Background
Edmund Milton Holland was born on September 7, 1848 in New York City, New York, United States. He was the second and ablest of the sons of George and Catherine (De Luce) Holland.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Edmund Milton Holland
Edit ProfileCareer
Holland made his first appearance on the stage on December 20, 1855, in Wallack's Lyceum, as Master Thompson in To Parents and Guardians. At fifteen he was a responsible callboy at Mrs. John Wood's Olympic, occasionally appearing on the boards. In his fourth season he was a regular member of the company at Barnum's Museum and later he appeared with Jefferson in the first New York production of Rip Van Winkle.
When in 1867 he joined Wallack's company, his father had him billed for a time as E. Milton, until he was certain that the boy would not discredit the family name. He served a thirteen-years' apprenticeship at Wallack's, gaining steadily in range, power, subtlety, and restraint, and in time he was entrusted with leading comedy roles.
His first personal success was scored as Silky in The Road to Ruin, the first of his many notable old-men's parts. Leaving Wallack's in 1879 he played a London engagement with McKee Rankin, then for more than a decade, beginning in 1882, he was cast for leading roles in the famous Madison Square stock company--later Palmer's. Among other memorable parts he played Lot Burden in Saints and Sinners, Gibson in The Private Secretary, Captain Redmond in Jim the Penman, Colonel Moberly in Alabama, and the title role in Colonel Carter of Cartersville. Later he allied himself with Charles Frohman's Comedians, appearing as Eben Holden in the play of that name, and in 1902-1903 as Pope Pius X in The Eternal City.
From 1903 to 1906 he appeared with Kyrle Bellew in Raffles and in The American Cracksman, then in 1910 he joined the company at the New Theatre, where he remained for two seasons. In 1912 he attained the avowed height of his ambition--an engagement with Belasco. He was cast as Metz in Years of Discretion, but just as the company went on the road he died suddenly in Chicago of heart-disease on November 24, 1913.
Achievements
-
As an actor Holland was regarded as a character comedian of the school of Joseph Jefferson and was credited by critics of his day with unfailing delicacy and good taste, precision, infinite humor, and sagacity. He played between five hundred and a thousand roles and gave hundreds of "well-pondered performances rendered with unvarying penetration and finish. "
Personality
Holland's power of suggestion was unlimited. He had an actor's face--clean-shaven, tight-lipped, with deepset eyes and a broad dome-shaped head. He was adroit in make-up, but he could get his effects without it, or without any eccentricity of costume, relying on gait, facial expression, inflections of the voice, or gesture to depict a character.
Connections
Holland married in 1875 Mary E. Seward, who was also an actress. He was survived by a son, Joseph, and a daughter, Edna Milton, who was appearing on the stage contemporaneously with him.
