Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893 – January 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays,[1] and more than 100 films, during a 50-year career,[2] and is best remembered for his tough-guy roles as gangsters in such films as Little Caesar and Key Largo. During his career, Robinson received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in House of Strangers.
For other people named Edward Robinson, see Edward Robinson (disambiguation).
Edward G. Robinson
January 26, 1973 (aged 79)
Beth El Cemetery, Ridgewood, Queens
American
Actor
1913–1973
During the 1930s and 1940s, he was an outspoken public critic of fascism and Nazism, which were growing in strength in Europe in the years which led up to World War II. His activism included contributing over $250,000 to more than 850 organizations that were involved in war relief, along with contributions to cultural, educational, and religious groups. During the 1950s, he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Red Scare, but he was cleared of any deliberate Communist involvement when he claimed that he was "duped" by several people whom he named (including screenwriter Dalton Trumbo), according to the official Congressional record, "Communist infiltration of the Hollywood motion-picture industry".[3][4] As a result of being investigated, he found himself on Hollywood's graylist, people who were on the Hollywood blacklist maintained by the major studios, but could find work at minor film studios on what was called Poverty Row.
Robinson's roles included an insurance investigator in the film noir Double Indemnity, Dathan (the adversary of Moses) in The Ten Commandments, and his final performance in the science-fiction story Soylent Green.[5] Robinson received an Academy Honorary Award for his work in the film industry, which was awarded two months after he died in 1973. He is ranked number 24 in the American Film Institute's list of the 25 greatest male stars of Classic American cinema. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited him as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.[6][7]
Early years and education[edit]
Robinson was born Emmanuel Goldenberg (Yiddish: עמנואל גאלדבערג) on December 12, 1893, in a Yiddish-speaking Romanian Jewish family in Bucharest, the fifth son of Sarah (née Guttman) and Yeshaya Moyshe Goldenberg (later called Morris in the U.S.), a builder.[8]
According to the New York Times, one of his brothers was attacked by an anti-semitic gang during a "schoolboy pogrom".[9] In the wake of that violence, the family decided to emigrate to the United States.[2] Robinson arrived in New York City on February 21, 1904.[10] "At Ellis Island I was born again," he wrote. "Life for me began when I was 10 years old."[2] In America, he assumed the name of Emanuel. He grew up on the Lower East Side,[11]: 91 and had his Bar Mitzvah at First Roumanian-American Congregation.[12] He attended Townsend Harris High School and then the City College of New York, planning to become a criminal attorney.[13] An interest in acting and performing in front of people led to him winning an American Academy of Dramatic Arts scholarship,[13] after which he changed his name to Edward G. Robinson (the G. standing for his original surname).[13]
He served in the United States Navy during World War I, but was never sent overseas.[14]
Political activism[edit]
During the 1930s, Robinson was an outspoken public critic of fascism and Nazism, donating more than $250,000 to 850 political and charitable organizations between 1939 and 1949. He was host to the Committee of 56, which gathered at his home on December 9, 1938, signing a "Declaration of Democratic Independence," which called for a boycott of all German-made products.[17] After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, while he was not a supporter of Communism, he appeared at Soviet war relief rallies in order to give moral aid to America's new ally, which he said could join "together in their hatred of Hitlerism".[11]: 107
Although he attempted to enlist in the military when the United States formally entered World War II, he was unable to do so because of his age;[16] instead, the Office of War Information appointed him as a Special Representative based in London.[11]: 106 From there, taking advantage of his multilingual skills, he delivered radio addresses in over six languages to European countries that had fallen under Nazi domination.[11]: 106 His talent as a radio speaker in the U.S. had previously been recognized by the American Legion, which had given him an award for his "outstanding contribution to Americanism through his stirring patriotic appeals".[11]: 106 Robinson was also an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, serving on its executive board in 1944, during which time he became an "enthusiastic" campaigner for Roosevelt's reelection that same year.[11]: 107 During the 1940s, Robinson also contributed to the cultural diplomacy initiatives of Roosevelt's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in support of Pan-Americanism through his broadcasts to South America on the CBS "Cadena da las Américas" radio network.[20]
In early July 1944, less than a month after the Invasion of Normandy by Allied forces, Robinson traveled to Normandy to entertain the troops, becoming the first movie star to go there for the USO.[11]: 106 [21] He personally donated $100,000 ($1,500,000 in 2015 dollars) to the USO.[11]: 107 After returning to the U.S., he continued his active involvement in the war effort by going to shipyards and defense plants in order to inspire workers, in addition to appearing at rallies in order to help sell war bonds.[11]: 107
After the war ended, Robinson publicly spoke out in support of democratic rights for all Americans, especially in demanding equality for Black workers in the workplace. He endorsed the Fair Employment Practices Commission's call to end workplace discrimination.[11]: 109 Black leaders praised him as "one of the great friends of the Negro and a great advocator of Democracy".[11]: 109 Robinson also campaigned for the civil rights of African Americans, helping many to overcome segregation and discrimination.[22]
During the years when Robinson spoke out against fascism and Nazism, he was not a supporter of Communism, but he did not criticize the Soviet Union, which he saw as an ally against Hitler. However, the film historian Steven J. Ross observes "activists who attacked Hitler without simultaneously attacking Stalin were vilified by conservative critics as either Communists, Communist dupes, or, at best, as naive liberal dupes."[11]: 128 In addition, Robinson learned that 11 out of the more than 850 charities and groups that he had helped over the previous decade were listed as Communist front organizations by the FBI.[23] As a result, he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1950 and 1952, and he was also threatened with blacklisting.[24]
As shown in the full House Un-American Activities Committee transcript for April 30, 1952, Robinson repudiated some of the organizations that he had belonged to in the 1930s and 1940s.[24][25] and stated that he felt he had been duped or made use of unawares "by the sinister forces who were members, and probably in important positions in these [front] organizations."[11]: 121 When asked whom he personally knew who might have "duped" him, he replied, "Well, you had Albert Maltz, and you have Dalton Trumbo, and you have ... John Howard Lawson. I knew Frank Tuttle. I didn't know [Edward] Dmytryk at all. There are the Buchmans, that I know, Sidney Buchman and all that sort of thing. It never entered my mind that any of these people were Communists."[26] Despite accusing these persons of being duplicitous towards him about their political aims, Robinson never directly accused anyone of being a Communist. His own name was cleared, but in the aftermath, his career noticeably suffered; he was offered smaller roles infrequently. In October 1952, he wrote an article titled "How the Reds made a Sucker Out of Me", and it was published in the American Legion Magazine.[27] The chair of the committee, Francis E. Walter, told Robinson at the end of his testimonies that the Committee "never had any evidence presented to indicate that you were anything more than a very choice sucker."[11]: 122
Death[edit]
Robinson died of bladder cancer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles[30] on January 26, 1973. Services were conducted at Temple Israel in Los Angeles where Charlton Heston delivered the eulogy.[2] More than 1,500 friends of Robinson attended, with another 500 people outside.[11] His body was flown to New York where it was entombed in a crypt in his family's mausoleum at Beth-El Cemetery in Brooklyn.[31] His pallbearers were Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, Mervyn Leroy, George Burns, Sam Jaffe, Frank Sinatra, Jack Karp and Alan Simpson.[2]