- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- June 24, 1878
- Place of Birth
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Died
- May 15, 1933
Ernest Torrence
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 …
Filmography
movieClara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
1999 · Self (from Mantrap [1926]) (archive footage)
movieThe Tingler
1959 · Luke Hatburn (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieScreen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
1942 · Self (archive footage)
movieI Cover the Waterfront
1933 · Eli Kirk (Julie's father)
movieHypnotized
1932 · Prof. Horace S. Limberly - Hypnotist
movieSherlock Holmes
1932 · Professor James Moriarty
movieThe Cuban Love Song
1931 · Romance
movieNew Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford
1931 · Blackie Daw
movieSporting Blood
1931 · Mr. Jim Rellence
movieThe Great Lover
1931 · Potter
movieShipmates
1931 · Chief Bosuns Mate Scotty McTavish
movieFighting Caravans
1931 · Bill Jackson
movieSweet Kitty Bellairs
1930 · Sir Jasper Standish
movieCall of the Flesh
1930 · Esteban
movieStrictly Unconventional
1930 · Lord Porteous
movieOfficer O'Brien
1930 · John Patrick O'Brien
movieUntamed
1929 · Uncle Ben Murchison
movieSpeedway
1929 · Jim MacDonald
movieThe Unholy Night
1929 · Dr. Ballou
movieThe Bridge of San Luis Rey
1929 · Uncle Pio
movieDesert Nights
1929 · Steve
movieThe Cossacks
1928 · Ivan
movieSteamboat Bill, Jr.
1928 · William 'Steamboat Bill' Canfield Sr.
movieAcross to Singapore
1928 · Captain Mark Shore
movieTwelve Miles Out
1927 · Red McCue
movieCaptain Salvation
1927 · Captain of the 'Panther'
movieThe King of Kings
1927 · Peter
movieThe Lady of the Harem
1926 · Hassan
movieMantrap
1926 · Joe Easter
movieThe Rainmaker
1926 · Mike
The Blind Goddess
movieThe Blind Goddess
1926 · Mr. Clayton
movieNorth of 36
1926 · Jim Nabours
movieThe American Venus
1926 · King Neptune
movieThe Pony Express
1925 · 'Ascension' Jones
movieThe Wanderer
1925 · Tola
movieNight Life of New York
1925 · John Bentley
movieThe Dressmaker from Paris
1925 · Angus McGregor
moviePeter Pan
1924 · Captain James Hook
movieThe Side Show of Life
1924 · Andrew Lackady
movieThe Fighting Coward
1924 · Gen. Orlando Jackson
movieThe Heritage of the Desert
1924 · August Naab
movieWest of the Water Tower
1924 · Rev. Adrian Plummer
movieRuggles of Red Gap
1923 · Cousin Egbert Floud
movieThe Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923 · Clopin
movieThe Brass Bottle
1923 · Fakresh-el-Aamash
movieThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine
1923 · 'Devil' Jud Tolliver
movieThe Covered Wagon
1923 · Jackson
The Kingdom Within
movieThe Kingdom Within
1922 · Kreig
movieBroken Chains
1922 · Boyan Boone
movieSinged Wings
1922 · Emilio
movieThe Prodigal Judge
1922 · Solomon Mahaffy
movieTol'able David
1921 · Luke Hatburn
movieA Dangerous Affair
1919 · Abner (as Ernest Torrance)