Edward G. Robinson
Born: 1893-12-12 in Bucharest, Romania
Died: 1973-01-26
Known For: Acting
Biography
Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893 – January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-born American actor and political activist. Although he played a wide range of characters, he is best remembered for his roles as a gangster, most notably in his star-making film Little Caesar (1931). Robinson's career saw a decline during the 1950s Red Scare when he was threatened with blacklisting. Experiencing underemployment, he turned towards minor roles in B movies until he eventually returned to the mainstream by playing one of Moses' adversaries Dathan in Cecil B. DeMille's religious epic The Ten Commandments (1956). He was ranked number 24 in the American Film Institute's list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classic American cinema. Never having been nominated for an Academy Award during his 60-year career, he became a posthumous recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 1973, two months after his death. Robinson was Jewish and a staunch critic of fascist and Nazi ideologies that were on the rise in the 1930s. He donating more than $250,000 to 850 political and charitable organizations between 1939 and 1949, hosted a gathering at his home to sign a declaration calling for a boycott of all German-made products, frequently appeared at Soviet and American war relief rallies, delivered radio addresses in over six languages to Nazi-occupied European countries, and traveled to Normandy to entertain the troops, becoming the first movie star to go there for the USO. Robin was also an outspoken supporter of the civil rights movement, and regularly campaigned to overcome segregation.
Filmography
2022
- Rat Pack as Self (archive footage)
2013
- Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored as Self (archive footage)
2009
- 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year as Self (archive footage)
2008
- You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story as Self (archive footage)
- Warner at War as (archive footage)
- Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film as Self (archive footage)
2005
- Little Caesar: End of Rico, Beginning of the Antihero as Self (archive footage)
2004
- Checking Out: Grand Hotel as Self (archive footage)
2001
- Pulp Cinema as Self (archive footage)
1997
- Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line as Self (archive footage)
- Bogart: The Untold Story as Self (archive footage)
- Frank Capra's American Dream as Self (archive footage)
1991
- Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire as Self (archive footage)
- Movie Tough Guys as Self (archive footage)
1983
- Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1975
- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
1973
- Soylent Green as Sol Roth
- A Look at the World of 'Soylent Green' as Self
1972
- Hollywood: The Dream Factory as Self (archive footage)
- Neither by Day Nor by Night as Father
1970
- Night Gallery as Abraham Goldman
- The Silent Force
- The Old Man Who Cried Wolf as Emile Pulska
- Song of Norway as Krogstad
1969
- Bracken's World
- Mackenna's Gold as Old Adams
- Operation Heartbeat as Dr. Lee Forestman
1968
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Self
- Never a Dull Moment as Leo Joseph Smooth
- The Biggest Bundle of Them All as Professor Samuels
- It's Your Move as Sir George McDowell
1967
- Grand Slam as Prof. James Anders
- Operation San Pietro as Joe Ventura
- The Blonde from Peking as CIA Chief Douglas
1966
- Batman as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
- Planet of the Apes Test Reel as Dr. Zaius
1965
- The Cincinnati Kid as Lancey Howard
- Born a Man as Narrator
1964
- The Hollywood Palace as Self
- Robin and the 7 Hoods as Big Jim Stevens (uncredited)
- Cheyenne Autumn as Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz
- The Outrage as Con Man
- Good Neighbor Sam as Simon Nurdlinger
1963
- The Prize as Max Stratman/Walter Stratman
- Sammy Going South as Cocky Wainwright
1962
- The Lucy Show as Edward G. Robinson
- Two Weeks in Another Town as Maurice Kruger
- My Geisha as Sam Lewis
1960
- Pepe as Edward G. Robinson
- Seven Thieves as Theo Wilkins
- The Right Man as Theodore Roosevelt
1959
- The Detectives as 'Big Jim' Riva
- NBC Sunday Showcase as Daniel Webster
- A Hole in the Head as Mario Manetta
- Israel as Self - Narrator
1956
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Victor Bers
- The Steve Allen Show as Self
- The Ten Commandments as Dathan
- Nightmare as Rene Bressard
1955
- The Violent Men as Lee Wilkison
- Illegal as Victor Scott
- Hell on Frisco Bay as Victor Amato
- Tight Spot as Lloyd Hallett
- A Bullet for Joey as Raoul Leduc
1954
- Climax! as Josef Vadassy
- A Star Is Born World Premiere as Self
- Black Tuesday as Vincent Canelli
1953
- The Oscars as Self
- General Electric Theater as Bert Alquist
- Vice Squad as Capt. 'Barnie' Barnaby
- The Glass Web as Henry Hayes
- Big Leaguer as John B 'Hans' Lobert
1952
- This Is Your Life as Self
- The Ford Television Theatre as John Derwent
- Actors and Sin as Maurice Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
1950
- What's My Line? as Self
- Lux Video Theatre as Sir Wilfrid Robarts
- My Daughter Joy as George Constantin
1949
- House of Strangers as Gino Monetti
- It's a Great Feeling as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
1948
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- Key Largo as Johnny Rocco
- All My Sons as Joe Keller
- Night Has a Thousand Eyes as John Triton
1947
- The Red House as Pete Morgan
- Blow-Ups of 1947 as Self
1946
- The Stranger as Federal Agent Wilson
- Okay for Sound
1945
- Scarlet Street as Christopher Cross
- Journey Together as Dean McWilliams
- Our Vines Have Tender Grapes as Martinius Jacobson
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Double Indemnity as Barton Keyes
- The Woman in the Window as Professor Richard Wanley
- Tampico as Capt. Bart Manson
- Mr. Winkle Goes to War as Wilbert Winkle
1943
- Destroyer as Steven 'Boley' Boleslavski
- Flesh and Fantasy as Marshall Tyler (segment 2)
1942
- Tales of Manhattan as Larry Browne
- Larceny, Inc. as 'Pressure' Maxwell
- Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
- Moscow Strikes Back as Narrator (English version) (voice)
1941
- The Sea Wolf as 'Wolf' Larsen
- Manpower as Hank McHenry
- Breakdowns of 1941 as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Unholy Partners as Bruce Corey
- Polo with the Stars as Self - Watching Polo Match
1940
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet as Dr. Paul Ehrlich
- Brother Orchid as Little John T. 'Johnny' Sarto
- A Dispatch from Reuters as Paul Julius Reuter
1939
- Blackmail as John R. Ingram
- Confessions of a Nazi Spy as Edward 'Ed' Renard
- From the Ends of the Earth as Self
- Breakdowns of 1939 as Self
1938
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse as Dr. T.S. Clitterhouse
- A Slight Case of Murder as Remy Marko
- I Am the Law as John Lindsay
1937
- Kid Galahad as Nick 'Nicky' Donati
- The Last Gangster as Joe Krozac
- Thunder in the City as Dan Armstrong
- A Day at Santa Anita as Edward G. Robinson (uncredited)
- The First Gangster and the Last Gangster as Himself
1936
- Bullets or Ballots as Johnny Blake
- Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) as Self
- Breakdowns of 1936 as Self
1935
- Barbary Coast as Luis Chamalis
- The Whole Town's Talking as Arthur Ferguson 'Jonesy' Jones / 'Killer' Mannion
1934
- The Man with Two Faces as Damon Welles / Jules Chautard
- Dark Hazard as Jim 'Buck' Turner
1933
- The Little Giant as James Francis 'Bugs' / 'Jim' Ahearn
- I Loved a Woman as John Mansfield Hayden
1932
- Two Seconds as John Allen
- Silver Dollar as Yates Martin
- The Hatchet Man as Wong Low Get
- Tiger Shark as Mike Mascarenhas
1931
- Little Caesar as Caesar Enrico 'Rico' Bandello aka 'Little Caesar'
- Smart Money as Nick 'The Barber' Venizelos
- The Stolen Jools as Gangster
- Five Star Final as Joseph W. Randall
- Round About Hollywood as Self
- How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 10: 'Trouble Shots' as Self - Golfer (uncredited)
1930
- The Widow from Chicago as Dominic
- A Lady to Love as Tony
- East Is West as Charlie Yong
- The Night Ride as Tony Garotta
- Outside the Law as Cobra Collins
- Every Woman's Longing as Tony
- An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee as Self
1929
- The Hole in the Wall as The Fox
1923
- The Bright Shawl as Domingo Escobar
1916
- Arms and the Woman as Factory Worker