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.

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, discourages ...

'' 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 Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929.

A. L. Erlanger Abraham Lincoln Erlanger (May 4, 1859 – March 7, 1930) was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate. Biography Erlanger was born to a Jewish family

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 Chr ...

'' (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 tempo ...

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, Tom ...

'' (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 Berna ...

'' (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. ...

'' (1931) - Madame Panoramia aka Pansy * ''

The Age for Love ''The Age for Love'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film (now lost) directed by Frank Lloyd based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Ernest Pascal. The film was a vehicle for Howard Hughes' mistress Billie Dove. The film was a commerc ...

'' (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 Joh ...

'' (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 ...

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

'' (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 release ...

'' (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'' (1932) - Aunt Hattie Donovan * '' Is My Face Red?'' (1932) - Millionaire's Blonde Wife (uncredited) * ''The Candid Camera'' (1932, Short) - Mrs. Townes' Aunty * '' Love Me Tonight'' (1932) - Laundress (uncredited) * '' Those We Love'' (1932) - Mrs. Henry Abbott * '' Blonde Venus'' (1932) - Norfolk Woman Manager (uncredited) * ''

If I Had a Million ''If I Had a Million'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Paramount Pictures, Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W.C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among oth ...

'' (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'' (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'' (1934) - Pearl Turner * ''

Return of the Terror ''Return of the Terror'' is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Peter Milne and Eugene Solow. The film stars Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, John Halliday, and Frank McHugh, and features Robert Barrat and Irving P ...

'' (1934) - Miss Doolittle * '' We Live Again'' (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'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Come and Get It'' (1936) - Josie * '' Swing High, Swing Low'' (1937) - Murphy * ''

King of Gamblers ''King of Gamblers'' is a 1937 American low-budget gangster film directed by Robert Florey. Akim Tamiroff takes an unusual featured role as a slot-machine racketeer whose bombing of an uncooperative barber shop leads to a murder charge. (The fi ...

'' (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'' (1937) - Miss Eberhardt * '' The Awful Truth'' (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'' (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 Blue ...

'' (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'' (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 o ...

'' (1938) - Miss Brewster * '' The Family Next Door'' (1939) - Cora Stewart * '' It's a Wonderful World'' (1939) - Madame J.L. Chambers * '' Winter Carnival'' (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 ''The Captain Is a Lady'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and written by Henry Clark, adapted from the play by Rachel Crothers. The film stars Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, Virginia Grey, Helen Broderick, Billie Bur ...

'' (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 ecl ...

'' (1940) - Governor's Wife * '' Kitty Foyle'' (1940) - Grandmother * '' Tall, Dark and Handsome'' (1941) - Frosty's Landlady (uncredited) * '' Play Girl'' (1941) - Dowager (uncredited) * '' Back Street'' (1941) - Mrs. Miller * '' Repent at Leisure'' (1941) - Mrs. Morgan * ''

Hurry, Charlie, Hurry ''Hurry, Charlie, Hurry'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Charles E. Roberts and written by Paul Gerard Smith. The film stars Leon Errol, Mildred Coles, Kenneth Howell, Cecil Cunningham and George Watts. The film was released on June ...

'' (1941) - Mrs. Diana Boone * '' Blossoms in the Dust'' (1941) - Mrs. Gilworth * '' The Feminine Touch'' (1941) - Party Guest (uncredited) * ''

Cowboy Serenade ''Cowboy Serenade'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Fay McKenzie. Written by Olive Cooper, the film is about a singing cowboy and cattleman who goes after a gambling rin ...

'' (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 based on her story. It stars Marsha Hunt and Richard Carlson. Plot The peace and ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Llewellyn Castle * '' I Married an Angel'' (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 metr ...

'' (1942) - Mme. Laruga * '' The Hidden Hand'' (1942) - Lorinda Channing * ''

My Heart Belongs to Daddy "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a song written by Cole Porter, for the 1938 musical '' Leave It to Me!'' which premiered on November 9, 1938. It was originally performed by Mary Martin, who played Dolly Winslow, the young " protégée" of a rich ...

'' (1942) - Mrs. Whitman (uncredited) * '' Above Suspicion'' (1943) - Countess * '' In Old Oklahoma'' (1943) - Mrs. Ames * '' The Horn Blows at Midnight'' (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 ''The Bride Goes Wild'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Taurog. Van Johnson stars as irresponsible children's book author and part-time playboy Uncle Bumps, who is introduced to a no-nonsense children's book illustrato ...

'' (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