Edward Dillon ( or 1879 – July 11, 1933) was an American actor, director and screenwriter of the silent era. He performed in more than 320 films between 1905 and 1932 and also directed 134 productions between 1913 and 1926. He was a native of New York City.
Dillon's work on Broadway included acting in Prince Otto (1900), Francesca da Rimini (1901), The Taming of the Shrew (1905), and The Ranger (1907). He left the stage to begin acting in films in 1908, working under D. W. Griffith at Biograph. He was Mary Pickford's first leading man, and he was instrumental in Fay Tincher's developing into a star.
Dillon died on July 11, 1933, at the age of 60 in Hollywood, California from a heart attack. His brother John T. Dillon was also an actor.
Selected filmography
Actor
The Invisible Fluid (1908, Short) - Messenger
Bobby's Kodak (1908, Short) - Father
When Knights Were Bold (1908) *short
The Fight for Freedom (1908, Short) - Man in Bar / Member of the Posse
The Kentuckian (1908, Short) - Ward Fatherly
Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court (1908, Short) Where the Breakers Roar (1908, Short) - Policeman After Many Years (1908, Short) The Feud and the Turkey (1908, Short) The Reckoning (1908, Short) The Welcome Burglar (1909, Short) The Brahma Diamond (1909, Short) In the Border States (1910, Short) - Confederate Soldier (uncredited) A Flash of Light (1910, Short) - At First Party The Modern Prodigal (1910, Short) - Guard The Lucky Toothache (1910, Short) - One of the Boys The Fugitive (1910, Short) - John - the Confederate Son A Mohawk's Way (1910, Short) - Friend What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911, Short) - In Shop Fisher Folks (1911, Short) - At Fair The Lonedale Operator (1911, Short) - The Telegrapher Priscilla's April Fool Joke (1911, Short) - Paul Priscilla and the Umbrella (1911, Short) - Harry Enoch Arden (1911, Short) - Rescuer A Country Cupid (1911, Short) - Among Students The Miser's Heart (1911, Short) - Down-and-Out Young Man The Old Bookkeeper (1912, Short) - The Old Bookkeeper's Employer's Friend - the Office Visitor For His Son (1912, Short) - At Soda Fountain (uncredited) The Root of Evil (1912, Short) - The Wealthy Man's Secretary - the Daughter's Husband A Voice from the Deep (1912, Short) - Percy Help! Help! (1912, Short) - Office Worker Won by a Fish (1912, Short) - Harry The Spirit Awakened (1912, Short) - The Christian Farmhand Blind Love (1912, Short) - The Young Man His Auto's Maiden Trip (1912, Short) - Mr. Jinx The Informer (1912, Short) - Confederate Soldier Love in an Apartment Hotel (1913, Short) - Pinky Doolan - a Bellboy Broken Ways (1913, Short) - Minor Role (uncredited) The Little Tease (1913, Short) - In Lunchroom Red Hicks Defies the World (1913, Short) - O'Shea, the Fighting Irishman Almost a Wild Man (1913, Short) - Rooly, Pooly, Dooly The Mothering Heart (1913, Short) - Club Patron (uncredited) An Indian's Loyalty (1913, Short) - The Young Foreman Judith of Bethulia (1914) - Minor Role (uncredited) Home, Sweet Home (1914) - The Musician Nell's Eugenic Wedding (1914, Short) Fatty and the Heiress (1914, Short) Fatty and Minnie He-Haw (1914, Short) Shotguns That Kick (1914, Short) Fatty's Wine Party (1914, Short) Fatty's Jonah Day (1914, Short) An Incompetent Hero (1914, Short) Lovers' Post Office (1914, Short) Don Quixote (1915) Mr. Goode, Samaritan (1916) - Shifty Ed Intolerance (1916) - Crook The Lady Drummer (1916) America (1924) - Minor Role (uncredited) The Skyrocket (1926) Lilac Time (1928) - Corporal 'Smithie' The Broadway Melody (1929) - Dillon - Stage Manager (uncredited) The Locked Door (1929) - Minor Role (uncredited) Hot for Paris (1929) - Ship's Cook Caught Short (1930) - Mr. Thutt Reducing (1931) - Train passenger (uncredited) Iron Man (1931) - Jeff Sob Sister (1931) - Pat The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) - Mr. Hardy (uncredited) While Paris Sleeps (1932) - Concierge's Husband Week Ends Only (1932) - Guest - Sitting / Standing Gag (uncredited) The Golden West (1932) - Pat (uncredited) Sherlock Holmes (1932) - Al (uncredited)
Director
With the Aid of Phrenology (1913) Chocolate Dynamite (1914) Those Happy Days (1914) The Sky Pirate (1914) The Alarm (1914) Nell's Eugenic Wedding (1914) Sunshine Dad (1916) A Daughter of the Poor (1917) The Antics of Ann (1917) Might and the Man (1917) The Embarrassment of Riches (1918) The Frisky Mrs. Johnson (1920) A Heart to Let (1921) Women Men Marry (1922) Broadway Gold (1923) The Speeding Venus (1926) Bred in Old Kentucky (1926) The Danger Girl (1926)
Radio
The Edwin/Dillon Show (January 15, 1928-July 13, 1928) (Distributed by KSTP St. Paul and The Film Booking Offices of America)