Edward J. Peil Sr. (January 18, 1883 – December 29, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1913 and 1951.
Biography
Peil was born in
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...
, one of 10 children of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Pell. He attended Racine High School and the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, studying dramatics, which led to his acting on stage and later in films. His first film was ''Charley's Aunt'' (1906). He had the lead in the first five-reel film, ''Through Fire to Fortune'' (1910). He also acted in the first film that used artificial illumination outdoors at night, the first three-reel color film, and the first
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
film.
Peil's wife, Henrietta, was an actress. They were married in 1916 in Wabash, Indiana, while both were touring with the Chicago Majestic Theater Stock Company. Peil died in
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
.
His son, Edward Peil Jr., and his daughter, Virginia, also acted in films.
Unto Those Who Sin
''Unto Those Who Sin'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by William Robert Daly and starring Fritzi Brunette, Earle Foxe, and Lillian Hayward.Whose Wife?'' (1917)
* '' The Serpent's Tooth'' (1917)
* ''
You Can't Believe Everything
''You Can't Believe Everything'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Gloria Swanson. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it is likely to be a lost film.
Plot
As described in a film ma ...
'' (1918)
* ''
The Greatest Thing in Life
''The Greatest Thing in Life'' is a 1918 American silent drama film about World War I, directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, and David Butler. The film is now considered lost as no prints are known to exist.( ...
'' (1918)
* ''
Cheating the Public
''Cheating the Public'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Richard Stanton and starring Enid Markey, Ralph Lewis and Bertram Grassby.
Cast
* Enid Markey as Mary Garvin
* Ralph Lewis as John Dowling
* Bertram Grassby as Chester ...
Broken Blossoms
''Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl'', often referred to simply as ''Broken Blossoms'', is a 1919 American silent melodrama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was distributed by United Artists and premiered on May 13, 1919. It ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Pagan God
''The Pagan God'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Park Frame and starring H.B. Warner, Carmen Phillips and Edward Peil Sr.Connelly p.393
Cast
* H.B. Warner as Bruce Winthrop
* Carmen Phillips as Tai Chen
* Edward Peil Sr. a ...
The Gray Wolf's Ghost
''The Gray Wolf's Ghost'' is a 1919 American silent Western film directed by Park Frame and Joseph Franz and starring Lurline Lyons, Rita Stanwood and Hector V. Sarno.Connelly, p. 355.
Cast
* Lurline Lyons as Dona Maria Saltonstall
* Rit ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Dragon Painter
''The Dragon Painter'' is a 1919 English language silent romance drama film. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Mary McNeil Fenollosa. It stars Sessue Hayakawa as a young painter who believes that his fiancée (played by Ha ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Lincoln Highwayman
''The Lincoln Highwayman'' is a 1919 American silent mystery film directed by Emmett J. Flynn, and starring William Russell, Lois Lee, Frank Brownlee, Jack Connolly, and Edward Peil Sr. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on December ...
'' (1919)
* ''
Haunting Shadows
''Haunting Shadows'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Henry King and starring H.B. Warner, Edward Peil Sr., and Charles Hill Mailes.''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema'', p. 166 It was based on 1906 novel which had ...
'' (1919)
* ''
Fighting Cressy
''Fighting Cressy'' is a lost 1919 silent film western directed by Robert Thornby and starring Blanche Sweet. It was produced by Jesse D. Hampton and distributed through Pathé Exchange.
Plot
Cast
* Blanche Sweet - Cressy
* Russell Simpso ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Road to Divorce
''The Road to Divorce'' is a 1920 American silent drama film, directed by Phil Rosen. It stars Mary MacLaren, William Ellingford, and Alberta Lee, and was released on April 5, 1920.
Plot
Cast
* Mary MacLaren as Mary Bird
* William Ellingford ...
'' (1920)
* ''
The Money Changers
''The Money Changers'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Robert McKim, Claire Adams, and Roy Stewart. It is based on a 1908 novel by Upton Sinclair.
Plot
Cast
* Robert McKim as Hugh Gordon
* Claire ...
'' (1920)
* ''
Two Moons
Two Moons (c. 1847–1917), or ''Ishaynishus'' (Cheyenne: ''Éše'he Ôhnéšesêstse''), was one of the Cheyenne chiefs who took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn and other battles against the United States Army.
Life
Two Moons was the s ...
'' (1920)
* ''
That Girl Montana
''That Girl Montana'' is an extant 1921 American silent Western film starring Blanche Sweet and distributed by Pathé Exchange. Jesse D. Hampton produced and Robert Thornby directed. The film is based on a 1901 novel, ''That Girl Montana'', by ...
The Servant in the House
''The Servant in the House'' is a lost 1921 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway based on a 1908 Broadway play, ''The Servant in the House'' by Charles Rann Kennedy.
Plot
Cast
*Jean Hersholt as Manson, The Servant
* Jack Curti ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Dream Street
Dream Street is an American pop music, pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. In 2023, the b ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Tom Mix in Arabia
''Tom Mix in Arabia'' is a 1922 American silent adventure film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, Barbara Bedford and George Hernandez.Solomon p.280
Cast
* Tom Mix as Billy Evans
* Barbara Bedford as Janice Terhune
* George H ...
Three Jumps Ahead
''Three Jumps Ahead'' is a 1923 American silent Western film written and directed by John Ford. The film is considered to be lost.
Cast
* Tom Mix as Steve McLean
* Alma Bennett as Annie Darrell
* Edward Peil Sr. as Buck Taggitt (as Edward Pi ...
The Purple Dawn
''The Purple Dawn''All contemporaneous reviews and advertising for the film include "The" in the title. is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film that was produced, written, and directed by Charles R. Seeling. It stars Bessie Love, Bert Spr ...
$50,000 Reward
''$50,000 Reward'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Clifford S. Elfelt and starring Ken Maynard, Esther Ralston and Bert Lindley.
Plot
The film is about Tex Sherwood, a man who has just acquired a piece of land. There is a ...
Double Action Daniels
''Double Action Daniels'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Jay Wilsey, J.P. Lockney and D'Arcy Corrigan.Munden, p. 199.
Cast
* Jay Wilsey as Double Action Daniels
* Lo ...
'' (1925)
* ''
Queen o'Diamonds
''Queen o'Diamonds'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Evelyn Brent, Elsa Lorimer, and Phillips Smalley.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review, chorus girl Jerry Lyon resembles Jeanette Durant ...
'' (1926)
* ''
The Girl from Montmartre
''The Girl from Montmartre'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Barbara La Marr in her last film role. It was distributed through First National on the day after La Marr died.
Plot
As descr ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Yellow Fingers
''Yellow Fingers'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and written by Eve Unsell. The film stars Olive Borden, Ralph Ince, Claire Adams, Edward Peil, Sr., Otto Matieson, and Nigel De Brulier. The film was released ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Midnight Faces
''Midnight Faces'' (1926) is a silent film starring Francis X. Bushman, Jr. and Jack Perrin. The film is an 'old dark house' murder mystery in the same genre as '' One Exciting Night'' (1922), '' The Ghost Breaker'' (1922), '' The Bat'' (1926) ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Black Paradise
''Black Paradise'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent adventure film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Madge Bellamy, Leslie Fenton, and Edmund Lowe.Solomon p. 299
Plot
In San Francisco, Sylvia Douglas and her fiancé, James Callah ...
'' (1926)
* ''
Gigolo
A gigolo ( ) is a male escort, call boy or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship.
The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rat ...
'' (1926)
* ''
The Great K & A Train Robbery
''The Great K & A Train Robbery'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Tom Mix and Dorothy Dwan. The film is based on the actual foiling of a train robbery by Dick Gordon as ...
Wild Horse
The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus Equus (genus), ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domestication of the horse, domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the Endangered species, endangered ...
The Gay Buckaroo
''The Gay Buckaroo'' is a 1932 American pre-Code Western film, directed by Phil Rosen. It stars Hoot Gibson, Merna Kennedy, and Roy D'Arcy, and was released on January 17, 1932.
Plot
Cowboy Hale and gambler Dumont are both in love with Field. ...
'' (1932)
* ''
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...
'' (1933) as Leon Ratkin
* '' Blue Steel'' (1934) as Malgrove
* ''
The Man from Utah
''The Man from Utah'' is a 1934 pre-Code Monogram Western (genre), Western film starring John Wayne, Polly Ann Young and the stuntman/actor Yakima Canutt. It was written by Lindsley Parsons and directed by Robert N. Bradbury. Wayne has a "singi ...
'' (1934) as Spike Barton
* ''
Million Dollar Baby
''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. It is based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...
'' (1935) as Vigilante (uncredited)
* ''
Code of the Range
''Code of the Range'' is a 1936 American western film directed by Charles C. Coleman and starring Charles Starrett, Mary Blake and Edward Coxen.
Plot
A feud breaks out between cattle ranchers and sheepherders who dispute each other's graz ...
Two-Fisted Sheriff
''Two-Fisted Sheriff'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Leon Barsha, starring Charles Starrett and Barbara Weeks.
Plot
Cast
* Charles Starrett as Sheriff Dick Houston
* Barbara Weeks as Molly Herrick
* Bruce Lane as Bob Pearson ...
Dodge City
Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...
'' (1939) as Mr. Turner (uncredited)
* ''
Billy the Kid's Gun Justice
''Billy the Kid's Gun Justice'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation, and 3rd in PRC's Billy the Kid series. Hal Erickson, Rovi.Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940), ''The New York Times''. R ...
'' (1940) as Dave Barlow
* ''
I Wanted Wings
''I Wanted Wings'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and based on a book by Lieutenant Beirne Lay Jr. The film stars Ray Milland and William Holden. The supporting cast includes Wayne Morris (American actor), Wayne Morris, ...
'' (1941) as Detective (uncredited)
* ''
Fugitive Valley
''Fugitive Valley'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby. The film is the eighth in Monogram Pictures' " Range Busters" series, and it stars Ray "Crash" Corrigan as Crash, John "Dusty" King as Dusty and Max "Alibi" Terhune ...
'' (1941) as Ed
* ''
The Lone Rider in Ghost Town
''The Lone Rider in Ghost Town'' is a 1941 American western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Joseph O'Donnell. The film stars George Houston as the Lone Rider and Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones, with Rebel Randall, Budd ...
'' (1941) as Dennis Clark
* ''
The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury
''The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. The film stars George Houston as the "Lone Rider" and Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones, with Hillary Brooke, Karl Hackett, Ted Adams and ...
'' (1941) as Mr. Harper
* ''
Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals
''Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals'' (also known as ''Trigger Men'') is a 1941 American Western directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), and the fifth in PRC's Billy the Kid film series.
Plot
Billy the Kid ( Bob Steele ...
'' (1941) as Hardy
* ''
The Lone Rider in Texas Justice
''The Lone Rider in Texas Justice'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Steve Braxton. The film stars George Houston as the "Lone Rider", Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones and Dennis Moore as Sherif ...
'' (1942) as Hanagan
* ''
Border Roundup
''Border Roundup'' is a 1942 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Joseph O'Donnell. The film stars George F. Houston as the Lone Rider, Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones, and Dennis Moore (actor ...
'' (1942) as Sheriff
* ''
Reap the Wild Wind
''Reap the Wild Wind'' is a 1942 American adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard, with a supporting cast featuring Raymond Massey, Robert Preston (actor), Robert Pres ...
'' (1942) as Bailiff (uncredited)
* ''
My Favorite Blonde
''My Favorite Blonde'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll. Based on a story by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film is about a vaudeville performer who gets mixed up with Br ...
'' (1942) as Policeman (uncredited)
* ''
The Pride of the Yankees
''The Pride of the Yankees'' is a 1942 American sports drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou ...
'' (1942) as Policeman (uncredited)
* ''
The Kid Rides Again
''The Kid Rides Again'' is a 1943 American western directed by Sam Newfield. The film was one of the Billy the Kid (film series), Billy the Kid (film series by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was Iris Meredith's last credited feature film ...
'' (1943) as John Ainsley
* ''
The Major and the Minor
''The Major and the Minor'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. It was the first American film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay credited to Wilder and Charles Brackett is "suggested by" the 192 ...
'' (1942) as Stationmaster (uncredited)
* ''
The Princess and the Pirate
''The Princess and the Pirate'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by David Butler, and starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. Based on a story by Sy Bartlett, the film is about a princess who travels incognito to elope with her true love ins ...
'' (1944) as Palace Guard (uncredited)
* ''
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap
''The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap'' is a 1947 American comedy western film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello alongside Marjorie Main and Audrey Young. It was released on October 8 and distributed b ...
'' (1947) as Townsman (uncredited)
* ''
The Lady from Shanghai
''The Lady from Shanghai'' is a 1947 American film noir produced and directed by Orson Welles and starring Rita Hayworth, Welles, Everett Sloane, and Glenn Anders. Welles's screenplay is based on the novel ''If I Die Before I Wake'' by Sherwo ...
'' (1947) as Guard (uncredited)
* '' Valley of Fear'' (1947) as Jamison Forbes
* '' The Walls of Jericho'' (1948) as Court Reporter (uncredited)
* ''
Up in Central Park
''Up in Central Park'' is a Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Sigmund Romberg. The musical, originally called "Central Park" before Broadway (see image of sheet music), was ...
'' (1948) as Politician (uncredited)
* '' Samson and Delilah'' (1949) as Gnarled Worker (uncredited)
* '' My Foolish Heart'' (1949) as Conductor (uncredited)
* ''
Storm Warning
At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The winds must not be associated with a tropical cyclone. If the winds are associate ...