Edward J. McNamara

Edward J. McNamara (August 13, 1884 – November 10, 1944) was an American actor, singer, and book writer whose career spanned Broadway and Hollywood. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, he worked as a police officer in that city while cultivating a baritone voice that would eventually draw the attention of some of the most celebrated figures in the operatic world.

The turning point in McNamara's vocal career came in 1914, when German singer Madame Schumann Heink, who lived near Paterson, heard him singing the Pagliacci Prologue at the Paterson May Festival. She encouraged him to pursue a professional path in voice and, together with New Jersey U.S. Senator William Hughes, arranged an introduction to Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Upon hearing McNamara sing, Caruso described his voice as the most natural organ he had ever encountered and offered to teach him personally, making McNamara the only pupil Caruso ever took on. McNamara subsequently toured the United States with Madame Schumann Heink for six years.

His Broadway career began in 1926 and continued through 1940, encompassing productions that included the revue Shoot the Works, On to Fortune, Jayhawker, The Return of the Vagabond, and Margin for Error. In addition to performing, he also worked as a book writer for the stage. His Hollywood career launched in 1929, and he appeared in 18 films in total, frequently cast in brief roles, often as a police officer or a singing policeman — a characterization that had followed him from his days on the Paterson force and was regularly referenced in newspaper coverage of his career.

McNamara maintained a close personal and professional friendship with actor James Cagney, who cast him in four of his films. He was also an honorary member of the informal Irish Mafia social circle, a group of Irish-descent actors active during the 1930s that included Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Frank McHugh, Spencer Tracy, James Gleason, and Allen Jenkins. In 1936, McNamara and cartoonist Denys Wortman, both members of the Players club in Manhattan, were instrumental in persuading Cagney to relocate to Martha's Vineyard during his ongoing contract disputes with Jack Warner. McNamara had been a member of both the Dutch Treat Club and the Players since 1928. Cagney later reflected that McNamara possessed the talent to have become one of the Metropolitan Opera's greatest stars, but had not pursued the discipline required to reach that level.

Toward the end of his life, McNamara returned briefly to police work while continuing to take acting roles. He died on November 10, 1944, in Boston, at the age of 60, from a massive heart attack suffered aboard a train while transporting five racehorses to Cagney in California. Funeral services were held at the Congregational Church in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard, and he was buried at West Tisbury Village Cemetery.