edward coxen
hollywood movie star
289 Movies in a 30-year career
Flying 'A' Star
1880-1954
Edward Albert Coxen was born on 8th August 1880 in Southwark, London. Died in 1954 aged 74 in Los Angeles. Buried in the movie stars cemetery at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. He married Edith, they had no children.
Movies 1911-1941
Edward Coxen was a prolific movie star (peak), supporting actor (later) and extra (at the end) with 289 film credits. In his early career he was a Director with 3 film credits.
the early years
1880 Born england
Albert Edward Coxen was born at 18 Darwin Street, Southwark, London, England on 8th August 1880, the first child of Joseph Coxen of Wandsworth, London and Sarah Jane Coxen née Parfitt of Bedminster, Bristol. At the time of Albert Edward’s birth Joseph and Sarah ran the Carpenter Arms public house, St. Marylebone, London. (Picture shows Carpenters Arms, Marylebone in 2018).
1882 emigration and back
In 1880 Joseph Coxen’s brother John and wife Ellen left England and settled in San Francisco (pictured above in 1882). Joseph and Sarah Coxen with young Bertie, as Albert was called on the ship’s manifest, followed them in 1882. The Coxen brothers soon established Coxen Bros., a Wood & Photo Engravers business, in the city and the families lived together at 1612 Jones Street. By 1890 Albert Edward, aged 10, and his parents were living in independent accommodation at 1925, Filbert Street.
Although they were well settled in the U.S.A. the Coxen family returned to London in 1896 so that Sarah could look after her dying sister Catherine Strawson née Parfitt.
1896 back to the usa
Young Albert Edward was intent on completing his education and returned to the U.S.A on the America line vessel SS St. Louis (picture above) travelling 3rd Class from Southampton arriving in New York the day before his seventeenth birthday, 7th August 1897. In his pocket young Albert had $125 dollars to get him back to his uncle John’s home in California. In 1900, aged 20, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
first acting roles
Majestic Theatre, San Francisco
On his return to San Francisco Coxen continued his education at the University of California, Berkeley College and after graduating in the early 1900s he embarked upon a career probably working for his father and uncle John at Coxen Bros. Clearly he did not find this to his liking and set about attempting to make his fortune firstly by prospecting for gold and then by moving to a job in civil engineering.
San Francisco Earthquake
Finally, he entered the profession he yearned for most, acting, and spoke his first lines as a professional actor on the stage of the Majestic Theatre, San Francisco at the age of 26 early in 1906. (the photos above are of the Majestic Theatre after the earthquake)
The devastating San Francisco earthquake and fires of April 18th 1906 followed soon after his debut, so he moved to a theater across the bay in Oakland where he appeared in Ye Liberty, Balasco’s Alcazar and many other popular plays.
The earthquake and San Francisco’s big fire must have been a terrifying experience for the Coxen families and would have had a serious and detrimental impact on the business of Coxen Bros.
It was probably at this time that the families moved along the coast to the safer location of Los Angeles.
Wallack's Theatre, New York
When he started his acting career Coxen dropped ‘Albert’ and became, Edward, Eddie or Ed Coxen
In 1909 he returned to New York, this time as an established 29-year-old actor performing at Wallack’s Theatre, Broadway. (see photo above)
On the 27th December 1909 he appeared, billed as Edward Coxen, in ‘A Little Brother of the Rich’, a play that ran for 27 performances.
hooray for hollywood
The beginning
Los Angeles and the suburb of Hollywood in particular, was the centre of the new and rapidly growing motion picture industry; it was a magnet to aspiring young actors.
The demand for one-reeler westerns was insatiable and some studios released these on a one-a-week basis.
Early in 1911 the Santa Monica Studio was formed by the Kalem Company to satisfy the increasing demand and young talent such as Ed Coxen, Ruth Roland, Marin Sais and Marshall Neiland were recruited.
‘The Happy Masquerader’ with Edward Coxen in the starring role.
1911-1918 peak career
Coxen was soon to move further up the coast to Santa Barbara where in 1912 he joined the American Film Manufacturing Company’s Studios and began his motion picture career as one of a group of actors known as the ‘Flying A’ stars. He remained a star of those studios until 1917.
This was a period when he was very popular with the cinema public and in 1912 alone he made an incredible 34 films. The following flattering description of young Edward was published in `The Moving Picture World’ of December 1913: ‘A good looking virile young man, a manly lover, and thoroughly at home on horseback.’
Some of his film successes were: The Ghost of the Hacienda; Crooks and Credulous; In Three Hours; The Drummer’s Honeymoon, and he took the lead part in The Trail of the Lost Chord.
In several of his films, including Saints and Sinners, his leading lady was the popular and talented actress Winifred Greenwood. With Winifred Greenwood he appeared in many melodramas filmed in Santa Barbara. On Saturday August 7th 1915, his popularity was such that his photograph was featured on the front page of ‘Pictures and The Picturegoer’.
‘The Dream Child’ starring Edward Coxen.
1914
In 1914 at the age of 33 he married Edith Borella, a 24-year-old film actress born in California of Swiss parents.
Edith had played minor parts alongside Edward in films such as Restitution, where Winifred Greenwood played Ed’s female romantic lead. Edith was also known as Eda or by her professional name of Aida.
In 1920 Ed and Eda were living somewhere in Precinct 228, Los Angeles City; the couple had no children.
Later they moved into Ed’s family home at 646 N. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles.
later career
1920-1930
Ed Coxen’s acting career reached its peak in the second decade of the 20th century; he never quite attained the real stardom that his early success promised.
As he entered his 40s in the 1920s he ceased to star and became largely a supporting actor usually portraying villains but working with stars such as Buster Keaton.
1930-1940
In the 1930s he was often a supporting actor in B-westerns where Ken Maynard played the lead.
Although he worked on well into the 1940s he could then only get either walk-on parts or appearances as a dress extra.
During the final decade of his life he lived with his wife Edith, in his parents’ former home at 646, N. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles
1940-1954
He died aged 74 on 21st November 1954 in Los Angeles and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. His monument reads ‘Beloved Husband and Brother’, but his birth date is incorrect.
He made more than 290 films, and in his early career appeared in countless stage plays, giving pleasure to millions of people.
Edward Coxen's Movies
Mesquite's Gratitude(1911) He Who Laughs Last (1911) A Hospital Hoax (1912) The Pony Express Girl(1912) A Rose of Old Mexico (1913) The Shriner's Daughter (1913) The Power of Light (1914) A Soul Astray (1914) The Lure of the Sawdust (1914) The Butterfly (1914) This Is th' Life (1914) The Song of the Sea Shell (1914) The Wrong Birds (1914) The Redemption of a Pal 1914) A Slice of Life (1914) Spider Barlow Cuts (1915) The Water Carrier of San Juan (1915) Spider Barlow Meets Competition (1916) A Modern Sphinx (1916) The Bearded Fisherman (1917) The Curse of Eve (1917) Madam Who? (1918) A Man's Man (1918) The Bells (1918) Quicksand (1918) Desert Gold (1919) More Deadly Than The Male (1919) In Old Kentucky (1919) The Amazing Woman (1920) Witch's Gold (1920) Honor Bound (1920) No Man's Woman (1921) Desperate Trails (1921) The Veiled Woman (1922) The Stranger of the Hills (1922) The Flying Dutchman (1923) A Man's Man (1923) One Glorious Night (1924) Flashing Spurs (1924) The Man Without a Country (1925) Cold Nerve (1925) Return of Grey Wolf (1926) The Test of Donald Norton (1926) The Man in the Shadow (1926) Galloping Glory (1927) Galloping Fury (1927) The Spoilers (1930) Young Blood (Uncredited, 1932) The Fighting Champ (Uncredited, 1932) The Trail Drive (Uncredited, 1933) Gun Justice (Uncredited, 1933) Wheels of Destiny (1934) Smoking Guns (1934) Five Bad Men (1935) Westward Ho (Uncredited, 1935) Code of the Range (1936) The Sunday Round-Up (Uncredited, 1936) Riders of the Dawn (Uncredited, 1937) Thunder Trail (Uncredited, 1937) West of Rainbow's End (1938) South of Arizona (1938) Texas Stampede (1939) Down the Wyoming Trail (1939) Pioneers of the Frontier (1940) One Million B.C. (1940) Across the Sierras (Uncredited, 1941) King of Dodge City (Uncredited, 1941).