Edmund Lowe | |
|---|---|
 Lowe on theBlue Network's radio seriesThree Thirds of a Nation (1942) | |
| Born | Edmund Sherbourne Lowe (1890-03-03)March 3, 1890 San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 1971(1971-04-21) (aged 81) |
| Resting place | San Fernando Mission Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Santa Clara University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1915–1960 |
| Spouses | |
Edmund Sherbourne Lowe (March 3, 1890 – April 21, 1971) was an American actor.[1] His formative experience began invaudeville andsilent film.
Lowe's childhood home was at 314 North 1st Street, San Jose. He attendedSanta Clara College and entertained the idea of becoming a priest before starting his acting career. His classmate wasWilliam Gaxton.[2]
He died inWoodland Hills, California, oflung cancer and is buried atSan Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California.[3]
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Lowe's career included over 100 films, beginning in 1915. He became established as a popular leading man in silent films. He is best remembered for his role as Sergeant Harry Quirt, smart-mouthed buddy of the equally abrasive Captain Jimmy Flagg (Victor McLaglen) in the 1926 silent featureWhat Price Glory? directed byRaoul Walsh.
The popularity of Quirt and Flagg virtually guaranteed Edmund Lowe's success in the new talking pictures: audiences could hardly wait to hear the salty Quirt and Flagg insulting each other in spoken dialogue. During the sound era, amusical comedyremake and twosequels were produced, all starring Lowe and McLaglen, with the first two also directed by Raoul Walsh. Lowe reprised his role from the movies in the radio programCaptain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt, broadcast on theBlue Network September 28, 1941 - January 25, 1942, and onNBC February 13, 1942 - April 3, 1942.[4] (The radio show probably resulted from Lowe and McLaglen reuniting as battling buddies Harry and Jimmy in the military movie comedyCall Out the Marines.)
Lowe worked steadily as a leading man throughout the 1930s, freelancing at various Hollywood studios. He portrayed the young doctor trying to get out of an affair withWallace Beery's character's wife, played byJean Harlow, inDinner at Eight (1933).
A look at Edmund Lowe's screen resumé would indicate that he descended to "Poverty Row" productions in 1942 and his career never recovered. In fact, Lowe's career was stalling as early as 1938, when the actor was too mature to play most romantic leads. His last such role was in 1937'sEvery Day's a Holiday, in which the 48-year-old Lowe played opposite the 44-year-oldMae West. Lowe shifted gears and began playing strong supporting roles in major films and leads in minor films.
Lowe's friendWilliam K. Howard, a top director of the 1920s, was attempting a comeback at the low-budgetMonogram Pictures in 1942. As a favor to Howard, Lowe took the leading role inKlondike Fury. Lowe's loyal gesture took a toll on his professional standing: the small, independent Monogram studio was firmly in Hollywood's minor league. As actorBill Kennedy told authorScott MacGillivray, "If you were an actor on the way up, like Robert Mitchum or Alan Ladd, working at Monogram was okay -- no stigma.But -- if you were already a star at a big studio like Fox or Paramount andthen went to Monogram, a la Edmund Lowe, it was the kiss of death."[5]
Lowe's work inKlondike Fury won him an invitation fromColumbia Pictures to star in three comedy-mysteries. Lowe also kept working at Monogram, notably in the 1945 crime thrillerDillinger, a surprise hit. Lowe's last starring movie role was in Monogram'sThe Strange Mr. Gregory (1945).
In 1951-52 Lowe starred in 38 episodes of the television showFront Page Detective and appeared as the elderly lead villain in thefirst episode ofMaverick oppositeJames Garner in 1957. Lowe appeared occasionally in major motion pictures through 1960.
After his first marriage to Esther Miller ended in early 1925. Lowe metLilyan Tashman while filmingPorts of Call. Lowe and Tashman were married on September 21, 1925, before the release of the film. The two had homes, in Beverly Hills and Malibu, California. They were married until Tashman's death from cancer at age 37 in 1934.[citation needed]
Seventy years after Tashman's death, author E.J. Fleming claimed Lowe was a homosexual and Tashman was a lesbian.[6] If the claims were true, fan magazine writers and newspaper columnists made no mention of them during Tashman's lifetime or for 70 years after her death.[7]
Lowe's third wife was costume designer Rita Kaufman, married from 1936 to 1950.[citation needed]
