Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage.[1]
Sidney Toler | |
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Toler in 1930 | |
Born | Hooper G. Toler Jr. April 28, 1874 Warrensburg, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | February 12, 1947 72) | (aged
Occupation |
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Years active | 1903–1947 |
Spouse(s) |
Early life and career
Hooper G. Toler Jr., who was called Sidney Toler from childhood, was born April 28, 1874, in Warrensburg, Missouri.[2][1][3] He showed an early interest in the theater, acting in an amateur production of Tom Sawyer at the age of seven.[1] He left the University of Kansas and became a professional actor in 1892, playing the heavy in a performance of a melodrama called The Master Man in Kansas City.[1][4][5] In 1894, he joined the Corse Payton company and toured for four years. His success in leading roles at the Lee Avenue Academy in Brooklyn brought an invitation to join the company of Julia Marlowe. He toured with her for two years, playing the Duke of Buckingham in When Knighthood Was in Flower.[1][6]
In Brooklyn, Toler played leads with the Columbia Theatre Stock Company and sang baritone with the Orpheum Theatre's operatic stock company. In 1903, he made his Broadway debut in the musical comedy, The Office Boy.[1][7]
Over the next nine years, Toler had his own theatre companies in Portland, Maine, and Halifax, Nova Scotia—at one point having 12 stock companies on the road. He began a prolific career as a playwright, writing The Belle of Richmond, The Dancing Master, The House on the Sands, and more than 70 other plays. One particular success was a war play called The Man They Left Behind, which was presented by 67 companies in a period of three months and by 18 different companies in a single week.[1][6]
In 1921, Paramount Pictures released two films based on Toler's plays: The Bait, adapted from The Tiger Lady,[8] and A Heart to Let, based on Agatha's Aunt, which Toler adapted from a novel by Harriet Lummis Smith.[9] Three of his plays reached Broadway: The Golden Days (1921), which starred Helen Hayes, The Exile (1923), and Ritzy (1930).[1][7]
Toler earned fame as an actor on the Broadway stage, working for David Belasco for 14 years.[1] He was best known for his comedy roles,[10] from the detective-butler in On the Hiring Line (1919)—a performance that The New York Times called "one of the comedy high spots of the week"[6]—to Cool Kelly the iceman in It's a Wise Child (1929–30).[1]
In 1929, Toler made his first film, Madame X,[11] and in 1931, after the Boston run of It's a Wise Child, he moved to Hollywood.[1] He played supporting roles in films, including White Shoulders (1931), Tom Brown of Culver (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Phantom President (1932), The World Changes (1933), Spitfire (1934), Operator 13 (1934), The Call of the Wild (1935), Three Godfathers (1936), The Gorgeous Hussy (1936), Double Wedding (1937), The Mysterious Rider (1938), and Law of the Pampas (1939).[11]
Charlie Chan series
Following the death of Warner Oland, Twentieth Century-Fox began the search for a new Charlie Chan. Thirty-four actors were tested before the studio decided on Toler. Twentieth Century-Fox announced its choice on October 18, 1938, and filming began less than a week later on Charlie Chan in Honolulu, which had been originally scripted for Warner Oland and Keye Luke. Toler's portrayal of the Chinese detective in Charlie Chan in Honolulu was very well received. Besides Toler, another change was made in the series. (Victor) Sen Yung, as Number Two Son Jimmy, replaced Number One Son Lee, who had been played by Keye Luke. Toler's Chan, rather than merely mimicking the character that Oland had portrayed, had a somewhat sharper edge that was well suited for the rapid changes of the times, both political and cultural. When needed, Charlie Chan now displayed overt sarcasm, usually toward his son Jimmy.
Through four years and 11 films, Toler played Charlie Chan for Twentieth Century-Fox. In 1942, though, following the completion of Castle in the Desert, Fox concluded the series. The wartime collapse of the international film market may have been a factor, but the main reason was that Fox was curtailing virtually all of its low-budget series. Fox's other "B" series — Jane Withers, Michael Shayne, and The Cisco Kid — also ended that year.[12] Only Laurel and Hardy remained in Fox's "B" unit, until it shut down at the end of 1944.
With Fox no longer producing Chan films, Toler bought the screen rights to the Charlie Chan character from Eleanor Biggers Cole, the widow of Chan's creator, Earl Derr Biggers. Toler had hoped that if he could find someone to produce new Charlie Chan films, starring himself, Fox would distribute them. Fox declined, having already dropped the series, but Toler sold the idea to Monogram Pictures, a lower-budget film studio. Philip N. Krasne, a Hollywood lawyer who invested in film productions, partnered with James S. Burkett to produce the Monogram Chans.
With the release of Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944), the effects of a more limited budget were apparent. Production values were no match for those of Fox; Monogram's budgets were typically about 40% of what Fox's had been. In fairness to Monogram, the films did gradually improve, with The Chinese Cat, The Shanghai Cobra, and Dark Alibi often cited as favorites by fans. Cast changes were again made: Sen Yung's Jimmy was replaced by Benson Fong as Number Three Son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland played the ever-present and popular Birmingham Brown, who brought comedy relief (and African American audiences) to the series. Monogram's Charlie Chan films were profitable and successful; they boasted tricky screenplays with many surprise culprits and murder devices, and frequent appearances by "name" character actors.
Later years
By the end of 1946, age and illness were affecting Toler. Diagnosed with cancer, the 72-year-old Toler was so ill during the filming of Dangerous Money (1946) and Shadows over Chinatown (1946) that he could hardly walk. Monogram hired Toler's original foil, "Number Two Son" Victor Sen Yung, for Toler's last three films, quite probably to ease the burden on Toler. Toler mustered enough strength to complete his last film, The Trap, which was filmed in July–August 1946, and released in November that same year. (Yung and Moreland relieved Toler of much of the action in The Trap). Toler's Monogram output matched his Fox output: 11 films for each studio.
Personal life
On August 29, 1906, Toler married actress Vivian Marston (born Josephine Gasper) of Boston, Massachusetts.[13][14][15] She died in Hollywood on October 7, 1943, after an illness of seven months.[16] Four weeks later, he married sculptor Vera Tattersall Orkow,[17] a British-born actress credited as Viva Tattersall when Toler and she performed together and co-wrote the plays Dress Parade (1929) and Ritzy (1930).[18][19] Their marriage lasted until Toler's death.
Sidney Toler died on February 12, 1947, at his home in Los Angeles from intestinal cancer.[1] He is buried at Highland Cemetery, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA. Monogram continued the Charlie Chan series with actor Roland Winters, who appeared in six Chan features.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1929 | Madame X | Merivel | [11] |
1929 | The Gay Nineties; or, The Unfaithful Husband | Vitaphone Varieties release 811[20]:37 | |
1929 | In the Nick of Time | Vitaphone Varieties release 897–898[20]:45 | |
1930 | The Devil's Parade | Vitaphone Varieties release 992[20]:52 | |
1931 | White Shoulders | William Sothern | [11] |
1931 | Strictly Dishonorable | Mulligan | [11] |
1932 | Strangers in Love | Detective McPhail | [11] |
1932 | Radio Patrol | Tom Koegh | [11] |
1932 | Is My Face Red? | Tony Mugatti | [11] |
1932 | Tom Brown of Culver | Major Wharton | [11] |
1932 | Speak Easily | Stage director | [11] |
1932 | Blondie of the Follies | Pete | [11] |
1932 | Blonde Venus | Detective Wilson | [11] |
1932 | The Phantom President | Aikenhead | [11] |
1932 | Over the Counter | Mr. Drake | Short film[21] |
1932 | He Learned About Women | Wilson | [11] |
1933 | The Billion Dollar Scandal | Carter B. Moore | [11] |
1933 | King of the Jungle | Neil Forbes | [11] |
1933 | The Narrow Corner | [11] | |
1933 | The Way to Love | Pierre | [11] |
1933 | The World Changes | Hodgens | [11] |
1934 | Massacre | Thomas Shanks | [11] |
1934 | Dark Hazard | John Bright | [11] |
1934 | Spitfire | Jim Sawyer | [11] |
1934 | Registered Nurse | Frankie Sylvestrie | [11] |
1934 | The Trumpet Blows | Pepe Sancho | [11] |
1934 | Upperworld | Moran | [11] |
1934 | Operator 13 | Major Allan Pinkerton | [11] |
1934 | Here Comes the Groom | Lieutenant Detective Weaver | [11] |
1935 | Romance in Manhattan | Police sergeant | [11] |
1935 | The Daring Young Man | Warden Palmer | [11] |
1935 | Champagne for Breakfast | Judge | [11] |
1935 | Orchids to You | Nick Corsini | [11] |
1935 | The Call of the Wild | Joe Groggins | [11] |
1935 | This Is the Life | Professor Lafcadio F. Breckenridge | [11] |
1936 | Three Godfathers | Professor Snape | [11] |
1936 | Give Us This Night | 1st Carabiniere | [11] |
1936 | The Gorgeous Hussy | Daniel Webster | [11] |
1936 | Our Relations | Ship's captain | [11] |
1936 | The Longest Night | Captain Holt | [11] |
1937 | That Certain Woman | Detective Neely | [11] |
1937 | Double Wedding | Keogh | [11] |
1938 | Gold Is Where You Find It | Harrison McCooey | [11] |
1938 | Wide Open Faces | Sheriff | [11] |
1938 | One Wild Night | Lawton | [11] |
1938 | The Mysterious Rider | Frosty Kilburn | [11] |
1938 | If I Were King | Robin Turgis | [11] |
1938 | Up the River | Jeffrey Mitchell | [11] |
1938 | Charlie Chan in Honolulu | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1939 | Disbarred | G. L. "Mardy" Mardeen | [11] |
1939 | King of Chinatown | Dr. Chang Ling | [11] |
1939 | The Kid from Kokomo | Judge Bronson | [11] |
1939 | Charlie Chan in Reno | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1939 | Heritage of the Desert | Nosey | [11] |
1939 | Charlie Chan at Treasure Island | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1939 | Law of the Pampas | Fernando Ramiriez | [11] |
1939 | City in Darkness | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1940 | Charlie Chan in Panama | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1940 | Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1940 | Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1940 | Murder Over New York | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1941 | Dead Men Tell | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1941 | Charlie Chan in Rio | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1942 | Castle in the Desert | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1942 | A Night to Remember | Inspector Hankins | [11] |
1943 | The Adventures of Smilin' Jack | General Kai Ling | Serial[21] |
1943 | Isle of Forgotten Sins | Krogan | [11] |
1943 | White Savage | Wong | [11] |
1944 | Charlie Chan in the Secret Service | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1944 | The Chinese Cat | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1944 | Black Magic | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1945 | The Jade Mask | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1945 | It's in the Bag! | Detective Sully | [11] |
1945 | The Scarlet Clue | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1945 | The Shanghai Cobra | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1946 | The Red Dragon | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1946 | Dark Alibi | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1946 | Shadows Over Chinatown | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1946 | Dangerous Money | Charlie Chan | [11] |
1946 | The Trap | Charlie Chan | (final film role)[11] |
References
- "Sidney Toler Dies. Film Charlie Chan. Veteran Stage, Screen Star Played Chinese Detective Since 1939. Had Been Playwright". The New York Times. February 13, 1947. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- Sidney Toler. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- Sidney Toler. Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 [database online]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- Katz, Ephraim (1998). Klein, Fred; Nolen, Ronald Dean (eds.). The Film Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. pp. 1362–1363. ISBN 0-06-273492-X.
- Hanaford, Harry Prescott; Hines, Dixie, eds. (1914). Who's who in Music and Drama. New York: H. P. Hanaford. p. 303. OCLC 21786350.
Hooper G. Toler.
- "Who's Who on the Stage". The New York Times. November 2, 1919. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- League, The Broadway. "Sidney Toler – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- "The Bait". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- "A Heart to Let". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- Toler, Sidney (May 1930). "There's an Urge in Acting". Theatre Magazine. p. 36.
- "Sidney Toler". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- MacGillivray, Scott. Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward. Second edition: New York: iUniverse, 2009 ISBN 978-1440172397; first edition: Lanham, Maryland: Vestal Press, 1998.
- Josephine Gaspar. Ancestry.com, New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866–1937 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- Briscoe, John (1908). The Actors' Birthday Book. New York: Moffat, Yard and Company. p. 54.
- Hooper G. Toler Jr. Ancestry.com, U.S., Consular Registration Certificates, 1907–1918 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- "Mrs. Sidney Toler". The New York Times. October 9, 1943. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- "Sidney Toler of Screen Weds". The New York Times. November 12, 1943. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- "Gossip of the Rialto". The New York Times. January 19, 1930. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- League, The Broadway. "Viva Tattersall – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- Liebman, Roy (2003). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0786446971.
- "Sidney Toler". BFI Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sidney Toler. |