Ed Brandenburg

born: 15 May 1896 Owsle County, Kentucky, United States of America

died: 21 January 1969 San Gabriel, California, United States of America (emphysema, age 72)

American actor and stunt double; the brother of Chet Brandenburg. On December 3, 1934, Ed was involved in a car accident near Mojave, California. He was driving a car containing his wife and two friends, film property man Harold Bowes and a Miss Zita Shields, on the way back from visiting friends at a ranch near Mojave. The lights from an oncoming vehicle blinded him and prevented him from seeing a parked truck, which he crashed into. Bowes was sitting in the rear of the car, the part which struck the truck, and was instantly killed in the collision, while the Brandenburgs and Miss Shields suffered minor injuries. Per The Fresno Bee (3 Dec 1934), "The coroner declared the truck, registered to the Billy Ryan Trucking Company of Los Angeles, had been left standing without lights and without any one watching it." In the 1940s, Ed was part-owner of Club Alabam, a nightclub in Los Angeles, along with jazz bandleader Curtis Mosby, who also served as host. The Los Angeles Daily News (22 Apr 1943) states, "Ed BRANDENBURG who, with son, Jr., backs the CLUB ALABAM, was formerly in the PICTURE BUSINESS for years." Mosby was jailed for a short time for tax evasion in 1947; Mosby had previously declared bankruptcy and hid his part ownership in Club Alabam. In the 1947 trial, Brandenburg came forward to claim he was sole owner (after Mosby had changed his plea from "guilty" to "not guilty"), but the judge and jury didn't buy it and convicted Mosby. In 1949-50, Brandenburg and Mosby apparently co-owned the "New Club Alabam." Mosby died in 1957. In mentions in the press, Ed was mostly referred to as "M. E. Brandenberg [sic]." Some sources incorrectly list his birth place as Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Real name: Marion Edgar Brandenburg Height: 5'6"

Films listed on this page: complete Hal Roach filmography.

48

1922 365 Days Relative 1923 Safety Last! Man clapping 1923 California Or Bust! Farmhand struck by lightning/ Man on toll gate/Posse 1924 A Ten-Minute Egg Pool hall crowd 1924 Smithy Marching soldier 1924 Powder And Smoke! Rancher 1924 Don't Park There! Motorist 1924 Young Oldfield Mechanic 1924 Wide Open Spaces [unidentified character]   1925 Sure-Mike! Pedestrian 1925 The Bouncer Dance hall patron 1926 Good Cheer Crooked Santa   1926 What's The World Coming To Wedding guest 1926 Dizzy Daddies Blonde woman's cab driver 1926 Monkey Business Patrol wagon driver   1926 Mighty Like A Moose Lift operator 1926 The Fourth Alarm! Fireman   1927 Anything Once! Streetcar passenger 1927 Love 'Em And Weep Mrs. Ricketts' cab driver 1927 Sugar Daddies Elevator operator 1927 Sailors, Beware! Man on dock 1927 Do Detectives Think? Courtroom spectator 1927 The Battle Of The Century Cornerman/ Warring pedestrian 1928 Playin' Hookey Third (?) Keystone-ish cop who gets pie in face   1928 Pass The Gravy Ambulance man 1928 Limousine Love Car driver 1928 Their Purple Moment Waiter who gets tripped 1928 The Ol' Gray Hoss Photographer 1929 Wrong Again Chauffeur 1929 Little Mother [unidentified character]   1929 The Hoose-Gow Prisoner   1931 The Pip From Pittsburg Nightclub patron 1931 The Kick-Off! [unidentified character]   1932 Too Many Women Pedestrian hit by shoe 1932 Any Old Port! Spectator   1933 Asleep In The Feet Dance hall patron 1933 One Track Minds Waiter on train 1934 Babes In The Goods Spectator 1934 Mrs. Barnacle Bill Barnacle Bill (in photograph only) 1934 Roamin' Vandals Man pushed out of wagon/Stunts 1934 Maid In Hollywood Crew member 1934 Honky-Donkey Julius, the butler 1934 Them Thar Hills Moonshiner 1935 Okay Toots! Irate motorist's brother 1936 Our Relations Denker's Beer Garden customer/ Nightclub customer   1937 Way Out West Saloon audience member   1938 Bear Facts Bear   1938 Swiss Miss Alpen Hotel atmosphere man   1938 Block-Heads Pedestrian

▼ NON-HAL ROACH FILMS

1939

The Sap Takes A Wrap Nightclub guest SCREENSHOT IS DISPUTED

Acknowledgements: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=85354243 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-16370-16295-5?cc=1861144 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-16370-16131-94?cc=1861144 Gary L. Evans (photo) Jesse Brisson (bio notes; identification in Do Detectives Think?, Don't Park There!, A Ten-Minute Egg, Smithy, Powder And Smoke!, Maid In Hollywood, California Or Bust!, Safety Last!, Young Oldfield, Them Thar Hills, What's The World Coming To, Sugar Daddies, Wrong Again, Pass The Gravy, Sure-Mike, Asleep In The Feet, Babes In The Goods, Mrs Barnacle Bill; One Track Minds, Roamin' Vandals plus research on screen credits) His appearances 365 Days, Anything Once and Limousine Love are my own observations. *NOTE: Ed's photo-only appearance in Mrs. Barnacle Bill is not counted in his overall Roach Films count. This page was last updated on: 28 March 2024