Eddie Polo

Eddie Polo (born February 1, 1875 in Los Angeles , † June 14, 1961 in Hollywood ; actually Edward W. Wyman ) was an American actor , director and a star of the American and German sensational films and silent film westerns.

Life

Eddie Polo had worked as a circus performer (part of an aerialist act) since his youth. In 1913 a film company hired him as a stuntman for their westerns, and two years later he began to take on regular roles. The athletic polo developed in a very short time to the star of the cheaply produced, but (for the times effective) series western. With the title hero in the Cyclone Smith film series, he was finally able to assert himself in the early years after the end of the First World War . His nickname “Hercules of the screen” became the program. Polo did all of his stunts himself; In 1915 he was the first man to parachute from the Eiffel Tower .

In 1922 Polo came to Austria for his first German-language film , and in 1926 he settled in Germany for the next six years . As "Eddy Polo", despite his advanced age, he was able to record considerable success in the sensational film genre. But he also continued to play leading roles in westerns tailored to his person. After a late entry into the sound film - Polo received only a minor role in the sensational film by his Italian competitor Luciano Albertini It's All About Everything - Polo returned to the USA. At first he couldn't find a job there in the cinema and had to be content with sometimes tiny batch appearances for the entire duration of World War II .

Eddie Polo's daughter Malvina Polo (1903–2000) also appeared in front of the camera in the early 1920s, while his brother Sam Polo (1872–1966) was also a silent film actor and, moreover, (in later years) a sought-after makeup artist.

Filmography (selection)

1913: The Light Woman 1915: The Palace of Dust 1915: The Broken Coin 1915: Graft 1916: Heritage of Hate 1916: Liberty - A Daughter of the USA 1917: A Kentucky Cinderella 1917: The Bronze Bride 1917: The Gray Ghost 1917: Money Madness 1918: Bull's Eye 1918: Lure of the Circus 1919: Cyclone Smith Plays Trumpet 1919: Cyclone Smith's partner 1919: Cyclone Smith's Vow 1920: The Vanishing Dagger 1920: King of the Circus 1921: The Secret Four 1921: Do or Die 1921: The Terror Streak 1922: Captain Kidd 1922: With Stanley in Africa 1922: The Curse of Greed 1923: Dangerous Hour 1923: Prepared to Die

1924: Circus Lure 1926: The Owl (also director) 1927: The secret safe (also director) 1928: Eddy Polo with horse and lasso (also director) 1928: Eddy Polo in the wasp's nest 1928: Hands up, this is Eddy Polo 1928: The tied Polo 1928: Is Eddy Polo Guilty? 1929: Revenge for Eddy 1929: The devil reporter 1929: On the Reeperbahn at half past twelve 1929: Secret police 1929: To life and death 1930: Witnesses wanted 1932: It's about everything 1939: It's a date 1940: Son of Roaring Dan 1940: Spring Parade 1941: The Wolf Man (The Wolf Man) 1942: The Secret Code 1942: Deep in the Heart of Texas 1943: Honeymoon Lodge 1943: Crazy House 1944: The Climax 1945: Dreams Come True (Two Sisters From Boston)

See also

• List of well-known Austrian emigrants from the USA

literature

• Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 290.

Web links

• Eddie Polo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Pictures by Eddie Polo In: Virtual History

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Other sources give San Francisco and Vienna as possible birthplaces.