Personal info
Known for
Actor
Gender
Male
Birthday
01 November
Location
Minnesota, United States
Edit pageEdward Van Sloan
Biography
Edward Van Sloan (born Edward Paul Van Sloun; November 1, 1882 – March 6, 1964) was an American character actor best remembered for his roles in the Universal Studios horror films such as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and The Mummy (1932).
In 1915, Van Sloan was the leading man with the Forsberg Players, based at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Van Sloan's roles in Universal's films date from the 1930s, including Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and The Mummy (1932), In the first of these, he played Professor Van Helsing, the famous vampire-hunter, a role he had first taken in the successful touring production of Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston. He played essentially the same role, this time as Dr. Muller, an occultist, in The Mummy.
He again played Van Helsing in the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter. In Frankenstein, he played the character of Dr. Waldman, and he also stepped in front of a curtain before the film's opening credits to warn audience members that they now had a chance to escape the theatre if they were too squeamish to endure the film.
On Broadway, Van Sloan's credits included The Vigil (1948), Remote Control (1929), Dracula (1927), Lost (1927), Juarez and Maximilian (1926), Schweiger (1926), Morals (1925), Polly Preferred (1923), and The Unknown Purple (1919).
