1878-06-24 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
He was the man you loved to hiss. This towering (6' 4"), highly imposing character star with cold, hollow, beady eyes and a huge, protruding snout would go on to become one of the silent screen's finest arch villains. Born Ernest Thayson Torrence-Thompson on June 26, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was, unlikely enough, an exceptional pianist and operatic baritone. A graduate of the Stuttgart Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in such productions as "The Emerald Isle" (1901) and "The Talk of the Town" (1905) before serious vocal problems set in. Both Ernest and his actor brother David Torrence came to America directly from Scotland prior to WWI. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, both brothers developed into seasoned players on the New York stage. Ernest made his Broadway bow with "Modest Suzanne" in 1912 and a standout role in "The Night Boat" in 1920 brought him to the attention of Hollywood filmmakers. He earned superb marks playing the despicable adversary Luke Hatburn in Tol'able David (1921) opposite Richard Barthelmess, and immediately settled into films for the rest of his career. Adept at both comedy and drama, Ernest avoided what could have been a damaging stereotype with his sympathetic portrayal of a grizzled old codger in the classic western The Covered Wagon (1923). He further bolstered his celebrity with plum, lip-smacking roles alongside Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) as Clopin, king of the beggars, and Betty Bronson in Peter Pan (1924) as the dastardly Captain Hook. In an offbeat bit of casting he paired up with Clara Bow in Mantrap (1926) as a gentle, bear-like backwoodsman in search of a wife, and participated in other silent classics such as The King of Kings (1927) (as Peter) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) as Buster Keaton's steamboat captain Dad. Despite his celluloid villainy, Ernest was known as a courtly and cultivated gentleman in private. He made the transition into talking films intact and was able to play a marvelous nemesis, Dr. Moriarty, to Clive Brooks ' Sherlock Holmes (1932) before his untimely death. Ernest died following his filming as a smuggler in I Cover the Waterfront (1933) starring Claudette Colbert in New York on May 15,1933, at the relatively young age of 54. It seems that while en route to Europe by ship, Torrence suffered an acute attack of gall stones and was rushed back to a New York hospital. He died of complications following surgery. Looking and usually playing much older than he was, Hollywood lost a marvelously talented and robust character player who had dozens of films ahead of him.
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Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl | Self (from Mantrap [1926]) (archive footage) | 1999-06-14 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) | Self (archive footage) | 1942-01-01 |
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I Cover the Waterfront | Eli Kirk (Julie's father) | 1933-05-19 |
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Sherlock Holmes | Professor James Moriarty | 1932-11-05 |
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Hypnotized | Prof. Horace S. Limberly - Hypnotist | 1932-12-25 |
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The Great Lover | Potter | 1931-07-18 |
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Sporting Blood | Mr. Jim Rellence | 1931-08-08 |
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New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford | Blackie Daw | 1931-10-03 |
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Shipmates | Chief Bosuns Mate Scotty McTavish | 1931-04-25 |
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The Cuban Love Song | Romance | 1931-11-18 |
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Fighting Caravans | Bill Jackson | 1931-02-01 |
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Sweet Kitty Bellairs | Sir Jasper Standish | 1930-09-05 |
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Strictly Unconventional | Lord Porteous | 1930-05-03 |
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Officer O'Brien | John Patrick O'Brien | 1930-02-15 |
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Call of the Flesh | Esteban | 1930-08-16 |
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Untamed | Uncle Ben Murchison | 1929-11-23 |
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The Unholy Night | Dr. Ballou | 1929-09-13 |
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The Bridge of San Luis Rey | Uncle Pio | 1929-03-30 |
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Desert Nights | Steve | 1929-03-09 |
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Speedway | Jim MacDonald | 1929-10-07 |
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Steamboat Bill, Jr. | William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr. | 1928-05-09 |
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Across to Singapore | Captain Mark Shore | 1928-04-07 |
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The Cossacks | Ivan | 1928-06-23 |
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Twelve Miles Out | Red McCue | 1927-07-08 |
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The King of Kings | Peter | 1927-04-19 |
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Captain Salvation | Captain of the 'Panther' | 1927-05-14 |
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Mantrap | Joe Easter | 1926-07-24 |
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The American Venus | King Neptune | 1926-01-31 |
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The Rainmaker | Mike | 1926-05-10 |
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The Blind Goddess | Mr. Clayton | 1926-04-04 |
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North of 36 | Jim Nabours | 1926-03-20 |
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The Lady of the Harem | Hassan | 1926-11-01 |
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The Dressmaker from Paris | Angus McGregor | 1925-03-30 |
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The Wanderer | Tola | 1925-08-19 |
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Night Life of New York | John Bentley | 1925-08-02 |
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The Pony Express | 'Ascension' Jones | 1925-09-03 |
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The Heritage of the Desert | August Naab | 1924-01-23 |
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The Side Show of Life | Andrew Lackady | 1924-07-21 |
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Peter Pan | Captain James Hook | 1924-12-29 |
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The Fighting Coward | Gen. Orlando Jackson | 1924-03-14 |
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Ruggles of Red Gap | Cousin Egbert Floud | 1923-10-07 |
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Clopin | 1923-09-06 |
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The Covered Wagon | Jackson | 1923-03-15 |
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The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | 'Devil' Jud Tolliver | 1923-04-15 |
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The Brass Bottle | Fakresh-el-Aamash | 1923-07-22 |
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Singed Wings | Emilio | 1922-11-26 |
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The Prodigal Judge | Solomon Mahaffy | 1922-02-19 |
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Broken Chains | Boyan Boone | 1922-12-10 |
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Tol'able David | Luke Hatburn | 1921-12-31 |
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A Dangerous Affair | Abner (as Ernest Torrance) | 1919-06-15 |
