Edna Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress, singer, and comedienne.

Early years

Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a photographer's model. Her early experience in music came as a member of the choir in the Fifth Baptist Church in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Career

Cunningham's first show business job was in the chorus line of ''

Mlle. Modiste ''Mlle. Modiste'' is an operetta in two acts composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil, discourage ...

'' at the age of 18. She trained as a singer and appeared in opera. She worked as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929. A. L. Erlanger selected her for the title role in the original production of '' The Pink Lady''. Cunningham's Broadway credits include ''Somewhere Else'' (1913), ''Iolanthe'' (1913), ''Oh, I Say!'' (1913), ''Maids of Athens'' (1914), ''Dancing Around'' (1914), ''

Greenwich Village Follies The ''Greenwich Village Follies'' was a musical revue that played for eight seasons in New York City from 1919 to 1927. Launched by John Murray Anderson, and opening on July 15, 1919, at the newly constructed Greenwich Village Theatre near Christ ...

'' (1919), ''The Rose of China'' (1919), and ''Dance With Your Gods'' (1934). She also performed in Paris with the Boston Grand Opera Company, singing in Italian operas. Cunningham was a Hollywood character actress with whitish hair cut like a man's, often in roles as a general "know-it-all". She made more than 80 appearances in movies between 1929 and 1946, many of them uncredited.

Personal life

Cunningham was married to writer Jean C. Havez from 1915 to 1917.

Death

On April 17, 1959, Cunningham died of heart disease at the

Motion Picture Country Hospital The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

in Woodland Hills, California. She was 70 years old. Her remains are interred in

Chapel of the Pines Crematory Chapel of the Pines Crematory is a crematory and columbarium located at 1605 South Catalina Street, Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, in the historic West Adams District a short distance southwest of Downtown. It is beside Angelus- ...

Complete filmography

* ''

Their Own Desire ''Their Own Desire'' is a 1929 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Norma Shearer, Belle Bennett, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. The film was adapted by James Forbes and Frances ...

'' (1929) - Aunt Caroline * ''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, O ...

'' (1930) - Society Woman (Impulses) (uncredited) * ''

Anybody's Woman ''Anybody's Woman'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film directed by Dorothy Arzner and written by Zoe Akins, Doris Anderson, and Gouverneur Morris. The film stars Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, Paul Lukas, Huntley Gordon, Virginia Hammond, ...

'' (1930) - Dot * ''

Playboy of Paris ''Playboy of Paris'' is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film directed by Ludwig Berger and starring Maurice Chevalier, Frances Dee (in her film debut), and O.P. Heggie. It was based on a 1911 play '' The Little Cafe'' by Tristan Bernard ...

'' (1930) - Mlle. Hedwige * ''Trouble from Abroad'' (1931, Short) - Emma Wimple * '' Monkey Business'' (1931) - Madame Swempski (uncredited) * ''

Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) ''Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)'' is a 1931 American pre-Code film directed and produced by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Greta Garbo and Clark Gable. The film was based on the novel by David Graham Phillips and made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. I ...

'' (1931) - Madame Panoramia aka Pansy * '' The Age for Love'' (1931) - Pamela * ''

Safe in Hell ''Safe in Hell'' is a 1931 American pre-Code thriller film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook, with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Nina Mae McKinney, Clarence Muse, and Noble Jo ...

'' (1931) - Angie * ''

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...

'' (1931) - Gambler Selling Ring (uncredited) * ''Never the Twins Shall Meet'' (1932, Short) - Mrs. Carp * ''

Impatient Maiden ''The Impatient Maiden'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by James Whale, starring Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke, and released by Universal Pictures. The screenplay was written by Richard Schayer and Winifred Dunn, based on the nove ...

'' (1932) - Mrs. Rosy * ''

The Wet Parade ''The Wet Parade'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Robert Young, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Lewis Stone and Jimmy Durante. It is based on the 1931 novel by Upton Sinclair. The film shows how two ...

'' (1932) - Mrs. Twombey - Hotel Guest (uncredited) * ''

It's Tough to Be Famous ''It's Tough to Be Famous'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Robert Lord. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Mary Brian, Emma Dunn, Walter Catlett and David Landau. The film was released ...

'' (1932) - Autograph Seeker with Sheet Music (uncredited) * ''Just a Pain in the Parlor'' (1932, Short) - Mrs. Smith * ''

The Rich Are Always with Us ''The Rich Are Always with Us'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, and Bette Davis. The screenplay by Austin Parker is based on the novel of the same n ...

'' (1932) - Woman Talking to Tierney at Party (uncredited) * ''

Love Is a Racket ''Love Is a Racket'' ( UK title: ''Such Things Happen'') is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Ann Dvorak. The movie was written by Courtney Terrett from the novel by Rian James Rian Jame ...

'' (1932) - Aunt Hattie Donovan * ''

Is My Face Red? ''Is My Face Red?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Ben Markson and Casey Robinson. The film stars Helen Twelvetrees, Ricardo Cortez, Jill Esmond, Robert Armstrong and Arline Judge. It was ...

'' (1932) - Millionaire's Blonde Wife (uncredited) * ''The Candid Camera'' (1932, Short) - Mrs. Townes' Aunty * ''

Love Me Tonight ''Love Me Tonight'' is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced and directed by Rouben Mamoulian, with music by Rodgers and Hart. It stars Maurice Chevalier as a tailor who poses as a nobleman and Jeanette MacDonald as a princ ...

'' (1932) - Laundress (uncredited) * ''

Those We Love ''Those We Love'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Robert Florey. It was adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from the play by George Abbott and S.K. Lauren. The film was independently produced and distributed. Plot Kenneth MacKenna plays a ...

'' (1932) - Mrs. Henry Abbott * ''

Blonde Venus ''Blonde Venus'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. It was produced and directed by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Jules Furthman and S. K. Lauren, adapted from a story b ...

'' (1932) - Norfolk Woman Manager (uncredited) * ''

If I Had a Million ''If I Had a Million'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among others. There were seven directors: Ernst L ...

'' (1932) - Agnes - Emily's Friend (uncredited) * ''

Ladies They Talk About ''Ladies They Talk About'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime drama directed by Howard Bretherton and William Keighley, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, and Lyle Talbot. The film is about an attractive woman who is a member of a ba ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. Arlington (uncredited) * ''

From Hell to Heaven ''From Hell to Heaven'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film. It was directed by Erle C. Kenton, and features an ensemble cast including Carole Lombard, Jack Oakie, Adrienne Ames and Sidney Blackmer. It was adapted from the stage play by Law ...

'' (1933) - Mrs. Chadman * ''The Druggist's Dilemma'' (1933, Short) - Mrs. Finch * '' Bottoms Up'' (1934) - Party Guest (uncredited) * ''

Manhattan Love Song ''Manhattan Love Song'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Leonard Fields. Plot summary Although sisters Geraldine and Carol Stewart live luxuriously in a Park Avenue apartment in New York City, their money has run out due to some ...

'' (1934) - Pancake Annie Jones * ''

The Life of Vergie Winters ''The Life of Vergie Winters'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code film, starring Ann Harding and John Boles. Plot From her Parkville jail cell, Vergie Winters watches the funeral procession of Senator John Shadwell and remembers her twenty-year past ...

'' (1934) - Pearl Turner * '' Return of the Terror'' (1934) - Miss Doolittle * ''

We Live Again ''We Live Again'' is a 1934 film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Anna Sten and Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel ''Resurrection'' (''Voskraeseniye''). The screenplay was written by Maxwell Anderson with ...

'' (1934) - Theodosia (uncredited) * ''

People Will Talk ''People Will Talk'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy/drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck from a screenplay by Mankiewicz, based on the German play by Curt Goetz, which was made into a movie in Germa ...

'' (1935) - Nellie Simpson * ''

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ''Mr. Deeds Goes to Town'' is a 1936 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role. Based on the 1935 short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland, which ...

'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Come and Get It'' (1936) - Josie * '' Swing High, Swing Low'' (1937) - Murphy * '' King of Gamblers'' (1937) - Big Edna * ''

Artists and Models ''Artists and Models'' is a 1955 American musical romantic comedy film in VistaVision directed by Frank Tashlin, marking Martin and Lewis's 14th feature together as a team. The film co-stars Shirley MacLaine and Dorothy Malone, with Eva Gabor ...

'' (1937) - Stella * ''

This Way Please ''This Way Please'' is a 1937 American musical comedy directed by Robert Florey and featuring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, a popular singer from the days of vaudeville entertainment. According to historian Martin Grams, the film was the introduction ...

'' (1937) - Miss Eberhardt * ''

The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1923 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts how a distrustful rich couple begins d ...

'' (1937) - Mrs. Alvin * ''

Daughter of Shanghai ''Daughter of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by Robert Florey and starring Anna May Wong. Unusually for the time, East Asian American actors played the lead roles. It was also one of the first films in which Anthony Quinn appe ...

'' (1937) - Mrs. Mary Hunt * '' Scandal Street'' (1938) - Maybelle Murphy * ''

Four Men and a Prayer ''Four Men and a Prayer'' is a 1938 American adventure film directed by John Ford and starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene and George Sanders. Plot After Loring Leigh (C. Aubrey Smith), a British Army Officer, is cashiered in India followin ...

'' (1938) - Piper * ''

College Swing ''College Swing'', also known as ''Swing, Teacher, Swing'' in the U.K., is a 1938 comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, and Bob Hope. The supporting cast features Edward Everett Horton, Ben Bl ...

'' (1938) - Dean Sleet * ''

Kentucky Moonshine ''Kentucky Moonshine'' is a 1938 American comedy musical film directed by David Butler and released by 20th Century Fox. Plot Radio star Jerry Wade's program ratings are falling and he suggests to his sponsors a show that is different and he ...

'' (1938) - Landlady * '' You and Me'' (1938) - Mrs. Morris * ''

Wives Under Suspicion ''Wives Under Suspicion'' is a 1938 American crime film based on a 1932 Ladislas Fodor play that was previously adapted into the film, '' The Kiss Before the Mirror''. This version was directed by James Whale and stars Warren William, Gail Pa ...

'' (1938) - 'Sharpy' * ''

Blond Cheat ''Blond Cheat'' is a 1938 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Joan Fontaine, Derrick De Marney, and Cecil Kellaway. The film was produced by William Sistrom, and originally released by RKO Radio Pictures. The original sto ...

'' (1938) - Genevieve Trent * ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

'' (1938) - Mme. 'Feldy' de Lerchenfeld (uncredited) * ''

Girls' School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

'' (1938) - Miss Brewster * '' The Family Next Door'' (1939) - Cora Stewart * '' It's a Wonderful World'' (1939) - Madame J.L. Chambers * ''

Winter Carnival Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

'' (1939) - Miss Ainsley * ''

Lady of the Tropics ''Lady of the Tropics'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by Jack Conway, starring Robert Taylor, Hedy Lamarr, and Joseph Schildkraut. Plot While visiting French Indochina with his girlfriend and her family on her father's yacht, freeload ...

'' (1939) - Countess Berichi * '' Laugh It Off'' (1939) - Tess Gibson * '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...

'' (1940) - Mrs. Hobbs * '' The Captain Is a Lady'' (1940) - Mrs. Jane Homans * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1940) - Governor's Wife * '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940) - Grandmother * ''

Tall, Dark and Handsome "Tall, dark, and handsome" is a phrase that refers to an appealing man, often found in romantic fiction aimed at women. History The term came to prominent use in the early 1900s and was commonly used in Hollywood during the 1920s to describe Ru ...

'' (1941) - Frosty's Landlady (uncredited) * '' Play Girl'' (1941) - Dowager (uncredited) * '' Back Street'' (1941) - Mrs. Miller * ''

Repent at Leisure ''Repent at Leisure'' is a 1941 American domestic comedy film directed by Frank Woodruff from a screenplay by Jerry Cady based on a story by James Gow and Arnaud D'Usseau. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, the film was released on ...

'' (1941) - Mrs. Morgan * '' Hurry, Charlie, Hurry'' (1941) - Mrs. Diana Boone * ''

Blossoms in the Dust ''Blossoms in the Dust'' is a 1941 American biographical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the true story of Edna Gladney, who helped o ...

'' (1941) - Mrs. Gilworth * '' The Feminine Touch'' (1941) - Party Guest (uncredited) * '' Cowboy Serenade'' (1942) - Priscilla Smythe * ''

The Wife Takes a Flyer ''The Wife Takes a Flyer'' (aka ''Highly Irregular'', UK title: ''A Yank in Dutch'') is a 1942 romantic comedy film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Richard Wallace. The film stars Joan Bennett and Franchot Tone. The screenplay of ''The Wif ...

'' (1942) - Countess Oldenburg * '' Twin Beds'' (1942) - Miss MacMahon, Secretary (uncredited) * '' Are Husbands Necessary?'' (1942) - Miss Jenkins * ''

The Affairs of Martha ''The Affairs of Martha'', also known as ''Once Upon a Thursday'', is a 1942 American romantic comedy film directed by Jules Dassin and written by Isobel Lennart Isobel Lennart (May 18, 1915 – January 25, 1971) was an award-winning American ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Llewellyn Castle * ''

I Married an Angel ''I Married An Angel'' is a 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled ''Angyalt Vettem Felesegul''. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodge ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Fairmind (uncredited) * ''

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

'' (1942) - Mme. Laruga * '' The Hidden Hand'' (1942) - Lorinda Channing * '' My Heart Belongs to Daddy'' (1942) - Mrs. Whitman (uncredited) * '' Above Suspicion'' (1943) - Countess * ''

In Old Oklahoma ''In Old Oklahoma'' (reissued as ''War of the Wildcats'') is a 1943 American Western film directed by Albert S. Rogell starring John Wayne and Martha Scott. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Music Score of a Dramatic or C ...

'' (1943) - Mrs. Ames * ''

The Horn Blows at Midnight ''The Horn Blows at Midnight'' is a 1945 comedy fantasy film directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring Jack Benny. Following its poor box-office, Benny often exploited the film's failure for laughs over the next 20 years in his radio and television c ...

'' (1945) - Judge Cavendish (scenes deleted) * ''

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...

'' (1945) - Fortune Teller (uncredited) * ''

My Reputation ''My Reputation'' is a 1946 American romantic drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Barbara Stanwyck portrays an upper-class widow whose romance with an army officer causes trouble for her gossiping friends, domineering mother and young sons. ...

'' (1946) - Mrs. Stella Thompson * '' The Bride Goes Wild'' (1948) - Helen Oldfield (scenes deleted) * ''Joyful Hour'' (1960, TV movie) - Elizabeth

References

External links

* * * 1888 births 1959 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory Actresses from St. Louis 20th-century American actresses {{US-theat-actor-1880s-stub