Quick Facts
Biography
Edna Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress.
Early years
Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a photographer's model. Her early experience in music came as a member of the choir in the Fifth Baptist Church in St. Louis.
Career
Cunningham'sfirst show business job was in the chorus line of 'Mademoiselle Modiste' at the age of 18. She trained as a singer and appeared in opera. She worked as a vaudeville comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929.
A.L. Erlanger selected her for the title role in the original production of The Pink Lady.
Cunningham's Broadway credits include Dance With Your Gods (1934), The Rose of China (1919), The Greenwich Village Follies [1919], Dancing Around (1914), Maids of Athens (1914), Oh, I Say! (1913), Iolanthe (1913), and Somewhere Else (1913). She also performed in Paris with the Boston Grand Opera Company, singing in Italian operas.
Cunningham was a Hollywood character actress with whitish hair cut like a man's, often in roles as a general "know-it-all". She made more than 80 appearances in movies between 1929 and 1946, many of them uncredited.
Personal life
Cunningham was married to writer Jean C. Havez from 1915 to 1917.
Death
On April 17, 1959, Cunningham died of heart disease at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 70 years old. Her remains are interred in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.
Complete filmography
- Their Own Desire (1929) - Aunt Caroline
- Paramount on Parade (1930) - Society Woman (Impulses) (uncredited)
- Anybody's Woman (1930) - Dot
- Playboy of Paris (1930) - Mlle. Hedwige
- Trouble from Abroad (1931, Short) - Emma Wimple
- Monkey Business (1931) - Madame Swempski (uncredited)
- Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931) - Madame Panoramia aka Pansy
- The Age for Love (1931) - Pamela
- Safe in Hell (1931) - Angie
- Mata Hari (1931) - Gambler Selling Ring (uncredited)
- Never the Twins Shall Meet (1932, Short) - Mrs. Carp
- Impatient Maiden (1932) - Mrs. Rosy
- The Wet Parade (1932) - Mrs. Twombey - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- It's Tough to Be Famous (1932) - Autograph Seeker with Sheet Music (uncredited)
- Just a Pain in the Parlor (1932, Short) - Mrs. Smith
- The Rich Are Always with Us (1932) - Woman Talking to Tierney at Party (uncredited)
- Love Is a Racket (1932) - Aunt Hattie Donovan
- Is My Face Red? (1932) - Millionaire's Blonde Wife (uncredited)
- The Candid Camera (1932, Short) - Mrs. Townes' Aunty
- Love Me Tonight (1932) - Laundress (uncredited)
- Those We Love (1932) - Mrs. Henry Abbott
- Blonde Venus (1932) - Norfolk Woman Manager (uncredited)
- If I Had a Million (1932) - Agnes - Emily's Friend (uncredited)
- Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Mrs. Arlington (uncredited)
- From Hell to Heaven (1933) - Mrs. Chadman
- The Druggist's Dilemma (1933, Short) - Mrs. Finch
- Bottoms Up (1934) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- Manhattan Love Song (1934) - Pancake Annie Jones
- The Life of Vergie Winters (1934) - Pearl Turner
- Return of the Terror (1934) - Miss Doolittle
- We Live Again (1934) - Theodosia (uncredited)
- People Will Talk (1935) - Nellie Simpson
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited)
- Come and Get It (1936) - Josie
- Swing High, Swing Low (1937) - Murphy
- King of Gamblers (1937) - Big Edna
- Artists and Models (1937) - Stella
- This Way Please (1937) - Miss Eberhardt
- The Awful Truth (1937) - Mrs. Alvin
- Daughter of Shanghai (1937) - Mrs. Mary Hunt
- Scandal Street (1938) - Maybelle Murphy
- Four Men and a Prayer (1938) - Piper
- College Swing (1938) - Dean Sleet
- Kentucky Moonshine (1938) - Landlady
- You and Me (1938) - Mrs. Morris
- Wives Under Suspicion (1938) - 'Sharpy'
- Blond Cheat (1938) - Genevieve Trent
- Marie Antoinette (1938) - Mme. 'Feldy' de Lerchenfeld (uncredited)
- Girls' School (1938) - Miss Brewster
- The Family Next Door (1939) - Cora Stewart
- It's a Wonderful World (1939) - Madame J.L. Chambers
- Winter Carnival (1939) - Miss Ainsley
- Lady of the Tropics (1939) - Countess Berichi
- Laugh It Off (1939) - Tess Gibson
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) - Minor Role (uncredited)
- Lillian Russell (1940) - Mrs. Hobbs
- The Captain Is a Lady (1940) - Mrs. Jane Homans
- New Moon (1940) - Governor's Wife
- Kitty Foyle (1940) - Grandmother
- Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941) - Frosty's Landlady (uncredited)
- Play Girl (1941) - Dowager (uncredited)
- Back Street (1941) - Mrs. Miller
- Repent at Leisure (1941) - Mrs. Morgan
- Hurry, Charlie, Hurry (1941) - Mrs. Diana Boone
- Blossoms in the Dust (1941) - Mrs. Gilworth
- The Feminine Touch (1941) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- Cowboy Serenade (1942) - Priscilla Smythe
- The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942) - Countess Oldenburg
- Twin Beds (1942) - Miss MacMahon, Secretary (uncredited)
- Are Husbands Necessary? (1942) - Miss Jenkins
- The Affairs of Martha (1942) - Mrs. Llewellyn Castle
- I Married an Angel (1942) - Mrs. Fairmind (uncredited)
- Cairo (1942) - Mme. Laruga
- The Hidden Hand (1942) - Lorinda Channing
- My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942) - Mrs. Whitman (uncredited)
- Above Suspicion (1943) - Countess
- In Old Oklahoma (1943) - Mrs. Ames
- The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) - Judge Cavendish (scenes deleted)
- Wonder Man (1945) - Fortune Teller (uncredited)
- My Reputation (1946) - Mrs. Stella Thompson
- The Bride Goes Wild (1948) - Helen Oldfield (scenes deleted)
- Joyful Hour (1960, TV Movie) - Elizabeth (final film role)
