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| Ed Clydesdale |
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born:
23 June 1896 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America |
died:
12 August 1951 Los Angeles, California, United States of America (pulmonary edema/bronchopneumonia, age 55) |
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American actor and director, later known as E. B. Canfield (for Edward Buchanan Canfield, per one of his World War II draft reg. cards; one newspaper article gives his professional name as Ed "Buck" Canfield). Various 1920s articles mention his having worked for the Hal Roach Studios, as well as his 1923 marriage certificate; a 1926 article claims "he helped in [the] direction of several Harold Lloyd comedies" at Roach. He also worked for MGM (reportedly assisting with the direction of the 1925 version of "Ben-Hur") and for Universal Pictures during the mid-late 1920s, working for the latter in "direction and continuities." He later worked in radio. His parents were Minnie/Mina (O'Fee; d. 1907) and Samuel James Clydesdale (1876-1932); he had at least one older brother, Alexander Clydesdale (1893-1970). In 1907, Samuel remarried to Mary Ellen Wallace (1887-1959); from this, Alexander and Ed eventually gained a half-brother, William James Clydesdale (1913-1975). Ed was a firefighter in his native Pittsburgh before World War I; during that conflict, Ed served in the Third Field Artillery. In 1920, he made the papers when he walked all the way from Boston to Los Angeles within six months; he was in a hospital in Boston after suffering a nervous breakdown due to injuries from his service when he began his walk on March 3, arriving in New York City two weeks later where a $4,000 wager was laid that he could reach the Pacific Coast in six months. Conditions were laid (no borrowing nor begging, could work in any one town for only three days, must not have less than $23 upon reaching the coast), and having successfully fulfilled them when he arrived (in San Francisco on August 31, in Los Angeles on September 7), Clydesdale was to receive $600 as his part of the wager. During his 1920 walk, he reportedly married his fiancée Kathryn Dillon on 8 May in Elizabeth, New Jersey; I haven't figured out what happened with this union. On 19 October 1923, he was admitted to the Sawtelle Veterans Home for a month, with his disabilities being noted as epilepsy and chronic tonsillitis; he is residing in Culver City, and his occupation is given as actor. His nearest relative is given as "guardian" Mamie Lange of Culver City -- Wisconsin-born Maymie Elizabeth Lange (1903-1925). He was discharged on 15 November, and on New Year's Eve, he married Miss Lange in Los Angeles; both were residing in Culver City at the time, with Edward an actor for the Hal E. Roach Studios, and Maymie an artist in picture painting; Ed identified as single and claimed that this marriage was his first. Sadly, about two years later, Maymie passed away on 15 November 1925 (three days before her 22nd birthday, and two years to the day after Ed's Sawtelle discharge), from tuberculosis. In July 1926, Ed returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh for the first time in seven years for an extended visit, wherein on 8 September 1926, he eloped with Josephine Agnes George (1912-1996) to Wellsburg, West Virginia; the papers claimed Josephine was only 16 years old, but after digging deeper, it looks like she was actually 14 (yowza...). They were evidently still married as of 1929; no marital status is given for Josephine in the 1930 Census, where she's living with her family at 1330 Gibbon Street in Pittsburgh (with the Clydesdale family of Samuel, Mary, and William nearby at 1324 Gibbon). She remarried in 1940, with her marriage record noting she was married once before, and divorced on 15 May 1935. In the 1940 U.S. Census, Ed is divorced and living in Glendale, California, with no profession listed. He has two World War II draft registration cards, both dated 25 April 1942, though one was cancelled and moved to another draft group due to a mistake with his birth date; on the cancelled card, he is unemployed, while on the other card, he is working "part time," though it's not specified where or for whom. In the 1950 U.S. Census, Ed says he is widowed (as noted above, he was, at least once) and is working as a "night patrolman" for "special police." His 1951 death certificate puts him back in entertainment, as an "actor-director" in motion pictures, while continuing to claim he's widowed, with his late wife being named Mary (maybe the informant or whoever meant Maymie?). As a veteran, he is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California. Various records give different birth years and occasional conflicting birth dates. The earliest record I can currently find for Ed is the 1910 U.S. Census, where he and his brother Alexander are listed as "Ellie" (Alexander) and "Addie" (Ed); Ed's age is given as 13, and the Census being taken before his June birthday would thus indicate an 1896 birth year, so that's what I'm going with above until I can find more evidence confirming or placing the year elsewhere. |
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Real name: Edward Clydesdale Height: 5'8½" |
Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography. |
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