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Robert Ellis (actor, born 1892)

{{Short description|American actor (1889–1959)}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2020}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{More citations needed|date=June 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Robert Ellis

| image = Silent film actor Robert Ellis (SAYRE 23350).jpg

| caption = Ellis in 1924

| birth_name = Robert Ellis Reel

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|06|27|mf=y}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1974|12|29|1892|06|27|mf=y}}

| death_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Inglewood Park Cemetery

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|Screenwriter|Director}}

| years_active = 1913–1969

| spouse = {{Plainlist|

}}

}}

Robert Ellis Reel{{cite book |last1=Room |first1=Adrian |title=Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. |date=January 10, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5763-2 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSIhzKnNUf4C&q=%22Robert+Ellis%22+actor&pg=PA163 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |language=en}} (June 27, 1892 – December 29, 1974), known professionally as Robert Ellis, was an American film actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1934. He also wrote for 65 films and directed 61.

Biography

Ellis was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 27, 1892,{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. |date=August 22, 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7992-4 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-DgDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Robert+Ellis%22+actor&pg=PA225 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |language=en}} and he attended St. Francis Xavier College in New York City.{{cite book |last1=Fox |first1=Charles Donald |last2=Silver |first2=Milton L. |title=Who's who on the Screen |year=1920 |publisher=Ross publishing Company |page=367 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DAOAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Robert+Ellis%22+actor&pg=PA367 |access-date=January 9, 2021 |language=en}}

Ellis's wives included actresses May Allison{{cite web |title=Passport application of Robert Ellis Reel, 1922, in FamilySearch collection "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925" |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5Y-5VQB |website=FamilySearch.org |access-date=2023-01-01 |ref=passport1922}} and Vera Reynolds and screenwriter Helen Logan. He and Logan wed in 1962, following Reynolds's death. His relationship with Reynolds drew public attention in 1938 as a lawsuit ended when the two decided to marry. Reynolds had sued Ellis for $180,000 for breach of promise, asserting that after their 1926 marriage in Greenwich, Connecticut, was found to be invalid, he had promised to marry her but failed to follow through. After a month's hearing, their decision to marry ended the litigation.{{cite news |title=Robert Ellis Reel and Vera Reynolds to marry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67193861/robert-ellis/ |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=Freeport Journal-Standard |agency=Associated Press |date=March 29, 1938 |location=Illinois, Freeport |page=3|via = Newspapers.com}}

On Broadway, Ellis portrayed Dan Huntley in Baxter's Partner (1911).{{cite web|title=Robert Ellis|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/robert-ellis-39492|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210108213748/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/robert-ellis-39492|archive-date=January 8, 2021|access-date=January 8, 2021|website=Internet Broadway Database|publisher=The Broadway League|url-status=live}} Ellis acted for Kalem and Metro film studios. He was the leading man in the film For Sale (1924),{{cite news |title=Robert Ellis blasts fond mothers' hopes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67191679/robert-ellis/ |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=July 6, 1924 |page=39|via = Newspapers.com}} but he often portrayed villains. After acting, he became a screenwriter whose scripts were used in films of Charlie Chan, Jane Withers, and others. He also directed films, including A Fool and His Money and The Figurehead.

On December 29, 1974, Ellis died in Santa Monica, California. He and Logan are buried in adjacent graves in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

Selected filmography

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References

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External links

{{commons category|Robert Ellis (actor)}}

  • {{IMDb name|0000252|Robert Ellis}}
  • {{IBDB name}}
  • {{Find a Grave}}

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Category:1892 births

Category:1974 deaths

Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male silent film actors

Category:American male screenwriters

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:Male actors from Brooklyn

Category:Film directors from New York City

Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century American screenwriters