Edmund Gwenn 1875 – 1959

From Santa to scientist, from whimsical to wicked, Edmund Gwenn could play any role in any medium anywhere…except one. “I was 5 ft., 6 inches tall, always short and stocky and not a particularly handsome thing. I could never play romantic leads.” Gwenn’s career spanned both the London and Broadway stage, silent and sound films, radio and television. And, I know if there is a special place in heaven for actors, he is onstage there today stealing every scene.

Gwenn in his earlier years.

He was born Edmund Kellaway on September 26 th, 1875 in Vale of Glenmorgan, Wales (his cousin was character actor Cecil Kellaway). His father was a British civil servant and a rigid, stern taskmaster. Edmund dreamed of going to sea but poor eyesight ended that dream. He went off to school where he did well, excelled at rugby, took up boxing and began to dream another dream…to be an actor. He pursued that dream but it cost him dearly. His father threw him out of the house, cursing “You’ll die in the gutter, a rogue and a vagabond!”.

So young Edmund was on his own. He changed his name to Edmund Gwenn and never appeared on stage without a disguise, even if it was just a mustache or beard so that his father would never learn what he was doing. He joined a touring company where he did road shows and pantomime, then a repertory company where he did Shakespeare, a different character every night. His professional debut came far from home on a stage in Australia where he appeared regularly for 3 years .

with Belle Chrystall and Sybil Thorndike in "Hindle Wakes".1931

In 1901 Edmund married actress Minnie Terry. It must have been one of the shortest marriages on record. It ended only hours after the “I Do’s”. Edmund never remarried.

Gwenn returned to London in 1904 to do a small part in a play “In the Hospital”. By a stroke of luck, George Bernard Shaw attended the performance and offered Edmund a role as a cockney chauffeur in “Man and Superman”. Shaw liked Gwenn’s portrayal so much he cast the actor in 5 more plays. During one of them (“The Twelve Pound Look”) Edmund also took on a smaller role in another production at a nearby theater and timed his performances
so he could run from one theater to the other between acts!

During WWI, the British Army overlooked Gwenn’s poor eyesight and made him a supply officer to the front. He rose to the rank of captain and even found time to make a British short film “The Real Thing at Last” in 1916. But he didn’t do another one until 1920 when he did two films…”Unmarried” and, later that year, the role of Hornblower in “The Skin Game”, a part he would reprise in 1931 for the Alfred Hitchcock sound version.

...with C. V. France and Jill Esmond in "The Skin Game" 1931

In 1922 Edmund made his first New York stage appearance in “The Voice from the Minaret” but sailed back to England as soon as the show closed. In 1928 he returned to take over a part in “The House of Arrows” from his long-time friend Dennis Eadle who sadly took ill and died during rehearsals. And again, he went back to London to do both stage and feature film productions.

...with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant  in "Sylvia Scarlett"

In 1935 after returning to Broadway for “Laburnum Grove” in the role of a wealthy man who pretended to be a counterfeiter to frustrate relatives after his money, he stayed around long enough to answer RKO’s call to Hollywood to play Katharine Hepburn’s father in “Sylvia Scarlett”. He didn’t go back to England until 1939 when a studio in London called him back for three pictures there. Edmund Gwenn was suddenly in great demand. In 1940 he came back to Tinseltown for “Pride and Prejudice” with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. After six more films, it was off to Broadway to play a cockney tugboat captain in “The Wookey”.

...with John Payne and Natalie Wood in "Miracle on 34th Street".

By 1947 Gwenn had made 10 more films and was now cast in the film he would always be remembered for…the Macy’s store Santa who really believed he was Kris Kringle, Old St, Nick, the real Santa Claus. He became the only actor ever to receive an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for playing Santa Claus! He would recreate the role three times on the radio, twice for Lux Theater (1948 and 1954) and once in 1950 for Screen Director’s Playhouse.

Gwenn was also regarded as the only actor who steal scenes from Lassie (he did 3 films with “her”). He did the same thing to William Holden and Jeanne Crain in 1948’s “ Apartment for Peggy” as the kindly Professor Henry Barnes who gave up his attic to a G.I. college student and his pregnant wife.

He won a second supporting actor nomination for his portrayal of Skipper Miller, an elderly and unorthodox counterfeiter in “Mr. 880” and, again, was asked to reprise the role for Lux Radio Theater in 1951.

"Santa" gets his Oscar!

By 1954 Gwenn was suffering intense pain from arthritis. A co-star in that year’s film “Them!” recalled how gamely he did his scenes even in Spain’s 110 degree heat dressed in wool clothing. He had to be helped off the set by an aide when he finished a scene. But, in 1955, he created yet another memorable role…as Captain Albert Wiles in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Trouble with Harry”, a black comedy about a disappearing corpse.

...with Shirley MacLaine in "The Trouble With Harry"

His final flim, also shot in Spain” was a low budget independent film titled “Rocket from Calabuch” released in 1958. But Edmund was already seriously ill and exhausted from pain. He suffered a stroke, followed by pneumonia. His heart stopped on September 6th, 1959 at the Motion Picture Hospital in Woodland Hills ending a career of over 65 years. He left us a treasury of some 86 films, all worth watching even today. Edmund was cremated and his ashes are in vault at the Chapel of Pines Crematory, Los Angeles, California.

Edmund Gwenn as he is best remembered