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The role for which Eddie is probably best known is Tommy Elison, the most
endearing and tragic character of the ill-fated crew, in the movie,
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). The film starred
Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone
(below top). “There have been a lot of idols,” said Eddie, “but to me, Clark Gable was the greatest. Not only did the women like him, but the men liked him also. He had a great following with men. He was down-to-earth and was all man. Working with him was a lot of fun. I liked him tremendously.” His most treasured trophy was a 1936 Screen Actors Guild Award presented to him for his performance in this movie. |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Top: two stills from Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Charles Laughton, Donald Crisp & Eddie Quillan (left) and Eddie Quillan and Clark Gable (right). Above left: Charlotte Henry and Eddie Quillan have to do some explaining in The Mandarin Mystery. Above right: Charlotte Henry and Eddie Quillan |
He remained a favorite in large and small roles throughout the 1930s and 1940s;
he faltered only when he was miscast as master sleuth Ellery Queen in
The Mandarin Mystery
(1937). Eddie was
panned by critics who felt casting him was a fatal mistake. Although the film
contained the original structure of the book, The Chinese Orange Mystery,
the general consensus of film reviewers was that the script played for laughs,
and childish acting by Quillan and ineffective direction by Ralph Staub bought
the first series of Ellery Queen films to a halt. A heavily
edited version for television was subsequently developed but experienced no more
success than the film. Among Quillan's other more memorable credits as a supporting actor were: with Spencer Tracy in Big City (1937); with Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart in Made For Each Other (1939); with John Wayne in Allegheny Uprising (1939); with Henry Fonda both in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) (below left) and in The Grapes of Wrath (1940): with Marlene Dietrich in The Flame of New Orleans (1941); and with Abbott and Costello in It Ain't Hay (1943). |
![]() ![]() Above left: Eddie Quillan in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) Above right: Promotional photo for Grapes of Wrath (1940) Eddie Quillan with Dorris Bowdon. |
Discouraged with playing simple roles such as bellhops, soda jerks, et al., he
continued on in "B" pictures until Sensation Hunters
(1945) and A Guy Could Change
(1946)
when his film career finally fell away. From 1948 through 1956, Quillan was paired with screen veteran Wally Vernon by Columbia as yet another attempt to create an original comedy team. Wally Vernon was a veteran of the Columbia shorts department and together they appeared in a series of 16 two-reel comedies, which showed to excellent advantage the physical dexterity of both men (below left). |
![]() ![]() Above left: From 1948 through 1956, Quillan was paired with screen veteran Wally Vernon. Seen here in A-Hunting They Did Go (1953). The plot revolves around the men embarking on a hunting weekend, closely trailed by their wives. Notably, this film is a remake, incorporating stock footage from their own movie "Crabbin' in the Cabin" (1948). Above right: Eddie Quillan introduces Van Johnson to Dodie Heath in Brigadoon (1954) |
He
owned and operated a bowling alley in El Monte for a time but eventually returned to the
film industry, with middling results and infrequent appearances, among them
Brigadoon
(1954) opposite Gene Kelly. In addition to his film work in the fifties, Eddie began to work in television when he was offered the chance to work with Jackie Cooper in The People’s Choice. Once beginning his television career, Eddie would appear in over two hundred (200) television programs. He had roles in a multitude of TV series: Love Lucy, The Jack Benny Show, Perry Mason, Daniel Boone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Addams Family, The Wild, Wild West, Andy Griffith, and Petticoat Junction.” (5) His brother, Joe, was a well-known comedy writer in radio and television, Known for his contributions to the Our Miss Brooks radio and TV show. It was through Joe that Eddie met Hal Kanter who would cast him years later in his first recurring role in a network series, Valentine’s Day (1964-65), starring Tony Franciosa. From 1968 through 1971, Kanter made Eddie a series regular on the Diahann Carroll sitcom Julia. (5) Light-hearted fluff also came his way in the next decade with The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Angel in My Pocket (1969) and How to Frame a Figg (1971), but his contributions were relatively minor. His career experienced a minor resurgence during the 1960s and 1970s on TV when he guested on such series as Mannix (1967), Lucas Tanner (1974), Police Story (1973), and Baretta (1975). During this decade he was seen rarely in the movies. His last movie was The Strongest Man in the World (1975). A close friendship with actor Michael Landon led to work for Eddie in several of Landon's TV vehicles, including Little House on the Prairie (1974) (7 episodes), Father Murphy (1981) and Highway to Heaven (1984). |
![]() ![]() ![]() Above left: Eddie as he appeared in the 1985 series Hell Town. Above middle: Quillan as Abbie Cadabra in the Moonlighting episode "In God We Strongly Suspect" (1986). |
In his retirement years, Eddie continued to lead an active life enjoying golf,
bowling and swimming. A lifelong bachelor, he lived in North Hollywood (San
Fernando Valley) with his
two sisters, Peggy and Roseanne.
Eddie Quillan became a favorite interview subject for film historians thanks to his ingratiating personality and uncanny total recall. Eddie died in Burbank, California of cancer in 1990 at age 83, and was interred at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills. Eddie prided himself in being a comedian and as he once told one producer, who was trying to insert an off-color joke, he obviously didn't need him because he could get anyone to get a laugh with a dirty joke, no talent is needed. |
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References (1) Wikipedia (2) IMDb (3) The Columbia Shorts Departement (4) Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel by Brent E. Walker (2013) (5) Playbills to Photoplays: Stage Performers Who Pioneered the Talkies by Brenda Loew (2010) (5) Radiogoldindex (6) Rotten Tomatoes (7) The Eddie Quillan Film Festival: "Sweepstakes" and "Gridiron Flash" at "The Incredible Inman" (8) Day and Quillan, "The Flaming Youth" Comedies by Lea Stans (Comique - The Classic Comedy Magazine, Issue no. 2, Spring 2022) (9) The Godless Girl a Silent Movie Review Additional video & audio sources (1) Sweepstakes 1 - 2 -3 (Clips, 1931) YouTube, David Inman (2) Gridiron Flash 1 - 2 - 3 (Clips, 1934) YouTube, David Inman (3) Nobody's Home 1 - 2 (Short, Two reel, 1955) YouTube, David Inman (4) The Sophomore Jeanette Loff Eddie Quillan (Clip from the 1929 Silent) YouTube Annie Carol |
This actor profile is a part of
Ellery Queen a website on deduction.
The actor above played Ellery Queen in
an Ellery Queen movie.
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Page first published on May 27. 2017 Last updated December 7. 2023 |
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