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Edward Joel Pawley (born March 16, 1901 in Kansas
City, Missouri - January 27, 1988) is an United
States|American actor. He began his
theatre|theatrical career in 1920 and reached the
Broadway stage in 1923.  He starred in various
well-known Broadway plays including Elmer Gantry
(1928), Two Seconds (1931), Subway Express (1929),
The Guardsman (1924), The Shame Woman (1923), and
They Knew What They Wanted (1924). Pawley's rich,
baritone voice was hailed by leading journalists
of the day, such as Walter Winchell and Heywood
Hale Broun. While in highschool, he became
interested in both journalism and acting.  He took
drama classes and acted in high school plays. 
After moving to New York, New York|New York City
to pursue a career in the theater, he married his
high school sweetheart, Martina May Martin (who
had also become a professional stage actress). 
They had one child, a son named Martin Herbert
Pawley.  Edward and Martina later divorced then
remarried and divorced again. In 1937, he married
the then popular Broadway singer/dancer/actress,
Helen Shipman of Pennsylvania.  They were married
for 47 years until her death on April 13, 1984.
Pawley had two younger brothers, William Pawley
and Anthony Pawley, both of whom also performed on
Broadway and in the movies.

==Hollywood==
Not long after the 'talkie' movies came into
vogue, Pawley became interested in acting on the
silver screen.  He left the theater after 1932 and
went to Hollywood where he performed in over 50
movies during a 12-year span.  He had feature
roles in such movies as Hoosier Schoolboy with
Mickey Rooney, G-Men with James Cagney,The
Oklahoma Kid with James Cagney and Humphrey
Bogart, King Solomon of Broadway with Edmund Lowe,
and Little Tough Guy with Helen Parish, Marjorie
Main, and the Dead End Kids.  He played mostly
'tough guy' roles in gangster, comedy, and Western
films.  He became friends with James Cagney with
whom he made 5 movies, Jackie Cooper (3 movies),
and Francis Lederer.  One of his earliest friends
in the entertainment industry was Arthur Hughes
(actor)|Arthur Hughes who played 'Bill Davidson'
on the long-running radio show, Just Plain Bill. 
Arthur was also Pawley's best man at his wedding
in 1922.

==New York, Radio Days==
Pawley became disenchanted with Hollywood during
the attempted infiltration by the communists in
the late 1930s and early 1940s; consequently, he
left in 1942 and returned to New York City where
he became a star on radio.  Calling upon his prior
training/experience in radio (he performed on the
Collier Hour in the very early 1930s), Pawley
auditioned for and won a leading role on the
popular show, Portia Faces Life.  He and Lucille
Wall were the 'Love Story Boy and Girl' on that
show.  In 1943, Pawley auditioned for the starring
role of 'Steve Wilson' on the very popular radio
show, Big Town.  He won the audition and left
Portia Faces Life to become the 'new' Steve
Wilson, replacing Edward G. Robinson who played
that role from 1937-1942 (when the show was
produced in Hollywood).  Edward's 'sidekick' on
the show was Fran Carlon who played girl reporter
Lorelei Kilbourne. 

==Virginia==
During Pawley's 9-year reign, Big Town achieved
the number one rating for reporter-type
crime/drama shows on radio.  His audience was
estimated anywhere from 10 million to 20 million
listeners.   He left the show in 1951 and retired
to the small village of Amissville,
Virginia|Amissville in rural Rappahannock County,
Virginia. He had fallen in love with the State
early during his theatrical career. 
==Retirement==
In retirement, Pawley raised and sold championship
goats, wrote poetry, and worked part-time as a
radio announcer at a local radio station.  He died
just two months shy of his 87th birthday as the
result of a heart condition while a patient at The
University of Virginia Medical Center in
Charlottesville, Virginia. His residence at the
time of his death was in the village of Rock
Mills,Virginia|Rock Mills, Rappahannock County,
Virginia.  He became the quintessential 'Virginia
Gentleman' and was loved for his integrity,
patriotism, and charm.  Also, he was admired for
his vocabulary and wonderful speaking voice as
well as his status as a former entertainer in
three different mediums (i.e., broadway, movies,
and radio).

=Movies=
{| border="1" |
|-
| align="center" | Movie
| align="center" | Year
| align="center" | Character
|-
|The Desperadoes 
|1943
|Blackie (uncredited) 
|-
|Eyes of the Underworld 
|1943 
|Lance Merlin aka Criminals of the Underworld
(USA: reissue title)
|-
|Flight Lieutenant 
|1942
|Larsen
|-
|Romance on the Range 
|1942 
|Jerome Banning
|-
|True to the Army 
|1942 
|Junior
|-
|Treat 'Em Rough
|1942 
|Martin
|-
|Hold That Ghost 
|1941 
|(uncredited) High Collar (gangster) aka Oh,
Charlie
|-
|Hit the Road 
|1941 
| Spike, the butcher
|-
|San Francisco Docks 
|1940 
|Monte March
|-
|The Texas Rangers Ride Again 
|1940 
|Palo Pete
|-
|Flowing Gold 
|1940
|Collins
|-
|River's End aka Double Identity(USA: TV title)
|1940
|Frank Crandell 
|-
|Castle on the Hudson aka Years Without Days (UK)
|1940
|Black Jack 'Blackie
|-
|Old Hickory 
|1939
|Vice President Calhoun (uncredited)
|-
|The Big Guy aka Warden of the Big House (USA:
reissue title)
|1939
|Buckhart 
|-
|Each Dawn I Die aka Killer Meets Killer
|1939
|Convict Dale 
|-
|Help Wanted 
|1939
|(unknown to wikipedia)
|-
|Unmarried 
|1939 
|Swade
|-
|The Lady's from Kentucky (1939) .... Spike Cronin
|-
|Money to Loan (1939) (uncredited) .... Calumette
|-
|The Oklahoma Kid (1939) .... Ace Doolin
|-
|Tom Sawyer, Detective (1938) .... Brace Dunlap
|-
|Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) .... Edwards,
guard
|-
|Sons of the Legion (1938) .... Gunman Baker
|-
|Smashing the Rackets (1938) .... Chin Martin
|-
|Little Tough Guy (1938) (as Ed Pawley) .... Mr.
Gerard
|-
|Prison Break (1938) .... Joe Fenderson
|-
|Romance of the Limberlost (1938) .... Corson
|-
|You and Me (1938) (uncredited) .... Dutch
|-
|Gun Law (1938) .... The Raven
|-
|Dangerous to Know (1938) .... John Rance
|-
|White Banners (1938) .... Bill Ellis
|-
|The Last Gangster (1937) (uncredited) ....
Brockett
|-
|It Can't Last Forever (1937) .... Cronin
|-
|*Hoosier Schoolboy (1937) .... Captain Fred
Carter
... aka Forgotten Hero 
... aka Yesterday's Hero (UK)
|-
|Mountain Justice (1937) .... Tod Miller
|-
|Dangerous Number (1937) (uncredited) .... Second
Detective
|-
|Sinner Take All (1936) .... Capt. Bill Royce
|-
|Sworn Enemy (1936) .... 'Dutch' McTurck
|-
|Tough Guy (1936) .... Tony, gangster
|-
|King Solomon of Broadway (1935) .... 'Ice' Larson
|-
|Dante's Inferno (1935) (uncredited) .... Clinton,
the Ship's Officer
|-
|'G' Men (1935) .... Danny Leggett
|-
|Mississippi (1935) .... Joe Patterson, Maj.'s
Brother
|-
|Helldorado (1935) (uncredited) .... Miner
|-
|Treasure Island (1934) .... William O'Brien
(pirate of the Spanish Man)
|-
|Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) (uncredited)
.... Waterfront Diner 
Wanting Sugar
|-
|Olsen's Big Moment (1933) (uncredited) .... Joe
'Monk' West
... aka Olsen's Night Out
|-
|Tess of the Storm Country (1932) .... Ben Letts
|-
|Thirteen Women (1932) .... Burns, Laura's
Chauffeur
|}