x

Login

Remember me
Forget password ?

Or via social

x

sign up

person_profile-Ernest Torrence

Ernest Torrence Died at age: 54

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Ernest Torrence

Date of Birth:

Jun 24, 1878

Country of birth:

UK

Died:

May 15, 1933

Biography of

Ernest Torrence

    He was the man you loved to hiss. This towering (6' 4"), highly imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge, protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was, unlikely enough, an exceptional pianist and operatic baritone. A graduate of the Stuttgart Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in such productions as "The Emerald Isle" (1901) and "The Talk of the Town" (1905) before serious vocal problems set in. Both Ernest and his actor brother David Torrence came to America directly from Scotland prior to WWI. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, both brothers developed into seasoned players on the New York stage. Ernest made his Broadway bow with "Modest Suzanne" in 1912 and a standout role in "The Night Boat" in 1920 brought him to the attention of Hollywood filmmakers.

    He earned superb marks playing the despicable adversary Luke Hatburn in Tol'able David (1921) opposite Richard Barthelmess, and immediately settled into films for the rest of his career. Adept at both comedy and drama, Ernest avoided what could have been a damaging stereotype with his sympathetic portrayal of a grizzled old codger in the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923). He further bolstered his celebrity with plum, lip-smacking roles alongside Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) as Clopin, king of the beggars, and Betty Bronson in Peter Pan (1924) as the dastardly Captain Hook. In an offbeat bit of casting he paired up with Clara Bow in Mantrap (1926) as a gentle, bear-like backwoodsman in search of a wife, and participated in other silent classics such as The King of Kings (1927) (as Peter) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) as Buster Keaton's steamboat captain Dad.

    Despite his celluloid villainy, Ernest was known as a courtly and cultivated gentleman in private. He made the transition into talking films intact and was able to play a marvelous nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, to Clive Brooks ' Sherlock Holmes (1932) before his untimely death. Ernest died following his filming as a smuggler in I Cover the Waterfront (1933) starring Claudette Colbert in New York on May 15,1933, at the relatively young age of 54. It seems that while en route to Europe by ship, Torrence suffered an acute attack of gall stones and was rushed back to a New York hospital. He died of complications following surgery. Looking and usually playing much older than he was, Hollywood lost a marvelously talented and robust character player who had dozens of films ahead of him.

Photos of

Ernest Torrence

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Ernest Torrence

Found 49 Movies in total

Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl

Self (from Mantrap [1926]) (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1999

The Tingler

Luke Hatburn (archive footage) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1959

I Cover the Waterfront

Eli Kirk (Julie's father) ( Actor )

... 1933

Hypnotized

Prof. Horace S. Limberly - Hypnotist ( Actor )

... 1932

Sherlock Holmes

Professor James Moriarty ( Actor )

... 1932

The Cuban Love Song

Romance ( Actor )

... 1931

... 1931

Sporting Blood

Mr. Jim Rellence ( Actor )

... 1931

The Great Lover

Potter ( Actor )

... 1931

Shipmates

Chief Bosuns Mate Scotty McTavish ( Actor )

... 1931

Fighting Caravans

Bill Jackson ( Actor )

... 1931

Sweet Kitty Bellairs

Sir Jasper Standish ( Actor )

... 1930

Call of the Flesh

Esteban ( Actor )

... 1930

Strictly Unconventional

Lord Porteous ( Actor )

... 1930

Officer O'Brien

John Patrick O'Brien ( Actor )

... 1930

Untamed

Uncle Ben Murchison ( Actor )

... 1929

Speedway

Jim MacDonald ( Actor )

... 1929

The Unholy Night

Dr. Ballou ( Actor )

... 1929

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Uncle Pio ( Actor )

... 1929

Desert Nights

Steve ( Actor )

... 1929

The Cossacks

Ivan ( Actor )

... 1928

Steamboat Bill, Jr.

William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr. ( Actor )

... 1928

Across to Singapore

Captain Mark Shore ( Actor )

... 1928

Twelve Miles Out

Red McCue ( Actor )

... 1927

Captain Salvation

Captain of the 'Panther' ( Actor )

... 1927

The King of Kings

Peter ( Actor )

... 1927

The Lady of the Harem

Hassan ( Actor )

... 1926

Mantrap

Joe Easter ( Actor )

... 1926

The Rainmaker

Mike ( Actor )

... 1926

North of 36

Jim Nabours ( Actor )

... 1926

The American Venus

King Neptune ( Actor )

... 1926

The Pony Express

'Ascension' Jones ( Actor )

... 1925

The Wanderer

Tola ( Actor )

... 1925

Night Life of New York

John Bentley ( Actor )

... 1925

The Dressmaker from Paris

Angus McGregor ( Actor )

... 1925

Peter Pan

Captain James Hook ( Actor )

... 1924

The Side Show of Life

Andrew Lackady ( Actor )

... 1924

The Fighting Coward

Gen. Orlando Jackson ( Actor )

... 1924

The Heritage of the Desert

August Naab ( Actor )

... 1924

West of the Water Tower

Rev. Adrian Plummer ( Actor )

... 1924

Ruggles of Red Gap

Cousin Egbert Floud ( Actor )

... 1923

... 1923

The Brass Bottle

Fakresh-el-Aamash ( Actor )

... 1923

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

'Devil' Jud Tolliver ( Actor )

... 1923

The Covered Wagon

Jackson ( Actor )

... 1923

Singed Wings

Emilio ( Actor )

... 1922

The Prodigal Judge

Solomon Mahaffy ( Actor )

... 1922

Tol'able David

Luke Hatburn ( Actor )

... 1921

A Dangerous Affair

Abner (as Ernest Torrance) ( Actor )

... 1919