thinner Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Thanks to this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. By 1934 he dropped the production side of the business altogether and was acting full-time.
Although he did a bit of straight acting from time to time, he is most famous for his streetwise, funny gangster roles with his trademark Brooklynese accent. Balding, pop-eyed, and screechy voiced, you can't miss him once he's on screen. Always wonderful. Brophy appeared in three Oscar Best Picture nominees, "The Champ" (1931) "The Thin Man" (1934) and "Naughty Marietta" (1935).
By the way, the sidekick character that Ron Carey plays in Mel Brooks' 1976 Hitchcock parody "High Anxiety" is named Brophy in tribute to Edward Brophy who played dozens of sidekick parts throughout his career, such as the Goldie Locke character in the Falcon series of mysteries in the 1940's starring Tom Conway.
Edward Brophy married Norma Talmage's secretary, Annie, in 1925 which lasted until his death in 1960 while filming John Ford's "Two Rode Together." He was 65 years old. He was buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery.
When I think of a typical Damon Runyon character actor, the first one that comes instantly to mind is Edward Brophy. Animated movie fans would recognize his voice as Timothy Mouse, companion and loyal friend to Dumbo from Walt Disney's 1941 classic film of the same name. The first time I heard Brophy's voice was undoubtedly in that picture, either as a rerelease to theaters or on the Disney television show. But as I got older and my movie watching expanded I soon discovered this funny little character actor in many other movies. His appearance in any picture instantly made the film more delightful and interesting.
Edward S. Brophy was born on February 27, 1895 in New York City and was educated at the University of Virginia, initially to become a lawyer, but soon he got the acting bug and dropped the law. At some point soon after he started "hanging around" Norma Talmadge's film studio in New York from 1918 in the hope of picking up work as a movie extra.
He became a bit and small-part player in the movies beginning in 1919, but for the sake of job security he switched to work behind the scenes, although he continued making appearances on-screen whenever the opportunity arose. While working as a property master for Buster Keaton's production unit at MGM, Brophy had a chance to appear in a memorable sequence in Keaton's classic "The Cameraman" 1928.
It seems an actor failed to show up, and rather than having to wait for the studio to send a substitute, Keaton recruited Brophy on the spot to take the actor's place. The bit is hilarious, as the two occupants of 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, thinner Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Thanks to this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. By 1934 he dropped the production side of the business altogether and was acting full-time.
Although he did a bit of straight acting from time to time, he is most famous for his streetwise, funny gangster roles with his trademark Brooklynese accent. Balding, pop-eyed, and screechy voiced, you can't miss him once he's on screen. Always wonderful. Brophy appeared in three Oscar Best Picture nominees, "The Champ" (1931) "The Thin Man" (1934) and "Naughty Marietta" (1935).
By the way, the sidekick character that Ron Carey plays in Mel Brooks' 1976 Hitchcock parody "High Anxiety" is named Brophy in tribute to Edward Brophy who played dozens of sidekick parts throughout his career, such as the Goldie Locke character in the Falcon series of mysteries in the 1940's starring Tom Conway.
Edward Brophy married Norma Talmage's secretary, Annie, in 1925 which lasted until his death in 1960 while filming John Ford's "Two Rode Together." He was 65 years old. He is buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery.
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