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Photo of Ernest Torrence

Ernest Torrence

Actor
Born June 24, 1878Died May 15, 1933 (54 years)
He was the man you loved to hiss. This towering (6' 4"), highly imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge, protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was, unlikely enough, an exceptional pianist and operatic baritone. A graduate of the Stuttgart Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in such productions as "The Emerald Isle" (1901) and "The Talk of the Town" (1905) before serious vocal problems set in. Both Ernest and his actor brother David Torrence came to America directly from Scotland prior to WWI. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, both brothers developed into seasoned players on the New York stage. Ernest made his Broadway bow with "Modest Suzanne" in 1912 and a standout role in "The Night Boat" in 1920 brought him to the attention of Hollywood filmmakers.

He earned superb marks playing the despicable adversary Luke Hatburn in Tol'able David (1921) opposite Richard Barthelmess, and immediately settled into films for the rest of his career. Adept at both comedy and drama, Ernest avoided what could have been a damaging stereotype with his sympathetic portrayal of a grizzled old codger in the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923). He further bolstered his celebrity with plum, lip-smacking roles alongside Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) as Clopin, king of the beggars, and Betty Bronson in Peter Pan (1924) as the dastardly Captain Hook. In an offbeat bit of casting he paired up with Clara Bow in Mantrap (1926) as a gentle, bear-like backwoodsman in search of a wife, and participated in other silent classics such as The King of Kings (1927) (as Peter) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) as Buster Keaton's steamboat captain Dad.

Despite his celluloid villainy, Ernest was known as a courtly and cultivated gentleman in private. He made the transition into talking films intact and was able to play a marvelous nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, to Clive Brooks ' Sherlock Holmes (1932) before his untimely death. Ernest died following his filming as a smuggler in I Cover the Waterfront (1933) starring Claudette Colbert in New York on May 15,1933, at the relatively young age of 54. It seems that while en route to Europe by ship, Torrence suffered an acute attack of gall stones and was rushed back to a New York hospital. He died of complications following surgery. Looking and usually playing much older than he was, Hollywood lost a marvelously talented and robust character player who had dozens of films ahead of him.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Steamboat Bill, Jr.
  • The Tingler
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • I Cover the Waterfront
  • Fighting Caravans

Known For

  • Steamboat Bill, Jr.
  • The King of Kings
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Tol'able David
  • Desert Nights
  • Peter Pan
  • The Unholy Night
  • Across to Singapore
  • The Covered Wagon
  • I Cover the Waterfront
  • Untamed
  • Fighting Caravans
  • Speedway
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • The Fighting Coward
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Filmography

1959
The Tingler · as Luke Hatburn (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1933
I Cover the Waterfront · as Eli Kirk (julie's Father)
1932
Sherlock Holmes · as Professor James Moriarty
1931
The Cuban Love Song · as Romance
1931
1931
Sporting Blood · as Mr. Jim Rellence
1931
The Great Lover · as Potter
1931
Shipmates · as Chief Bosuns Mate Scotty Mctavish
1931
Fighting Caravans · as Bill Jackson
1930
Sweet Kitty Bellairs · as Sir Jasper Standish
1930
Call of the Flesh · as Esteban
1930
Strictly Unconventional · as Lord Porteous
1930
Officer O'Brien · as John Patrick O'brien
1929
Untamed · as Uncle Ben Murchison
1929
The Unholy Night · as Dr. Ballou
1929
Speedway · as Jim Macdonald
1929
1929
Desert Nights · as Steve
1928
The Cossacks · as Ivan
1928
Steamboat Bill, Jr. · as William 'steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.
1928
Across to Singapore · as Captain Mark Shore
1927
The King of Kings · as Peter
1927
Twelve Miles Out · as Red Mccue
1927
Captain Salvation · as Captain Of The 'panther'
1926
Mantrap · as Joe Easter
1926
The Rainmaker · as Mike
1926
The American Venus · as King Neptune
1925
The Pony Express · as 'ascension' Jones
1925
The Wanderer · as Tola
1925
The Dressmaker from Paris · as Angus Mcgregor
1924
Peter Pan · as Captain James Hook
1924
The Side Show of Life · as Andrew Lackady
1924
The Fighting Coward · as Gen. Orlando Jackson
1924
The Heritage of the Desert · as August Naab
1923
1923
The Covered Wagon · as Jackson
1921
Tol'able David · as Luke Hatburn

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