Edward G. Robinson, born as Emanuel Goldenberg to a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family in Bucharest, he emigrated with his family to New York City in 1903.
He began his acting career in 1913 and made his Broadway debut in 1915. He made his film debut in a minor and uncredited role in 1916; in 1923 he made his named debut as E. G. Robinson in The Bright Shawl. One of many actors who saw his career flourish in the new sound film era rather than falter, he made only three films prior to 1930 but left his stage career that year and made 14 films in 1930-1932.
An acclaimed performance as the gangster Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931) led to him being typecast as a “tough guy” for much of his early career in works such as Five Star Final (1931), Smart Money (1931; his only movie with James Cagney), Tiger Shark (1932), Kid Galahad (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and A Slight Case of Murder and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). In the 1940s, he expanded into psychological dramas including Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1945) and Scarlet Street (1945); but he continued to portray gangsters such as Johnny Rocco in John Huston’s Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart.
After a hiatus, Robinson returned to the screen in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments, in which he played Dathan. Afterward, Robinson’s most notable roles were in A Hole in the Head (1959) opposite Frank Sinatra and The Cincinnati Kid (1965), which showcased Robinson alongside Steve McQueen. Director Peter Bogdanovich was considered as a possible director for The Godfather in 1972, but turned it down, later remarking that he would have cast Robinson in the role ultimately played by Marlon Brando. (More from Wikipedia)
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.