Robert Edeson (June 3, 1868 – March 24, 1931) was an American film and stage actor of the
silent era and a vaudeville performer.[2]
Life and career
Edeson was born in
New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of manager and actor George R. Edeson.[3] After working as treasurer of the
Park Theatre in Brooklyn,[4] he initially acted in New York in 1887[5] in a production of Fascination.[4] He debuted on Broadway in Marriage (1896). In 1901 he created the role Edward Warden in the original production of
Clyde Fitch's The Climbers.[6] His last Broadway appearance was in The World We Live In (1922). He also performed in vaudeville.[7]
Edeson replaced actor Rudolph Christians in
Erich von Stroheim's production of Foolish Wives (1922), after Christians died of
pneumonia. Edeson famously only showed his back to the camera so as not to clash with shot footage of Christians that was still to be used in the completed film.