Ernest Tayson Torrance Thompson is a Scottish film and theater actor. He began his career by performing on the stage. In 1918 he came to the cinema and soon became a real star of silent films, as well as one of the best screen villains of those years.
Before the outbreak of the First World War, Torrance came to America with his brother, where their creative career began. For several years Ernest performed on the theater stage, but soon attracted the attention of Hollywood filmmakers. In 1918 he first appeared on the screen in a short film. Since then, his future life has been inextricably linked with the film industry.
The artist's creative biography includes more than 50 roles in silent and sound films. The artist has devoted almost 14 years to cinema.
Torrance passed away at the age of 54. Many fans of his work, theater and film critics believed that if it were not for his sudden death, he would be able to delight the audience with new roles in theater and cinema for many years to come.
Torrance made his last screen appearance in 1933 in the melodrama "I Cover the Waterfront".
Biography facts
Ernest was born in Scotland in the summer of 1878 in the family of Colonel Henry Torrance Tayson and housewife Jesse Bryce. The family had 11 children. Ernest and his brother David were older children and began to take an interest in creativity early on. In the future, both became actors, performed on the Broadway stage and acted in films.
Ernest was sent to a music school, where he learned to play the piano and studied vocals. He was educated at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. He then studied in Edinburgh at the Academy of Arts and eventually received a personal scholarship to study London at the Royal Academy of Music.
The young man was an excellent pianist and had a great voice - baritone. No one doubted that he would be able to make a good career and become a famous vocalist.
After graduation, the young man was accepted into the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He has appeared in many theater productions in England and toured Europe and America with the company. In 1905, Ernest began to have problems with his voice, as a result, he was forced to abandon his career as an opera performer.
Creative way
In 1911, together with his brother David, the young man went to the United States, where he decided to continue his creative studies. Arriving in New York, the brothers quickly found work in one of the theaters and soon became the leading performers on Broadway in musical performances.
From 1912 to 1920, Ernest played in the performances: "Modest Suzanne", "Dove of Peace", "The Only Girl", "Step This Way", "Furs and Frills", "He Didn't Want to Do It", "Velvet Lady "," Night boat ".
The actor became widely known for his first role as Professor Charcot in the production of "Modest Suzanne". The role of Captain Robert Wilde in the play "The Night Boat" brought him real fame and attracted the attention of Hollywood producers.
For the first time on the screen, Torrance appeared in 1918 in the comedy short film "Marrying Off Dad".
He began to work seriously in the cinema a year later, getting a role in Charles Miller's drama Dangerous Business. In 1921, the actor played one of the central roles of Luke Hethburn in the drama "Short David" directed by Henry King.
The film tells the story of a young man named David Cynmon, who lives with his family in a small American town. David is very kind by nature and does not have a mature demeanor. When Isk Khatburn's gang appears in the city, David is forced to fight back the bandits, because they killed his father and disabled his brother. Now he is the head of the family, who must take care of his loved ones and defend the inhabitants of the town.
In 1923 the actor got the role of Clopin in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, based on the famous work of V. Hugo. A year later, Torrance appeared on the screen as Captain Hook in the adventure film Peter Pan by Robert Brenon.
Prior to sound cinematography, Torrance played in many silent films: The Covered Wagon, The Legacy of the Desert, The Struggling Coward, The Downside of Life, The Wanderer, Pony Express, American Venus, The Blind Goddess, "Trap for a Man", "King of Kings", "Captain of Salvation", "Steamship Bill", "Bridge of King Louis Saint", "Desert Nights".
By the early 1930s, the era of a little cinema was over, and many famous performers ended their careers. But Ernest was not going to leave the screen. His beautifully delivered voice helped the actor quickly move from silent to sound cinematography and get new roles.
In 1931, the actor starred in a sound film for the first time. It was a melodrama directed by O. Brower and D. Burton called "The Battle of the Caravans". This was followed by work in the films: "Teammates", "The Great Lover", "Bloodsport", "New Adventures of the Quickly Rich Willingford", "Cuban Love Song". One of the last works of the performer was the role of Professor James Moriarty in the adventure film "Sherlock Holmes".
Personal life
Torrance often played negative characters, but in life he was a very educated, intelligent and polite man - a real gentleman.
In January 1902, Ernest met his future wife Elsie Bedbrook. They dated for almost a year and got married on December 6th. The husband and wife lived together for a little over 30 years until Torrance's death. They had one child - a son, Yang.
After filming the film "I Cover the Waterfront" Ernest went on a boat trip to Europe. On the way back, he had an attack of biliary colic and the actor was taken to the hospital. There he underwent an urgent operation, but the time was lost.
After the operation, he began to have complications, the doctors were powerless to do anything. Torrance died on May 15, 1933. He was only 54 years old. In Hollywood, everyone was shocked by the sudden death of the actor. Many believed that this was an irreparable loss of a talented and strong performer who could play more than a dozen roles on the screen.
