Ernest Brinkman

born: 23 July 1871 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

died: 28 December 1938 Los Angeles, California, United States of America (coronary thrombosis, age 67)

Australian actor and singer with a long career on the stage and later as a bit player in films. He toured in vaudeville with an act known as "Brinkman and the Steele Sisters." He married one of the sisters, Minnie Steele (1879-1949), in 1921. He was the brother-in-law of Agnes Steele, who was Minnie's sister and the other half of the Steele Sisters.

Height: 5'10"

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

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1927 A One-Mama Man Party guest (?) Acknowledgements: Ernest Brinkman, "Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922" (Ancestry.com) Ernest Brinkman and Ruby Clare Woodgate, "Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q25T-NXQF (1908 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK3Y-FR5Y (1909 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPSD-Y3G (1909 pass. index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D827-NYMM (1915 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CNRY-GGT2 (1915 pass. index) Ernest Brinkman and Ruby Clare Brinkman, "Victoria, Australia, Divorce Records, 1860-1940" (Ancestry.com) Ernest Brinkman and Mary Elizth Steele, "Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1962" (Ancestry.com) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KX4L-62T (1922 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CNRY-GP3Z (1922 pass. index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCV2-1QT (1930 Census) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXHS-C73 (1930 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CNRY-GPZM (1930 pass. index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDJ-GQYQ (1930 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDN-QDY6 (1934 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDN-Q2CD (1934 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQ7-HC7 (1934 pass. list) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C1VK-CWN2 (1934 pass. index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKSM-5RYX (CA Death Index) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPWZ-TC69 (death certificate) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HGWZ-FQN2 (death/burial record) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BC-NQS2-Q (funeral service record) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K4Z-5QXQ (Social Security Numident File) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98374185 (Find a Grave) https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/700218170/ (Venice Daily Vanguard, 23 Sep 1913) https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1930-12-20_42_51/page/45/mode/1up?q=%22ernest+brinkman%22 (The Billboard, 20 Dec 1930) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243065870 (The Herald [Melbourne, Victoria, AUS], 20 Oct 1934) https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-times_1938-12-30_88_29560/page/15/mode/1up?q=%22ernest+brinkman%22&view=theater (New York Times, 30 Dec 1938) https://archive.org/details/filmdaily75wids/page/n6/mode/1up?q=%22ernest+brinkman%22 (The Film Daily, 03 Jan 1939) https://archive.org/details/variety133-1939-01/page/n201/mode/1up?q=%22ernest+brinkman%22&view=theater (Variety, 04 Jan 1939) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/216284007 (The Sport [Adelaide, SA, AUS], 27 Jan 1939) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9H4-W1F (Mary Brinkman and Agnes Steele in the 1940 Census) https://forgottenaustralianactresses.com/2025/09/14/from-little-lon-to-hollywood-agnes-minnie-steele/ (Forgotten Australian Actors, Nick Murphy) Robert Demoss (information relating to A One-Mama Man) Jesse Brisson (research and bio notes) This page was last updated on: 28 October 2025