Albert Edward Sutherland (January 5, 1895 – December 31, 1973) was a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and actor. Born in London, he was from a theatrical family. His father, Al Sutherland, was a theatre manager and producer and his mother, Julie Ring, was a vaudeville performer. He was a nephew of both

Blanche Ring Blanche Ring (April 24, 1871 – January 13, 1961) was an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures. She was best known for her rendition of "In the Good Old Summer Time." Early l ...

and

Thomas Meighan Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 – July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he comm ...

, who was married to Frances Ring, another of his mother's sisters. Sutherland acted in 37 known films early in his career, beginning as a

Keystone Cop The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film Slapstick film, slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Studios, Keystone Film Company between 1912 and ...

in '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1914), which starred

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

, and

Marie Dressler Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...

Career

Sutherland was directed by

in ''

A Woman of Paris ''A Woman of Paris'' is a feature-length American silent film that debuted in 1923. The film, an atypical drama film for its creator, was written, directed, produced and later scored by Charlie Chaplin. It is also known as ''A Woman of Paris: A ...

'' (1923), two years before Sutherland began his directing career with the help of Chaplin. Frequently billed as "Eddie Sutherland," he is best known as a director; he directed more than 50 movies between 1925 and 1956. His breakout film was ''

Behind the Front ''Behind the Front'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Black Eyed Peas released on June 30, 1998 through Interscope Records and will.i.am Music Group. Background Most of the tracks were demos for the ''Grass Roots'' album, wi ...

'' (1926), which made stars of leads

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

and

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

and established Sutherland as a comedic director. He had an especially hard time working with

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

, whom he disliked ("I'd rather eat a tarantula than work with Laurel again"). On the other hand, he became close friends with the more famously acerbic

W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former hi ...

, with whom he established a lifelong friendship, though by at least one account they got off to a rocky start. In 1940, he directed ''

One Night in the Tropics ''One Night in the Tropics'' is a 1940 comedy film which was the film debut of Abbott and Costello. They are listed as supporting actors but have major exposure with five of their classic routines, including an abbreviated version of "Who's On Fi ...

'', which was the film debut of

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

. Other notable films include ''

Palmy Days ''Palmy Days'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley (who makes a cameo appearance as a fortune teller ...

'', '' International House'', ''

Too Much Harmony ''Too Much Harmony'' is a 1933 American black-and-white pre-Code musical film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Harry Green, and Judith Allen. It was released by Paramount Picture ...

'', ''

The Flying Deuces ''The Flying Deuces'', also known as ''Flying Aces'', is a 1939 buddy comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their short film ''Beau Hunks'' (1931). Plot While the boys ...

'', ''

The Navy Comes Through ''The Navy Comes Through'' is a 1942 American World War II film directed by A. Edward Sutherland. It stars Pat O'Brien, George Murphy and Jane Wyatt. Vernon L. Walker and James G. Stewart were nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Th ...

'', ''

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

'', and '' Follow the Boys''. Sutherland's last directing assignment was working on the ''

Mack & Myer for Hire ''Mack and Myer for Hire'' is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1963 to 1964. The show starred Mickey Deems and Joey Faye, and was produced by Trans-Lux Television in New York. Each episode was approximately 12 minutes long, and t ...

'' TV comedies with Joey Faye and Mickey Deems for

Sandy Howard Sandy Howard (August 1, 1927 – May 16, 2008) was an American film producer and television producer. Biography A native of the Bronx, New York City, Howard wrote short stories for publication in magazines like ''Liberty'', and worked as a public ...

TV Productions and Trans-Lux Television in 1965.

Personal life

Sutherland was married five times. Among his wives were Marjorie Daw (from 1923 to 1925) and

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

(from July 1926 to June 1928). He and Brooks met on the set of ''

It's the Old Army Game ''It's the Old Army Game'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film app ...

'', which he directed and which also co-starred his aunt

. Brooks and Sutherland did not have a happy marriage; there were numerous reports on both sides of infidelity. He did not have children in any of his marriages. Sutherland lived in and owned the Calypso Apartments in South

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, where he died in 1973.

Filmography

As actor

As director

References

External links

*
Julie Ring, Eddie's mom, in a series of stage portraits

A. Edward Sutherland
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland. A. Edward 1895 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American male actors Actors from Palm Springs, California American film directors American male film actors American male silent film actors British emigrants to the United States Silent film directors