Ernest Torrence Movies and Career Information

Ernest Torrence ( June 26, 1878 - May 13, 1933) was a Scottish born film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including Mantrap (1926) with Clara Bow, and Fighting Caravans (1931) with Gary Cooper and Lili Damita. A towering (6' 4") figure, Torrence frequently played cold-eyed and imposing villains. He was born Ernest Torrance-Thomson on June 26, 1878, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and as a child was an exceptional pianist and operatic baritone and graduated from the Stuttgart Conservatory, Edinburgh Academy before earning a scholarship at London's Royal Academy of Music. He toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in such productions as The Emerald Isle (1901) and The Talk of the Town (1905) before disarming vocal problems set in and he was forced to abandon this career path. Sometime prior to 1900, he changed the spelling of Torrance to Torrence and dropped the name Thomson. Both Ernest and his actor brother David Torrence went to America, in March 1911, directly from Scotland prior to World War I. Focusing instead on a purely acting career, Ernest and his brother developed into experienced players on the Broadway New York stage. Ernest received significant acclaim