Edward Everett Horton

Edward Everett Horton

Tommy Bond was a regular on Horton's radio show in the 1930's.

According to an in-depth article by Eve Golden in "Classic Images" magazine, Edward's longtime companion was actor Gavin Gordon, who was 15 years his junior. Not much was ever documented on the couple. They appeared in one movie together - Pocketful of Miracles (1961).

Appeared in a number of revivals of the comedy play "Springtime for Henry" beginning in the 1930s and extending into the 1960s. He played the part of the effete Henry Dewlip more than 3,000 times.

Beginning in 1959 through 1964, he narrated the "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment, as well as playing multiple characters in various supporting features of the The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 281-283. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.



Diagnosed with cancer, he was hospitalized at Glen Falls, New York for several weeks before returning home to his San Fernando, California home, where he died at the age of 83.

Edward Everett Horton's grandfather and namesake was Edward Everett Hale, author of "The Man Without a Country."

His parents, Edward Everett Horton Sr. and Isabella (Diack), were Scottish immigrants. He was the eldest of four children - George, Winter Davis, and Hannahbelle were his other siblings. The family remained close throughout their lives. Edward's mother lived with him until she died at the age of 101. His brothers and sister also spent their later years residing at his Encino estate.

In the 1920s he acted in and managed the Majestic Theater in Los Angeles with his brother and business manager, George.

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA., in the Whispering Pines section at the top of the hill.

Joined a Gilbert and Sullivan stock company in 1907 on Staten Island and performed in several shows, including "The Mikado". He went on to join several theatre companies in the 1910s, including the Orpheum Players in Philadelphia, The Baker Stock Company in Oregon, and the Crescent Theatre in Brooklyn.

Like Zasu Pitts, Horton excelled in comedy and specialized in the fretful, woebegone "Nervous Nellie" types. The duo were the only actors who could utter the simple words "Oh, dear!" and make it sound like it was the end of the world.

Played the role of Professor Nick Potter in Holiday (1930) and again in the 1938 remake directed by George Cukor.

Studied business at both Polytechnic Institute and at Columbia. At Columbia, however, he began acting in collegiate plays and that changed the direction of his life.


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