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Edmund Gwenn
from the trailer for the film Pride and Prejudice (1940).
Born	Edmund Kellaway September 26, 1877(1877-09-26) Wandsworth, London, England
Died	September 6, 1959 (aged 81) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1910 – 1956
Spouse(s)	Minnie Terry (1901-1901)

Edmund Gwenn (September 26, 1877^[1] – September 6, 1959) was an Academy Award-winning English theatre and film actor.

Background

Born Edmund Kellaway in Wandsworth, London, (though some references suggest he was born in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales), and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in theatre in 1895. Playwright George Bernard Shaw was impressed with his acting, and cast him in the first production of Man and Superman, and subsequently in five more of his plays. Gwenn's career was interrupted by his military service during World War I; however, after the war ended, he started appearing in films in London. (Cecil Kellaway was his cousin and Arthur Chesney was his brother.)

Career

Gwenn appeared in more than eighty films during his career, including the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice, Cheers for Miss Bishop, Of Human Bondage, and The Keys of the Kingdom. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Upon receiving his Oscar, he said "Now I know there is a Santa Claus!" He received a second nomination for his role in Mister 880 (1950). Near the end of his career he played one of the main roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955). He has a small but hugely memorable role as a Cockney assassin in another Hitchcock film, Foreign Correspondent (1940)

In 1954, Gwenn played Dr. Harold Medford in the classic science fiction film Them! with James Arness and James Whitmore.

Death

Edmund Gwenn died from pneumonia after suffering a stroke, in Woodland Hills, California. According to several sources, his last words, when a friend at his bedside remarked that "It is hard to die," were: "But it is harder to do comedy." However, a very similar deathbed saying was earlier attributed to a similarly named 19th-century English actor, Edmund Kean, so the association of the words with Gwenn may be erroneous. Gwenn was cremated and his ashes are stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California. Edmund Gwenn has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street for his contribution to motion pictures.

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Edmund Gwenn at the Internet Movie Database
• Edmund Gwenn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Edmund Gwenn in Screen Director's Playhouse: Miracle on 34th Street (1949) (Downloadable mp3 and streaming audio)
• Edmund Gwenn in Lux Radio Theater: Miracle on 34th Street (1948) (Downloadable mp3 and streaming audio)
• Edmund Gwenn at Find a Grave
• Regarding Edmund Gwenn (TCM Movie Morlocks)