Edward Montague Hussey Cooper (August 12, 1906 – May 5, 2000) was an Australian born actor, later active in Britain and the United States. Known by his professional name of Edward Ashley (to avoid confusion with a fellow actor
Edward Cooper), Cooper performed in 60 films for
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
including ''
Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) where he played
George Wickham
George Wickham is a fictional character created by Jane Austen who appears in her 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. George Wickham is introduced as a militia officer who has a shared history with Mr. Darcy. Wickham's charming demeanour and his ...
.
Origins
Edward Montague Hussey Cooper was born on 12 August 1906
[California, County of San Diego, Death Certificate #3 200037 007441; known as Edward A. Cooper a]
Social Security Death Index site
/ref> in Sydney, Australia, the [Passenger Manifest, SS Mostun, Rotterdam – San Pedro, California, 29 August 1939] son of Edward Montague Hussey Cooper and Violet Coghill Maddrell. His father, Edward (known as Montague) was a Master Mariner and a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
, who worked as a second officer for the P&O Steam Navigation Company in Australia.[''The Melbourne Argus'', 2 February 1927, page 18, Article: "Personal"]
Despite his use of the surname Ashley-Cooper, there was no link to the Earl of Shaftesbury
Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...
.
Career
Edward Ashley made a number of films in the United Kingdom before moving to California, United States, in 1940 where his first big role was George Wickham
George Wickham is a fictional character created by Jane Austen who appears in her 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. George Wickham is introduced as a militia officer who has a shared history with Mr. Darcy. Wickham's charming demeanour and his ...
in '' Pride and Prejudice''. After this his career consisted of a large number of mainly supporting roles until 1988, including a recurring character in the ''Maverick
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Burea ...
'' television series called "Nobby Ned Wingate" in the late 1950s.
Selected filmography
* ''The Beggar Student
''Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel (under the pseudonym of F. Zell) and Richard Genée, based on ''Les noces de Fernande'' by Victorien Sar ...
'' (1931) - Nicki
* '' Men of Steel'' (1932) - Sylvano
* '' The White Lilac'' (1935) - (uncredited)
* ''Under Proof
''Under Proof'' is a 1936 British comedy crime film directed by Roland Gillett and starring Betty Stockfeld, Tyrell Davis and Judy Kelly. The screenplay concerns a man who is threatened into joining a gang of smugglers.
Cast
* Betty Stockfeld ...
'' (1936) - Ward Delaney
* ''Conquest of the Air
''Conquest of the Air'' is a 1936 documentary film or docudrama on the history of aviation up to that time. The film features historical footage, and dramatic re-creations, of the developments of commercial and military aviation; including the e ...
'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* '' Underneath the Arches'' (1937) - Carlos
* '' Sing as You Swing'' (1937) - Harrington
* ''Saturday Night Revue
''Saturday Night Revue'' is a 1937 British musical film directed by Norman Lee and starring Billy Milton
Billy Milton (8 December 190522 November 1989) was a British stage, film and television actor. Born in Paddington, Middlesex, (now i ...
'' (1937) - Duke O'Brien
* ''The Villiers Diamond
''The Villiers Diamond'' is a 1938 British crime film directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Edward Ashley, Evelyn Ankers and Frank Birch. The screenplay concerns a man who is threatened with scandal when he accidentally acquires a stolen ...
'' (1938) - Capt. Dawson
* ''Spies of the Air
''Spies of the Air'' (also known as ''Spies in the Air'' and ''The Fifth Column'') is a 1939 British adventure film directed by David MacDonald and based on the play ''Official Secret'' by Jeffrey Dell. The film stars Barry K. Barnes, Roger Li ...
'' (1939) - Stuart
* '' Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) - Mr. Wickham
* ''Sky Murder
''Sky Murder'' is a 1940 detective film starring Walter Pidgeon as detective Nick Carter in his third and final outing for MGM as Nick Carter. The film was part of a trilogy based on original screen stories starring the popular literary series ch ...
'' (1940) - Cortland Grand
* '' Bitter Sweet'' (1940) - Harry Daventry
* ''Gallant Sons
''Gallant Sons'' is a 1940 American mystery film directed by George B. Seitz and written by William R. Lipman and Marion Parsonnet. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Gail Patrick, Gene Reynolds, June Preisser, Ian Hunter, Leo Gorcey ...
'' (1940) - Al Posna
* ''Maisie Was a Lady
''Maisie Was a Lady'' is a 1941 American comedy-drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and is the fourth in a series of ten films starring Ann Sothern as good-hearted showgirl Maisie Ravier.
Plot
When wealthy drunkard Bob Rawlston causes Maisie ...
'' (1941) - Link Phillips
* '' Come Live with Me'' (1941) - Arnold Stafford
* '' You're Telling Me'' (1942) - Fred Curtis
* ''The Pied Piper
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany.
The legend dates back t ...
'' (1942) - Charendon (uncredited)
* '' The Black Swan'' (1942) - Roger Ingram (uncredited)
* ''Love, Honor and Goodbye
''Love, Honor and Goodbye'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Arthur Phillips, Lee Loeb and Dick Irving Hyland. The film stars Virginia Bruce, Edward Ashley, Victor McLaglen, Nils Asther, Helen Broderick ...
'' (1945) - William Baxter
* ''Gay Blades
''Gay Blades'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by George Blair and written by Albert Beich and Marcy Klauber. The film stars Allan Lane, Jean Rogers, Edward Ashley, Frank Albertson, Ann Gillis and Robert Armstrong. The film was release ...
'' (1946) - Ted Brinker
* '' The Madonna's Secret'' (1946) - John Earl
* ''Nocturne
A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night.
History
The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...
'' (1946) - Keith Vincent
* '' The Other Love'' (1947) - Richard Shelton
* ''Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
''Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome'' (also known as ''Dick Tracy Meets Karloff'' and ''Dick Tracy's Amazing Adventure'' (UK) ) is a 1947 thriller film starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, and Anne Gwynne. The film is the fourth and final installment of t ...
'' (1947) - Dr. L. E. Thal
* '' Tarzan and the Mermaids'' (1948) - Commissioner
* '' Tarzan's Peril'' (1951) - Conners
* ''Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...
'' (1952) - Martin Stewart
* ''Elephant Walk
''Elephant Walk'' is a 1954 American drama film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer.It is based upon the 1948 novel ''Elephant Walk'' by "Robe ...
'' (1953) - Planter Gordon Gregory
* '' El Alamein'' (1953) - Capt. Harbison
* ''The Court Jester
''The Court Jester'' is a 1955 musical-comedy, medieval romance, costume drama film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury and Cecil Parker.
The movie was written, produced, and directed by Melvin Frank and Norma ...
'' (1955) - Black Fox
* ''Darby's Rangers
''Darby's Rangers'' (released in the UK as ''The Young Invaders'') is a 1958 war film directed by William Wellman and starring James Garner as William Orlando Darby, who organizes and leads the first units of United States Army Rangers during Wo ...
'' (1958) - Lt. Dave Manson
* '' King Rat'' (1965) - Prouty
* ''Herbie Rides Again
''Herbie Rides Again'' is a 1974 American comedy film and the second installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring an anthropomorphic (and quite autonomous) 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie. The ...
'' (1974) - Announcer at Chicken Race
* ''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood
''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Michael Winner, and starring Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr and Art Carney. Spoofing the craze surrounding Rin Tin Tin, the film is notable for the lar ...
'' (1976) - Second Butler
* ''Beyond the Next Mountain'' (1987) - Governor
* '' Waxwork'' (1988) - Professor Sutherland (final film role)
Death
Edward Ashley died early 5 May 2000, aged 93, from congestive heart failure and was cremated with the remains scattered at sea, off the coast of San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
, California, on May 9, 2000. Ashley married actress Renee Torres in 1943 in Acapulco, Mexico
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
. The couple returned to Acapulco in 1947 when Ashley was filming "Tarzan And The Mermaids." Torres died in San Diego County, California, where the couple lived, preceding Edward in death in 1998. They lived in Oceanside, California.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashleycooper, Edward
1906 births
2000 deaths
Australian expatriate male actors in the United States
Australian male film actors
Australian people of English descent
Male actors from Sydney
People from Oceanside, California
20th-century Australian male actors