Edward Brophy

Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portrayed dumb cops and gangsters, both serious and comic.

He is best remembered for his roles in the Falcon film series, based on the suave detective of the same name, and for voicing Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo (1941).

Career
Edward Santree Brophy was born in New York City and attended the University of Virginia. His screen debut was in Yes or No (1920). In 1928, with only a few minor film roles to his credit, Brophy was working as a junior production executive for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when he was chosen to appear with Buster Keaton in one sequence of Keaton's film The Cameraman. As two clients in a bath-house, Brophy and Keaton attempt to undress and put on bathing suits while sharing a single tiny changing room. Each time Keaton attempts to hang his clothes on one hook, Brophy removes the clothes and hands them back to Keaton and gestures to the other hook. He manhandles the smaller, more slender Keaton, at one point picking him up by the feet and dumping him out of his trousers. Appearing only in this one brief scene, Brophy attracted enough attention to receive more and better roles. Though he did appear in a few theatre roles, most of his long and prolific career was in film and was spent at the studios of MGM. He played the main character's loyal manager in The Champ (1931), a Rollo Brother circus proprietor, with Matt McHugh in the movie Freaks (1932), Joe Morelli from The Thin Man (1934) and Nick Charles' friend Brogan from The Thin Man Goes Home (1944). Brophy made a lasting impression on Disney fans as the voice of Timothy Q. Mouse in Dumbo, even though he was uncredited for this role (Brophy later reprised the role for the 1957 Disneyland Records adaptation). He also made several appearances in the films of director John Ford.

Death
Edward Brophy died on May 27, 1960 during the production of Ford's Two Rode Together. (One source says Brophy "died while watching a prizefight on television." ) He was buried in Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery next to his wife Ann S. Brophy. (Another source listed "widow, Ann" as a survivor. )

Filmography

 * Yes or No? (1920) as Tom Martin
 * The Sign on the Door (1921) as Newspaper Photographer (uncredited)
 * Spring Fever (1927) as Golf Game Spectator (uncredited)
 * West Point (1927) as Team Manager (uncredited)
 * The Cameraman (1928) as Man in Bath-House (uncredited)
 * Free and Easy (1930) as Benny - The Stage Manager (uncredited)
 * Estrellados (1930) as Assistant Director (uncredited)
 * Our Blushing Brides (1930) as Joe Munsey
 * Doughboys (1930) as Sergeant Brophy
 * Those Three French Girls (1930) as Yank
 * Remote Control (1930) as Al
 * Paid (1930) as Burglar (uncredited)
 * Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931) as Detective
 * A Free Soul (1931) as Slouch (uncredited)
 * Sporting Blood (1931) as Newsreel Cameraman (uncredited)
 * A Dangerous Affair (1931) as Nelson
 * The Champ (1931) as Tim
 * The Big Shot (1931) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
 * The Passionate Plumber (1932) as Man Outside Beauty Parlor (uncredited)
 * Freaks (1932) as Rollo Brother
 * The Beast of the City (1932) as Police Dispatcher (uncredited)
 * Skyscraper Souls (1932) as Man in Elevator (uncredited)
 * Speak Easily (1932) as Reno
 * Prosperity (1932) as Ice Cream Salesman (uncredited)
 * Flesh (1932) as Dolan - a Referee
 * What! No Beer? (1933) as Spike Moran
 * Beer and Pretzels (1933, Short) as Theater Manager (uncredited)
 * Broadway to Hollywood (1933) as Joe Mannion (uncredited)
 * Hello Pop! (1933, Short) as Brophy (uncredited)
 * The Poor Rich (1934) as Flannigan
 * The Thin Man (1934) as Morelli
 * Paris Interlude (1934) as Ham
 * Hide-Out (1934) as Detective Britt
 * Have a Heart (1934) as Mac (uncredited)
 * Death on the Diamond (1934) as Grogan
 * Evelyn Prentice (1934) as Eddie Delaney
 * I'll Fix It (1934) as Tilly TIlson
 * Sequoia (1934) as Forest Ranger Pete (uncredited)
 * Forsaking All Others (1934) (scenes deleted)
 * Devil Dogs of the Air (1935) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
 * Shadow of Doubt (1935) as Fred Wilcox
 * The Whole Town's Talking (1935) as 'Slugs' Martin
 * Naughty Marietta (1935) as Zeke
 * People Will Talk (1935) as Pete Ranse
 * Mad Love (1935) as Rollo
 * She Gets Her Man (1935) as Flash
 * China Seas (1935) as Wilbur Timmons
 * I Live My Life (1935) as Pete (uncredited)
 * 1,000 Dollars a Minute (1935) as Benny Dolan
 * Remember Last Night? (1935) as Maxie
 * Show Them No Mercy! (1935) as Buzz
 * Strike Me Pink (1936) as Killer
 * Here Comes Trouble (1936) as Crowley
 * Woman Trap (1936) as George Meade
 * The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936) as Sid
 * Kelly the Second (1936) as Ike Arnold
 * Spendthrift (1936) as Bill McGuire
 * Wedding Present (1936) as Squinty
 * All American Chump (1936) as Pudgy Murphy
 * Mr. Cinderella (1936) as Detective McNutt
 * Hideaway Girl (1936) as Bugs Murphy
 * Career Woman (1936) as Doc Curley
 * Great Guy (1936) as Pete Reilly
 * Oh, Doctor (1937) as Meg Smith
 * Jim Hanvey, Detective (1937) as Romo
 * The Soldier and the Lady (1937) as Packer
 * The Hit Parade (1937) as Mulrooney
 * The Great Gambini (1937) as 'Butch'
 * Varsity Show (1937) as Mike Barclay
 * Trapped by G-Men (1937) as Lefty
 * The Girl Said No (1937) as Pick
 * The Last Gangster (1937) as 'Fats' Garvey
 * Blossoms on Broadway (1937) as Mr. Prussic
 * A Slight Case of Murder (1938) as Lefty
 * Romance on the Run (1938) as Whitey Whitehouse
 * Hold That Kiss (1938) as Al
 * Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) as Mike Coogan
 * Passport Husband (1938) as Spike
 * Come On, Leathernecks! (1938) as Max 'Curly' Maxwell
 * Vacation from Love (1938) as Barney Keenan, Band Leader
 * Gambling Ship (1938) as Cuthbert Innocent
 * You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) as Corbett
 * Pardon Our Nerve (1939) as Nosey Nelson
 * Society Lawyer (1939) as Max
 * For Love or Money (1939) as Sleeper
 * The Kid from Kokomo (1939) as Eddie Black
 * Golden Boy (1939) as Roxy Lewis
 * Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) as Newspaper employee (uncredited)
 * Kid Nightingale (1939) as Mike Jordon
 * The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939) as Buck Moseby
 * The Big Guy (1939) as Dippy
 * Calling Philo Vance (1940) as Ryan
 * Alias the Deacon (1940) as Stuffy
 * Golden Gloves (1940) as Potsy Brill
 * The Great Profile (1940) as Sylvester
 * Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) as Dwarfie Humblewinger
 * Sandy Gets Her Man (1940) as Fireman Junior
 * The Invisible Woman (1940) as Bill
 * Sleepers West (1941) as George Trautwein
 * Thieves Fall Out (1941) as Rork
 * The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) as Hinkle
 * A Dangerous Game (1941) as Bugsy (misspelled Bugs in on-screen credits)
 * Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941) as Officer Slattery
 * Buy Me That Town (1941) as Ziggy
 * Dumbo (1941) as Timothy Q. Mouse (voice, uncredited)
 * The Gay Falcon (1941) as Detective Bates
 * Steel Against the Sky (1941) as Pete Evans
 * All Through the Night (1942) as Joe Denning
 * Broadway (1942) as Porky
 * Larceny, Inc. (1942) as Weepy Davis
 * Madame Spy (1942) as Mike Reese
 * Lady Bodyguard (1943) as Harry Gargan
 * Air Force (1943) as Marine Sgt. J.J. Callahan
 * Destroyer (1943) as Casey
 * A Scream in the Dark (1943) as Eddie Tough
 * Cover Girl (1944) as Joe - Cafe Owner (uncredited)
 * It Happened Tomorrow (1944) as Jake Shomberg
 * A Night of Adventure (1944) as Steve
 * The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) as Brogan
 * See My Lawyer (1945) as Otis Fillmore
 * I'll Remember April (1945) as Shadow
 * Wonder Man (1945) as Torso
 * Penthouse Rhythm (1945) as Bailey
 * The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) as Goldie Locke
 * Girl on the Spot (1946) as Fingers Foley
 * Swing Parade of 1946 (1946) as Moose
 * Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946) as Arty
 * The Falcon's Adventure (1946) as Goldie Locke
 * Renegade Girl (1946) as Bob Crandall
 * It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) as Cecil Felton
 * Arson, Inc. (1949) as Pete Purdy
 * Danger Zone (1951) as Prof. Frederick Simpson Schicker
 * Roaring City (1951) as 'Professor' Frederick Simpson Schicker
 * Pier 23 (1951) as Prof. Shicker
 * Bundle of Joy (1956) as Dance Contest Judge
 * The Last Hurrah (1958) as 'Ditto' Boland
 * The Slowest Gun in the West (1960, TV Movie) as The Bartender
 * Two Rode Together (1961) as Minor Role (uncredited) (final film role)