Edward G. Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Robinson in the 1930s | |
| Born | Emanuel Goldenberg (1893-12-12)December 12, 1893 Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania |
| Died | January 26, 1973(1973-01-26) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Beth El Cemetery,Ridgewood, Queens |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1913–1973 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Edward G. Robinson Jr. |
| Awards | |
Edward Goldenberg Robinson (bornEmanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893 – January 26, 1973) was an American actor who was popular duringHollywood's Golden Age. After making his stage debut in 1913, he rose to stardom with his performance as the title character inLittle Caesar (1931) and became well known for his portrayals of gangsters. He starred in a variety of films, including the biopicsDr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet andA Dispatch from Reuters (both 1940) and the film noirsDouble Indemnity andThe Woman in the Window (both 1944).
During the 1930s and 1940s, Robinson was an outspoken public critic offascism andNazism, which were growing in strength in Europe in the years which led up toWorld War II. His activism included contributing over $250,000 to more than 850 organizations that were involved in war relief, along with contributions to cultural, educational, and religious groups. His postwar films includeThe Stranger (1946) andKey Largo (1948), and he won theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor forHouse of Strangers (1949).
During the 1950s, Robinson was called to testify in front of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee during theRed Scare, but he was cleared of any deliberateCommunist involvement when he claimed that he was "duped" by several people whom he named (including screenwriterDalton Trumbo), according to the official Congressional record, "Communist infiltration of the Hollywood motion-picture industry".[1][2] As a result of being investigated, he found himself on Hollywood's graylist, people who were on the Hollywood blacklist maintained by the major studios, but could find work at minor film studios on what was calledPoverty Row. He returned to theA-list whenCecil B. DeMille cast him asDathan (the adversary ofMoses) inThe Ten Commandments (1956).
During his 60-year career, Robinson appeared in 30 Broadway plays,[3] and more than 100 films.[4] He played his final role in thescience-fiction storySoylent Green (1973).[5] Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited him as one of the best actors never to have received anAcademy Award nomination.[6][7] He received anAcademy Honorary Award for his work in the film industry, which was awarded two months after he died in 1973. In 1999, he was ranked number 24 in theAmerican Film Institute's list of the 25greatest male stars of Classic American cinema.
Robinson was born Emanuel Goldenberg (Yiddish:עמנואל גאָלדענבערג) on December 12, 1893, in aYiddish-speakingRomanian Jewish family inBucharest, the fifth son of Sarah (née Guttman) and Yeshaya Moyshe Goldenberg (later called Morris in the U.S.), a builder.[8]
According to theNew York Times, one of his brothers was attacked by ananti-semitic gang during a "schoolboy pogrom".[4] In the wake of that violence, the family decided toemigrate to the United States.[4] Robinson arrived inNew York City on February 21, 1904.[9] "AtEllis Island I was born again," he wrote. "Life for me began when I was 10 years old."[4] In America, he assumed the name of Edward. He grew up on theLower East Side,[10]: 91 and had hisbar mitzvah at theFirst Roumanian-American Congregation.[11] He attendedTownsend Harris High School and then theCity College of New York, planning to become a criminal attorney.[12] An interest in acting and performing in front of people led to his winning anAmerican Academy of Dramatic Artsscholarship,[12] after which he changed his name toEdward G. Robinson (the G. standing for his originalsurname).[12] He had heard the surname "Robinson" in a play and liked "the ring and strength of it", and for the given name he chose "Edward" after KingEdward VII.[13]
He served in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War I, but was not sent overseas.[14]
Robinson made his professional stage debut playing a character named Sato in a production ofPaid in Full, which opened in April 1913 inBinghamton, New York.[15][16] He then joined a Cincinnati stock company called The Orpheum Players for 22 weeks and played various roles in many plays, including two different characters inAlias Jimmy Valentine. "I was becoming adept at doubling—that is, playing two parts in one play, in suitable disguises. I did it all season," he later wrote.[17] Robinson's next stage appearance was as the guide Nasir in a touring production ofKismet that took him to Ottawa and Montreal before closing in November 1914.[18]In 1915, Robinson made hisBroadway debut at theHudson Theatre inArchibald andEdgar Selwyn's production of the playUnder Fire, written byRoi Cooper Megrue.[19] He played four roles inUnder Fire: "They were all bit parts, but I portrayed a French spy, a Belgian peasant, a Prussian soldier and a Cockney private. I became known as the league of nations."[20]Under Fire ran for six months and the Selwyns hired Robinson for the role of a prisoner in their production of another play written by Megrue,Under Sentence.[21] AfterUnder Sentence, he played a wide range of characters, including a Filipino in Azelle M. Aldrich and Joseph Noll'sThe Pawn (1917), a German soldier inDrafted (1917), a Swede in Henning Berger'sThe Deluge (1917), and a French-Canadian inHarry James Smith'sThe Little Teacher (1918).[22][23]The Little Teacher was a success, but he left the production to enlist as a sailor in theUnited States Navy.[24] He went toPelham Bay Naval Training Station and also applied to enter naval intelligence.[25] During this time, Robinson thought films were "scarcely an art form" and believed "the living theater was the only theater and all the rest was nonsense."[26]
When World War I ended, Robinson went back to the stage and toured with the Garrick Players of Washington, D.C.[27] He returned to Broadway in 1919 with a role inFirst is Last, "the first and only time" he played an Anglo-Saxon on stage.[28] In 1920, he was cast in productions ofMaxim Gorky'sNight Lodging andBooth Tarkington'sPoldekin.[29] In November,Arthur Hopkins gave him a role in a play titledSamson and Delilah, starringJacob Ben-Ami.[30] He disliked his performance in the silent filmFields of Glory and producerSam Goldwyn cut it out.[31] In the summer of 1921, he performed in five plays at theElitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado.[32] He liked his role as Mendel inThe Idle Inn (1921) and also played in the 1922 revival ofThe Deluge.[33] Following a return to Denver's Elitch Theatre, Robinson accepted a role inAlfred Savoir'sBanco, withAlfred Lunt in the title role.[34] Film directorJohn S. Robertson offered Robinson the supporting role of Domingo Escobar in the silent filmThe Bright Shawl (1923), which was based on aJoseph Hergesheimer novel of the same title. Robinson traveled toHavana, Cuba, for the filming and was paid the equivalent of a stage actor's 20-week salary.[35] He later remembered, "In any case,The Bright Shawl was not nearly as heartrending an experience asFields of Glory. Still, the manufacture of a movie seemed silly and unrewarding to me."[36] In 1923, he appeared in four Broadway productions:Henrik Ibsen'sPeer Gynt, starring his friendJoseph Schildkraut;Elmer Rice's avant-gardeThe Adding Machine;Ferenc Molnár'sLaunzi, withPauline Lord in the title role; andA Royal Fandango, starringEthel Barrymore.[37]
In 1924, Robinson played the role of Ed Munn in a stage adaptation of theOlive Higgins Prouty novelStella Dallas, starring the eminent actressMrs. Leslie Carter in the title role.[38] That same year, he had a role in the successful Broadway production ofEdwin Justus Mayer'sThe Firebrand, a play aboutBenvenuto Cellini and theMedicis; Robinson played the part of Ottaviano, the cousin ofFrank Morgan's character,Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence.[39] From November 1925 to January 1926,[40] Robinson played twoGeorge Bernard Shaw characters:Caesar in theTheatre Guild revival ofAndrocles and the Lion and Giuseppe in itscurtain raiser,The Man of Destiny.[41] He played a Jew in the Guild's production ofFranz Werfel'sThe Goat Song (1926).[42] The Guild cast him as a stage director inNikolai Evreinov'sThe Chief Thing (1926),[43] a play he described as "highly theatrical and stirring."[44] In August, Robinson appeared with actress Gladys Lloyd (his future wife) in the playHenry Behave.[45] In October, he portrayed Mexican generalPorfirio Díaz in the Guild production ofJuarez and Maximilian,[46] a Werfel play about theSecond Mexican Empire. In November, he played a New England lawyer inSidney Howard'sNed McCobb's Daughter.[47]
From January to February 1927, Robinson enacted the role of Smerdiakov in the Guild's adaptation ofFyodor Dostoevsky's novelThe Brothers Karamazov.[48]
He played a snarling gangster in the 1927Broadway police/crime dramaThe Racket, which led to his being cast in similar film roles, beginning withThe Hole in the Wall (1929) withClaudette Colbert forParamount.
One of many actors who saw their careers flourish rather than falter in the newsound film era, he made only three films prior to 1930, but left his stage career that year and made 14 films between 1930 and 1932.
Robinson went toUniversal forNight Ride (1930) and MGM forA Lady to Love (1930) directed byVictor Sjöström. At Universal he was inOutside the Law andEast Is West (both 1930), then he didThe Widow from Chicago (1931) atFirst National.
At this point, Robinson was becoming an established film actor. What began his rise to stardom was an acclaimed portrayal of the gangster Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello inLittle Caesar (1931) atWarner Bros.The New York Times praised his "wonderfully effective performance" and also wrote, "Little Caesar becomes at Mr. Robinson's hands a figure out of Greek epic tragedy".[49]Hal Wallis had originally offered him thebit part of Otero, but Robinson thought he was not right for that role and did not want to play bit parts. He told Wallis, "If you're going to have me inLittle Caesar as Otero, you will completely imbalance the picture. The only part I will consider playing is Little Caesar."[50] Warners immediately cast him in another gangster film,Smart Money (1931), his only movie withJames Cagney. InSmart Money, he played a barber whose weaknesses are gambling and blondes; he later said, "For the record, I am the most penny ante of gamblers and I prefer brunettes."[51] He was reunited withMervyn LeRoy, director ofLittle Caesar, inFive Star Final (1931), where he played a journalist named Randall.[52]Five Star Final was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Picture and became one of Robinson's favorites: "I loved Randall because he wasn't a gangster. […] He made sense, and thus I'm able to say thatFive Star Final is one of my favorite films."[53]
Robinson's next two films were not among his favorites. He describedThe Hatchet Man (1932) as "one of my horrible memories" andTwo Seconds (1932) as "a mishmash memory".[53] He "adored"Tiger Shark (1932), a melodrama directed byHoward Hawks, because Hawks "let [him] chew the scenery" as a tuna fisherman.[53] Warners then starred him in a "highly fictionalized" biopic he "rather liked",Silver Dollar (1932), where Robinson portrayed prospectorHorace Tabor.[53]Mary Astor was his love interest inThe Little Giant (1933), a comedy about a beer baron who tries to enter high society.[54] Astor was one of Robinson's favorite leading ladies: "She had then all the attributes that make for greatness in an actress: beauty, poise, experience, talent, and, above all, she did her homework. She has been vastly underrated, and it's a great pity."[55] He disliked the script for his next film,I Loved a Woman (1933), and managed to have it rewritten. Robinson thoughtKay Francis, his co-star, "had that indefinable presence that somehow enabled her to be convincing as well as beautiful."[56] He "loathed"Dark Hazard (1934) but enjoyed makingThe Man with Two Faces (1934) because he was reunited with Astor and had the opportunity to "use a putty nose, a set of whiskers, false eyebrows, and a French accent."[57]
Warners loaned Robinson to Columbia for theJohn Ford-directed comedyThe Whole Town's Talking (1935), which was based on a novel written byW. R. Burnett, the author ofLittle Caesar. He played two characters in the film: a notorious murderer and a clerk who resembles him. Robinson called Ford "the consummate professional" and "a totally remarkable director".[58] He also said it "was a delight to work with and to know"Jean Arthur, his leading lady inThe Whole Town's Talking.[59]Sam Goldwyn borrowed him for the historical Western filmBarbary Coast (1935), directed by Hawks and co-starringMiriam Hopkins. Robinson later wrote that working with Hopkins was "a horror": "Itried to work with her. She made no effort whatever to work with me."[59] Although she was always late and uncooperative, Hopkins agreed to act without her shoes whenever she had a scene with Robinson, who disliked the idea of standing on a box to look taller.[60] Tired of Hopkins' unprofessionalism, Robinson eventually confronted her and told her off in front of the cast and crew. After that, Robinson and Hopkins had to play a slap scene and she told him, "Eddie, let's do this right. You smack me now so we won't have to do it over and over again. Do you hear me, Eddie? Smack me hard." The slap was so loud everyone heard it and applauded.[61]
Back at Warner Bros., Robinson agreed to play a detective inBullets or Ballots (1936) only after small changes were made to the screenplay.[62] Warners then sent him to Britain for the role of a salesman in the comedyThunder in the City (1937). The British producers allowed Robinson to change the script and he askedRobert E. Sherwood to rewrite it. Sherwood turned it into a satire, but the film was not successful.[63] Robinson starred as the title character's promoter in the boxing dramaKid Galahad (1937), withBette Davis as his leading lady andHumphrey Bogart in a supporting role. Davis' acting style did not impress him when they made the film: "Miss Davis was, when I played with her, not a very gifted amateur and employed any number of jarring mannerisms that she used to form an image. In her early period Miss Davis played the image, and not herself, and certainly not the character provided by the author."[64] Robinson turned down several scripts at Warners before MGM borrowed him for the title role inThe Last Gangster (1937), featuringJames Stewart and "the compelling"Rose Stradner.[65] He returned to Warners and approved of his next two assignments: the "very funny" comedyA Slight Case of Murder (1938), for which he received good notices from critics, andThe Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938), in which he played the title role, which had been originated on stage by SirCedric Hardwicke.[66] Robinson accepted an offer from Columbia to star inI Am the Law (1938) as a professor who becomes a prosecutor. He later described the film as "a potboiler, but at least I was on the right side of the law for once and survived; up to now, it seemed to me, I had died in every picture."[67]
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At the timeWorld War II broke out in Europe, Robinson played anFBI agent inConfessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), the first American film that portrayedNazism as a threat to the United States. MGM borrowed him for the lead role in the financially successful dramaBlackmail (1939).[68] Then, to avoid being typecast, Robinson portrayed the biomedical scientist and Nobel laureatePaul Ehrlich in the biopicDr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940). He later said, "Among all the plays and films in which I've appeared, I'm proudest of my role inDr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet. […] It was, I think, one of the most distinguished performances I've ever given."[69] Robinson also portrayed entrepreneurPaul Julius Reuter inA Dispatch from Reuters (1940),[70] his second-favorite film.[71] Both films were biographies of prominent Jewish public figures. In between, Robinson played a gangster who goes to a monastery in the comedyBrother Orchid (1940), featuring Humphrey Bogart andAnn Sothern. According to Robinson, he and Bogart "got along splendidly" and "respected each other."[71]
Robinson portrayed the villainousWolf Larsen inthe 1941 film adaptation of theJack London novelThe Sea Wolf, co-starringJohn Garfield andIda Lupino. He thought Garfield "was one of the best young actors I ever encountered".[71] Robinson followedThe Sea Wolf with a top-billed role oppositeMarlene Dietrich andGeorge Raft inManpower (1941). In his autobiography, he remembered Dietrich's professionalism: "Playing with her, I learned that we shared a common passion: work. More than that: Be on time, know the lines, toe the marks, say the words, be ready for anything."[72] Although he describedManpower as mostly "inane", Robinson considered that he and Dietrich were a "stunning combination" and that adding Raft as the third lead was "showmanship casting."[73] He found Raft to be "touchy, difficult, thoroughly impossible to play with"; Robinson wanted to leave the film when Raft punched him, but Hal Wallis convinced him to stay.[74] He went to MGM forUnholy Partners (1942), a film he thought was "best forgotten", and returned to Warners for the comedyLarceny, Inc. (1942).[75] He volunteered for military service in June 1942 but was disqualified as he was aged 48;[76] he was an active and vocal critic offascism and Nazism during the war.[77]
Robinson was one of several stars in the 20th Century-Fox anthology filmTales of Manhattan (1942), where he played a role in one of the five stories.[78] He opined that his next four films were "at the very best, trivial": the Universal anthology filmFlesh and Fantasy (1943), the Columbia war dramaDestroyer (1943), the Fox war dramaTampico (1944), and the Columbia war comedyMr. Winkle Goes to War (1944).[79] At Paramount, he co-starred withFred MacMurray andBarbara Stanwyck in one of his favorite films,Billy Wilder'sDouble Indemnity (1944), where his riveting soliloquy on insurance actuarial tables (written byRaymond Chandler) is considered one of the most memorable moments of his career. He played the third leading role inDouble Indemnity: "I debated accepting it; Emanuel Goldenberg told me that at my age it was time to begin thinking of character roles, to slide into middle and old age with the same grace as that marvelous actorLewis Stone."[80] He then went to RKO to play the top-billed role of a college professor who befriendsJoan Bennett inFritz Lang'sThe Woman in the Window (1944), featuringDan Duryea in a supporting role. Robinson remembered Lang as "one of the greats in his declining period."[81] Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea were reunited in another Lang film,Scarlet Street (1945), where Robinson played a married painter in love with Bennett. He did not likeScarlet Street: "[I] hastened to finish it, so monotonous was the story and the character I played."[81]
At MGM, Robinson played a Norwegian farmer in the dramaOur Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), and then he went to RKO for another top-billed role inOrson Welles'The Stranger (1946), a thriller co-starringLoretta Young and Welles. AboutThe Stranger, he said, "Orson has genius, but in this film it seemed to have run out. It was bloodless, and so was I."[82] Robinson followed it with another thriller,The Red House (1947), "a moody piece" he co-produced withSol Lesser.[83] He was "inordinately proud of" his next film,All My Sons (1948), an adaptation ofArthur Miller'splay of the same title.[84] Robinson received second billing as the gangster Johnny Rocco inJohn Huston'sKey Largo (1948), the last of five films that he made withHumphrey Bogart, and the only one in which Robinson played a supporting role to Bogart's character in the film. It is also the only film with Bogart where Bogart's character killed Robinson's character in a gunfight, instead of the opposite. Robinson later wrote, "Second billing or no, I got the star treatment because [Bogart] insisted upon it—not in words but in action. When asked to come on the set, he would ask: 'Is Mr. Robinson ready?' He'd come to my trailer dressing room to get me."[85] Around the same time, he played top-billed starring roles inNight Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), which he described as "unadulterated hokum that I did for the money", andHouse of Strangers (1949), which he "loved".[86]
Robinson found it hard to get work after hisgraylisting and referred to this period as "the'B' picture phase of my career as a movie star".[87] He got top billing in modest-budget films:Actors and Sin (1952), co-starringEddie Albert andMarsha Hunt;Vice Squad (1953), with brief appearances by second-billed co-starPaulette Goddard;Big Leaguer (1953), co-starringVera-Ellen;The Glass Web (1953), co-starringJohn Forsythe andMarcia Henderson; andBlack Tuesday (1954), featuringPeter Graves andJean Parker.[87] Robinson accepted third billing and playedBarbara Stanwyck's husband inThe Violent Men (1955), co-starringGlenn Ford. He had a role as an attorney in the well-receivedTight Spot (1955), but top billing went toGinger Rogers. Although Robinson received top billing inA Bullet for Joey (1955),George Raft played the leading role in that film. He starred inIllegal (1955), featuringNina Foch andHugh Marlowe, and co-starred with top-billedAlan Ladd inHell on Frisco Bay (1956). He played the top-billed role in the psychological thrillerNightmare (1956) but later described these films as "the series of program movies that I did for the money and something to do, my own self-esteem decreasing by the hour."[87]
Robinson career's rehabilitation received a boost when theanti-communist film directorCecil B. DeMille cast him asDathan, the Hebrew overseer who becomes the governor ofGoshen, in his1956 version ofThe Ten Commandments, the most expensive film up to that time. DeMille signed Robinson for the role in September 1954.[88] He received fourth star billing afterCharlton Heston,Yul Brynner, andAnne Baxter. In his autobiography, Robinson remembered:
The top directors and producers wouldn't have me and while I'm grateful to those who did in the period and bow low to them for their guts, what I needed was recognition again by a top figure in the industry. I've already mentioned the name of that top figure—Cecil B. DeMille.
No more conservative or patriarchal figure existed in Hollywood, no one more opposed to communism or any permutation or combinations thereof. And no fairer one, no man with a greater sense of decency and justice. I'm told that when the part of Dathan was discussed in his newTen Commandments, somebody suggested that I would be ideal but that under the circumstances I was, of course, unacceptable. Mr. DeMille wanted to know why, coldly reviewed the matter, felt I had been done an injustice, and told his people to offer me the part.
Cecil B. DeMille returned me to films. Cecil B. DeMille restored my self-respect.[89]
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Heston said Robinson was "extraordinary" in the "difficult" role of Dathan, a composite of all the Israelites who rebel againstMoses in theBook of Exodus.[90]Jesse L. Lasky Jr., one of the screenwriters ofThe Ten Commandments, also praised Robinson's acting: "At the end of a long film, to sway this multitude by one speech, to turn them, from an inspired host marching to freedom with God and Prophet into carousing, faithless sinners, required a magic performance. […] Eddie accomplished the impossible with the reading of that speech."[91] Robinson later told Lasky, "You gave me the greatest exit a 'heavy' ever had. No actor would break friendship with a writer who created a tempest, then an earthquake, then opened a fissure and had me fall through into hell. Even inLittle Caesar I never had an exit as good as that!"[91] In 1957, Robinson was honored by the Maryland State Council of theAmerican Jewish Congress with a special award for his performance inThe Ten Commandments.[92]
After a short absence from the screen, Robinson followedThe Ten Commandments with several television roles and a second-billed part asFrank Sinatra's brother inFrank Capra'sA Hole in the Head (1959).[93]
Robinson went to Europe forSeven Thieves (1960). He had support roles inMy Geisha (1962),Two Weeks in Another Town (1962),Sammy Going South (1963),The Prize (1963),Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964),Good Neighbor Sam (1964),Cheyenne Autumn (1964), andThe Outrage (1964).
He was second-billed, underSteve McQueen, with his name above the title, inThe Cincinnati Kid (1965). McQueen had idolized Robinson while growing up, and opted for him whenSpencer Tracy insisted on top billing for the same role. Robinson was top-billed inThe Blonde from Peking. He also appeared inGrand Slam (1967), starringJanet Leigh andKlaus Kinski.
Robinson was originally cast in the role of Dr. Zaius inPlanet of the Apes (1968) and he even went so far as to film a screen test withCharlton Heston. However, Robinson dropped out of the project before its production began due to heart problems and concerns over the long hours that he would have needed to spend under the heavy ape makeup. He was replaced byMaurice Evans.[94]
His later appearances includedThe Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) starringRobert Wagner andRaquel Welch,Never a Dull Moment (1968) withDick Van Dyke,It's Your Move (1968),Mackenna's Gold (1969) starringGregory Peck andOmar Sharif, and theNight Gallery episode “The Messiah on Mott Street" (1971).
The last scene that Robinson filmed was aeuthanasia sequence, with his friend and co-starCharlton Heston, in thescience fiction filmSoylent Green (1973); he died 84 days later.
Heston, as president of theScreen Actors Guild, presented Robinson with its annual award in 1969, "in recognition of his pioneering work in organizing the union, his service during World War II, and his 'outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession.'"[10]: 124
Robinson was never nominated for anAcademy Award, but in 1973 he was awarded anhonorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts and a dedicated citizen ... in sum, a Renaissance man".[4] He had been notified of the honor, but he died two months before the award ceremony took place, so the award was accepted by his widow, Jane Robinson.[4]
From 1937 to 1942, Robinson starred as Steve Wilson, editor of theIllustrated Press, in the newspaper dramaBig Town.[95] He also portrayed hardboiled detectiveSam Spade for aLux Radio Theatre adaptation ofThe Maltese Falcon. During the 1940s he performed on CBS Radio's "Cadena de las Américas" network broadcasts to South America in collaboration withNelson Rockefeller'scultural diplomacy program at the U.S. State Department'sOffice of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs.[96]
During the 1930s, Robinson was an outspoken public critic offascism andNazism, donating more than $250,000 to 850 political and charitable organizations between 1939 and 1949. He was host to theCommittee of 56, which gathered at his home on December 9, 1938, signing a "Declaration of Democratic Independence," which called for a boycott of all German-made products.[77] After theNazi invasion of the Soviet Union, while he was not a supporter ofCommunism, he appeared at Soviet war relief rallies in order to give moral aid to America's new ally, which he said could join "together in their hatred of Hitlerism".[10]: 107
Although he attempted to enlist in the military when the United States formally entered World War II, he was unable to do so because of his age;[76] instead, theOffice of War Information appointed him as a Special Representative based in London.[10]: 106 From there, taking advantage of his multilingual skills, he delivered radio addresses in over six languages to European countries that had fallen underNazi domination.[10]: 106 His talent as a radio speaker in the U.S. had previously been recognized by theAmerican Legion, which had given him an award for his "outstanding contribution toAmericanism through his stirring patriotic appeals".[10]: 106 Robinson was also an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, serving on its executive board in 1944, during which time he became an "enthusiastic" campaigner for Roosevelt'sreelection that same year.[10]: 107 During the 1940s, Robinson also contributed to thecultural diplomacy initiatives of Roosevelt'sOffice of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in support ofPan-Americanism through his broadcasts to South America on theCBS "Cadena de las Américas" radio network.[96]
In early July 1944, less than a month after theInvasion of Normandy by Allied forces, Robinson traveled to Normandy to entertain the troops, becoming the first movie star to go there for theUSO.[10]: 106 [97] He personally donatedUS$100,000 (equal to $1,786,200 today) to the USO.[10]: 107 After returning to the U.S., he continued his active involvement in the war effort by going to shipyards and defense plants in order to inspire workers, and appearing at rallies to help sellwar bonds.[10]: 107 After the war ended, Robinson publicly spoke out in support ofdemocratic rights for all Americans, especially in demanding equality forBlack workers in the workplace. He endorsed theFair Employment Practices Commission's call to end workplace discrimination.[10]: 109 Black leaders praised him as "one of the great friends of the Negro and a great advocator of Democracy".[10]: 109 Robinson also campaigned for the civil rights of African Americans, helping many to overcomesegregation anddiscrimination.[98]
During the years when Robinson spoke out against fascism and Nazism, he was not a supporter of Communism, but he did not criticize theSoviet Union, which he saw as an ally againstHitler. However, according to the film historianSteven J. Ross "activists who attacked Hitler without simultaneously attackingStalin were vilified byconservative critics as either Communists, Communist dupes, or, at best, asnaïveliberal dupes."[10]: 128 In addition, Robinson learned that 11 out of the more than 850 charities and groups that he had helped over the previous decade were listed as Communist front organizations by the FBI.[99] As a result, he was called to testify in front of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1950 and 1952, and he was also threatened withblacklisting.[100]
As shown in the full House Un-American Activities Committee transcript for April 30, 1952,[1] Robinson repudiated some of the organizations that he had belonged to in the 1930s and 1940s.[100][101] and stated that he felt he had been duped or made use of unawares "by the sinister forces who were members, and probably in important positions in these [front] organizations."[10]: 121 When asked whom he personally knew who might have "duped" him, he replied, "Well, you hadAlbert Maltz, and you haveDalton Trumbo, and you have ...John Howard Lawson. I knewFrank Tuttle. I didn't know [Edward]Dmytryk at all. There are the Buchmans, that I know, Sidney Buchman and all that sort of thing. It never entered my mind that any of these people were Communists."[1] Despite accusing these persons of being duplicitous towards him about their political aims, Robinson never directly accused anyone of being a Communist. His own name was cleared, but in the aftermath, his career noticeably suffered; he was offered smaller roles infrequently. In October 1952, he wrote an article titled "How the Reds made a Sucker Out of Me", and it was published in theAmerican Legion Magazine.[102] The chair of the committee,Francis E. Walter, told Robinson at the end of his testimonies that the Committee "never had any evidence presented to indicate that you were anything more than a very choice sucker."[10]: 122
Robinson married stage actress Gladys Lloyd Cassell in 1927. The couple had a son,Edward G. Robinson Jr. (1933–1974), known as Manny, and a daughter from Gladys Robinson's first marriage.[103] The couple divorced in 1956. In 1958, Robinson married Jane Bodenheimer, a dress designer professionally known as Jane Arden. They lived inPalm Springs, California.[104]
In contrast to the gangsters he portrayed in film, Robinson was a soft-spoken and cultured man.[4] He was a passionate art collector, eventually building up a significant privatecollection. In 1956, however, he was forced to sell his collection to pay for his divorce settlement with Gladys Robinson; his finances had also suffered due to underemployment in the early 1950s.[10]: 120
Robinson died ofbladder cancer atCedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles[105] on January 26, 1973, just weeks after finishingSoylent Green, and months before he was to be given an honoraryAcademy Award later that year. He was 79. Services were conducted at Temple Israel in Los Angeles whereCharlton Heston delivered the eulogy.[4] More than 1,500 friends of Robinson attended, with another 500 people outside.[10] His body was flown to New York where it was entombed in a crypt in his family's mausoleum at Beth-El Cemetery in Queens.[106] His pallbearers wereJack L. Warner,Hal B. Wallis,Mervyn Leroy,George Burns,Sam Jaffe,Frank Sinatra, Jack Karp and Alan Simpson.[4]
In October 2000, Robinson's image was imprinted on a U.S. postage stamp, the sixth in its Legends of Hollywood series.[10]: 125 [107]
Robinson has been the inspiration for a number of animated television characters, usually caricatures of his most distinctive 'snarling gangster' guise. An early version of the gangster characterRocky, featured in theBugs Bunny cartoonRacketeer Rabbit, shared his likeness. This version of the character also appears briefly inJustice League, in the episode "Comfort and Joy", as an alien with Robinson's face and non-human body, who hovers past the screen as a background character.
Similar caricatures also appeared inThe Coo-Coo Nut Grove,Thugs with Dirty Mugs andHush My Mouse. Another character based on Robinson's tough-guy image was The Frog (Chauncey "Flat Face" Frog) from the cartoon seriesCourageous Cat and Minute Mouse. The voice of B.B. Eyes inThe Dick Tracy Show was based on Robinson, withMel Blanc andJerry Hausner sharing voicing duties. TheWacky Races animated series character 'Clyde' from the Ant Hill Mob was based on Robinson's Little Caesar persona.
Voice actorHank Azaria has noted that the voice ofSimpsons character police chiefClancy Wiggum is an impression of Robinson.[108]
Robinson was portrayed by actorMichael Stuhlbarg in the 2015 biographical drama filmTrumbo.[109]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Screen Guild Theatre | Blind Alley[112] |
| 1946 | Suspense | The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson akaThe Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson[113][114] |
| 1946 | This Is Hollywood | The Stranger[115] |
| 1950 | Screen Directors Playhouse | The Sea Wolf[115] |
