Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portrayed dumb cops and gangsters, both serious and comic.
He is best remembered for his roles in the Falcon film series, based on the suave detective of the same name, and for voicing Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo (1941).
Early life
Edward Santree Brophy was born on February 27, 1895 in New York City and attended the University of Virginia.
Career
His screen debut was in Yes or No? (1920). In 1928, with only a few minor film roles to his credit, Brophy was working as a junior production executive for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when he was chosen to appear with Buster Keaton in one sequence of Keaton’s film The Cameraman. As two clients in a bath-house, Brophy and Keaton attempt to undress and put on bathing suits while sharing a single tiny changing room. Each time Keaton attempts to hang his clothes on one hook, Brophy removes the clothes and hands them back to Keaton and gestures to the other hook. He manhandles the smaller, more slender Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Appearing only in this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. Though he did appear in a few theatre roles, most of his long and prolific career was in film and was spent at the studios of MGM.
He played the main character’s loyal manager in The Champ (1931), a Rollo Brother circus proprietor, with Matt McHugh in the movie Freaks (1932 film) (1932), Joe Morelli from The Thin Man (1934) and Nick Charles’ friend Brogan from The Thin Man Goes Home (1944). Brophy made a lasting impression on Disney fans as the voice of Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo, even though he was uncredited for this role. He also made several appearances in the films of director John Ford.
Brophy was the model for the comic book character Doiby Dickles.
Death
Brophy died on May 27, 1960 during the production of Ford’s Two Rode Together. (One source says Brophy “died while watching a prizefight on television.”) He was 65. He was buried in Santa Monica’s Woodlawn Cemetery next to his wife Ann S. Brophy. (Another source listed “widow, Ann” as a survivor.)
Filmography
Yes or No? (1920) as Tom Martin
The Sign on the Door (1921) as Newspaper Photographer (uncredited)
Spring Fever (1927) as Golf Game Spectator (uncredited)
West Point (1927) as Team Manager (uncredited)
The Cameraman (1928) as Man in Bath-House (uncredited)
Free and Easy (1930) as Benny – The Stage Manager (uncredited)
Estrellados (1930) as Assistant Director (uncredited)
Our Blushing Brides (1930) as Joe Munsey
Doughboys (1930) as Sergeant Brophy
Those Three French Girls (1930) as Yank
Remote Control (1930) as Al
Paid (1930) as Burglar (uncredited)
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931) as Detective
A Free Soul (1931) as Slouch (uncredited)
Sporting Blood (1931) as Newsreel Cameraman (uncredited)
A Dangerous Affair (1931) as Nelson
The Champ (1931) as Tim
The Big Shot (1931) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
The Passionate Plumber (1932) as Man Outside Beauty Parlor (uncredited)
Freaks (1932) as Rollo Brother
The Beast of the City (1932) as Police Dispatcher (uncredited)
Skyscraper Souls (1932) as Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Speak Easily (1932) as Reno
Prosperity (1932) as Ice Cream Salesman (uncredited)
Flesh (1932) as Dolan – a Referee
What! No Beer? (1933) as Spike Moran
Beer and Pretzels (1933, Short) as Theater Manager (uncredited)
Broadway to Hollywood (1933) as Joe Mannion (uncredited)
Hello Pop! (1933, Short) as Brophy (uncredited)
The Poor Rich (1934) as Flannigan
The Thin Man (1934) as Morelli
Paris Interlude (1934) as Ham
Hide-Out (1934) as Detective Britt
Have a Heart (1934) as Mac (uncredited)
Death on the Diamond (1934) as Grogan
Evelyn Prentice (1934) as Eddie Delaney
I’ll Fix It (1934) as Tilly Tilson
Sequoia (1934) as Forest Ranger Pete (uncredited)
Forsaking All Others (1934) (scenes deleted)
Devil Dogs of the Air (1935) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
Shadow of Doubt (1935) as Fred Wilcox
The Whole Town’s Talking (1935) as ‘Slugs’ Martin
Naughty Marietta (1935) as Zeke
People Will Talk (1935) as Pete Ranse
Mad Love (1935) as Rollo
She Gets Her Man (1935) as Flash
China Seas (1935) as Wilbur Timmons
I Live My Life (1935) as Pete (uncredited)
1,000 Dollars a Minute (1935) as Benny Dolan
Remember Last Night? (1935) as Maxie
Show Them No Mercy! (1935) as Buzz
Strike Me Pink (1936) as Killer
Here Comes Trouble (1936) as Crowley
Woman Trap (1936) as George Meade
The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936) as Sid
Kelly the Second (1936) as Ike Arnold
Spendthrift (1936) as Bill McGuire
Wedding Present (1936) as Squinty
All American Chump (1936) as Pudgy Murphy
Mr. Cinderella (1936) as Detective McNutt
Hideaway Girl (1936) as Bugs Murphy
Career Woman (1936) as Doc Curley
Great Guy (1936) as Pete Reilly
Oh, Doctor (1937) as Meg Smith
Jim Hanvey, Detective (1937) as Romo
The Soldier and the Lady (1937) as Packer
The Hit Parade (1937) as Mulrooney
The Great Gambini (1937) as ‘Butch’
Varsity Show (1937) as Mike Barclay
Trapped by G-Men (1937) as Lefty
The Girl Said No (1937) as Pick
The Last Gangster (1937) as ‘Fats’ Garvey
Blossoms on Broadway (1937) as Mr. Prussic
A Slight Case of Murder (1938) as Lefty
Romance on the Run (1938) as Whitey Whitehouse
Hold That Kiss (1938) as Al
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) as Mike Coogan
Passport Husband (1938) as Spike
Come On, Leathernecks! (1938) as Max ‘Curly’ Maxwell
Vacation from Love (1938) as Barney Keenan, Band Leader
Gambling Ship (1938) as Cuthbert Innocent
You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939) as Corbett
Pardon Our Nerve (1939) as Nosey Nelson
Society Lawyer (1939) as Max
For Love or Money (1939) as Sleeper
The Kid from Kokomo (1939) as Eddie Black
Golden Boy (1939) as Roxy Lewis
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) as Newspaper employee (uncredited)
Kid Nightingale (1939) as Mike Jordon
The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939) as Buck Moseby
The Big Guy (1939) as Dippy
Calling Philo Vance (1940) as Ryan
Alias the Deacon (1940) as Stuffy
Golden Gloves (1940) as Potsy Brill
The Great Profile (1940) as Sylvester
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) as Dwarfie Humblewinger
Sandy Gets Her Man (1940) as Fireman Junior
The Invisible Woman (1940) as Bill
Sleepers West (1941) as George Trautwein
Thieves Fall Out (1941) as Rork
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) as Hinkle
A Dangerous Game (1941) as Bugsy (misspelled Bugs in on-screen credits)
Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941) as Officer Slattery
Buy Me That Town (1941) as Ziggy
Dumbo (1941) as Timothy Q. Mouse (voice, uncredited)
The Gay Falcon (1941) as Detective Bates
Steel Against the Sky (1941) as Pete Evans
All Through the Night (1942) as Joe Denning
Broadway (1942) as Porky
Larceny, Inc. (1942) as Weepy Davis
Madame Spy (1942) as Mike Reese
Lady Bodyguard (1943) as Harry Gargan
Air Force (1943) as Marine Sgt. J.J. Callahan
Destroyer (1943) as Casey
A Scream in the Dark (1943) as Eddie Tough
Cover Girl (1944) as Joe – Cafe Owner (uncredited)
It Happened Tomorrow (1944) as Jake Shomberg
A Night of Adventure (1944) as Steve
The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) as Brogan
See My Lawyer (1945) as Otis Fillmore
I’ll Remember April (1945) as Shadow
Wonder Man (1945) as Torso
Penthouse Rhythm (1945) as Bailey
The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) as Goldie Locke
Girl on the Spot (1946) as Fingers Foley
Swing Parade of 1946 (1946) as Moose
Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946) as Arty
The Falcon’s Adventure (1946) as Goldie Locke
Renegade Girl (1946) as Bob Crandall
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) as Cecil Felton
Arson, Inc. (1949) as Pete Purdy
Danger Zone (1951) as Prof. Frederick Simpson Schicker
Roaring City (1951) as ‘Professor’ Frederick Simpson Schicker
Pier 23 (1951) as Prof. Shicker
Bundle of Joy (1956) as Dance Contest Judge
The Last Hurrah (1958) as ‘Ditto’ Boland
The Slowest Gun in the West (1960, TV Movie) as The Bartender
Two Rode Together (1961) as Minor Role (uncredited) (final film role)
External Links
Actor Edward Brophy – Wikipedia
