Edward Arnold

Günther Edward Arnold Schneider was born on February 18, 1890, in the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse. He received his early education at the East Side Settlement House. His interest in acting began at age 12, when he appeared on stage as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. Arnold made his professional stage debut in 1907 and went on to build a career spanning both Broadway and Hollywood that lasted until his death on April 26, 1956.

Arnold's Broadway career ran from 1919 to 1932 and included appearances in a range of plays and musicals. His stage credits encompassed The Storm, She Would and She Did, The Musical The Honeymooners, The Nervous Wreck, and Whistling in the Dark. Among his notable Broadway engagements was the 1927 revival of The Jazz Singer, in which he served as second lead to star George Jessel. After a period working in early silent films, including extra work for Essanay Studios and World Studios and a first significant film role in The Misleading Lady in 1916, Arnold returned to the stage in 1919 and did not appear in films again until his talkie debut in Okay America! in 1932.

His film career accelerated quickly once he returned to the screen. He recreated his stage role from Whistling in the Dark in the 1933 film adaptation of the same name. His portrayal of Diamond Jim Brady in the 1935 film Diamond Jim elevated him to stardom, a role he reprised in the 1940 film Lillian Russell. In The Toast of New York (1937), another fictionalized account of real-life business figures, Arnold received top billing above Cary Grant. He became particularly associated with roles as powerful authority figures and rogues, and his most recognized film performances include Come and Get It (1936), Sutter's Gold (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), in which he played Daniel Webster. Arnold was also the first actor to portray Rex Stout's detective Nero Wolfe on screen, starring in Meet Nero Wolfe (1936). He later played blind detective Duncan Maclain in Eyes in the Night (1942) and The Hidden Eye (1945), both based on novels by Baynard Kendrick. Over the course of his career, Arnold appeared in more than 150 films.

Beyond film, Arnold maintained an active presence in radio and television. From 1947 to 1953, he starred in the ABC radio program Mr. President, and he played a lawyer named Mr. Reynolds on The Charlotte Greenwood Show. In 1953, he hosted Spotlight Story on the Mutual network. On television, he hosted Your Star Showcase, a series of 52 half-hour dramas released by Television Programs of America that launched on January 1, 1954, and aired in 150 cities. He also co-starred in an episode of Ford Theatre on NBC titled "Ever Since the Day."

Arnold was married three times: to Harriet Marshall from 1917 to 1927, with whom he had three children — Elizabeth, Jane, and William, who pursued a brief film career under the name Edward Arnold Jr.; to Olive Emerson from 1929 to 1948; and to Cleo McLain from 1951 until his death. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1940 to 1942 and was a co-founder of the I Am an American Foundation. His autobiography, Lorenzo Goes to Hollywood, was published in 1940. Midwestern University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree on May 24, 1951. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6225 Hollywood Boulevard, in the recording category, on February 8, 1960.

Arnold became involved in Republican politics beginning in the 1940s. He supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 presidential election, announced a candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat from California in 1950 before withdrawing, and subsequently lost a closely contested election for Los Angeles County Supervisor. Arnold died at his home in Encino, California, at age 66, from a cerebral hemorrhage associated with atrial fibrillation, and was interred at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery.