Edward Joel Pawley (March 16, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri â€"
January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor
of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate
is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never used the Stone name, which
derived from a Stone family in Illinois.At maturity, Pawley was 5'10"
tall with thick black hair and blue eyes. While in high school, he
became interested in both journalism and acting. Acting won out after
taking drama classes and appearing in high school plays. He moved to
New York City in 1920 to pursue a career in the theater.Pawley began
his theatrical career in 1920 and reached the Broadway stage in 1923
in The Shame Woman. He went on to star in various well-known Broadway
plays, including Elmer Gantry (1928), Processional (1928), Subway
Express (1929), Two Seconds (1931), Life Begins (1932) and The Willow
and I (1942). Pawley's rich, baritone voice was hailed by leading
journalists of the day, including Walter Winchell and Heywood Hale
Broun. Although he was probably best known in the theater for his
portrayal of Elmer Gantry in the Broadway play of the same name, it
was his portrayal of John Allen in Two Seconds that brought him to the
attention of Hollywood by way of Warner Brothers. Winchell wrote that
Pawley received a standing ovation after his opening night performance
in the 1931 play Two Seconds.Not long after sound film came into
vogue, Pawley left the theater in 1932 and went to Hollywood where he
performed in over 50 movies during a relatively brief (for Hollywood)
ten-year span. He had feature roles in such movies as The Hoosier
Schoolboy with Mickey Rooney, G Men with James Cagney, The Oklahoma
Kid with Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, King Solomon of Broadway with
Edmund Lowe and Louise Henry, Each Dawn I Die with George Raft and
Cagney, Tom Sawyer, Detective with Janet Waldo and Donald O'Connor and
Romance on the Range with Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes. He played mostly
"bad guy" roles in gangster, horror, comedy and Western films. He
became friends with Cagney (with whom he made five movies), Jackie
Cooper (four movies) and Francis Lederer. One of his earliest friends
in the entertainment industry was Arthur Hughes, who played Bill
Davidson on the long-running radio show Just Plain Bill. Hughes also
acted in some Broadway plays and was Pawley's best man at his wedding
in 1922 to stage actress Martina May Martin.
January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor
of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate
is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never used the Stone name, which
derived from a Stone family in Illinois.At maturity, Pawley was 5'10"
tall with thick black hair and blue eyes. While in high school, he
became interested in both journalism and acting. Acting won out after
taking drama classes and appearing in high school plays. He moved to
New York City in 1920 to pursue a career in the theater.Pawley began
his theatrical career in 1920 and reached the Broadway stage in 1923
in The Shame Woman. He went on to star in various well-known Broadway
plays, including Elmer Gantry (1928), Processional (1928), Subway
Express (1929), Two Seconds (1931), Life Begins (1932) and The Willow
and I (1942). Pawley's rich, baritone voice was hailed by leading
journalists of the day, including Walter Winchell and Heywood Hale
Broun. Although he was probably best known in the theater for his
portrayal of Elmer Gantry in the Broadway play of the same name, it
was his portrayal of John Allen in Two Seconds that brought him to the
attention of Hollywood by way of Warner Brothers. Winchell wrote that
Pawley received a standing ovation after his opening night performance
in the 1931 play Two Seconds.Not long after sound film came into
vogue, Pawley left the theater in 1932 and went to Hollywood where he
performed in over 50 movies during a relatively brief (for Hollywood)
ten-year span. He had feature roles in such movies as The Hoosier
Schoolboy with Mickey Rooney, G Men with James Cagney, The Oklahoma
Kid with Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, King Solomon of Broadway with
Edmund Lowe and Louise Henry, Each Dawn I Die with George Raft and
Cagney, Tom Sawyer, Detective with Janet Waldo and Donald O'Connor and
Romance on the Range with Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes. He played mostly
"bad guy" roles in gangster, horror, comedy and Western films. He
became friends with Cagney (with whom he made five movies), Jackie
Cooper (four movies) and Francis Lederer. One of his earliest friends
in the entertainment industry was Arthur Hughes, who played Bill
Davidson on the long-running radio show Just Plain Bill. Hughes also
acted in some Broadway plays and was Pawley's best man at his wedding
in 1922 to stage actress Martina May Martin.
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