Edward G Robinson

Born: 12 December 1893
Where: Bucharest, Romania
Died: 26 January 1973

Born Emanuel Goldenberg, he arrived in New York at age 10. He took up acting while attending City College, abandoning plans to become a rabbi or lawyer.

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts awarded him a scholarship, and he began work with his new name, in 1913. He worked steadily on Broadway for fifteen years, making his film debut in the silent The Bright Shawl in 1923.

Robinson played a string of underworld types in Warner Bros. gangster films of the 1930s.

A very versatile talent, he appeared in Two Seconds, The Little Giant and John Ford's The Whole Town's Talking.

Robinson constantly fought for a wider range of roles, playing the title character in the 1940 biopic, Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, and the assiduous insurance agent in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity.

Robinson was also memorable opposite Joan Bennett in two film noirs directed by Fritz Lang - The Woman in the Window and Scarlet Street.

Other notable films include Orson Welles' The Stranger, John Huston's Key Largo, Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of The Ten Commandments, the Frank Capra comedy A Hole in the Head, and Norman Jewison's The Cincinnati Kid.

Amazingly, Robinson never even received an Academy Award nomination - it wasn't until 1972 that the Academy finally awarded him an honorary Oscar.

Robinson remained busy in both semi-leads and prominent character roles as he aged. By the time he made his final film in 1973, Soylent Green, he had become one of the most identifiable and imitated stars of all time.