The son of a California judge, Edmund Lowe attended Santa Clara University. He worked briefly as a teacher before joining a Los Angeles stock company. Lowe made both his Broadway and movie debut in 1917. Seemingly born to wear tuxedos and dinner jackets, Lowe became a popular leading man on both stage and screen. His career went off into a new direction when he was cast against type as the brawling, swearing Sergeant Quirt in the 1927 film version of What Price Glory. This led to several reteamings with his Glory co-star Victor McLaglen, nearly always portraying those friendly enemies Quirt and Flagg, forever spouting dialogue of the "Sez you? Sez me!" variety. In 1956, Lowe and McLaglen were teamed for the last time in the all-star Around the World In 80 Days. Lowe remained in demand for leading character roles into the 1940s, including the father of the title character in Dillinger, where he was billed over the film's ostensible star Lawrence Tierney. On TV, Lowe played two-fisted reporter David Chase on the 1951-52 series Front Page Detective. The actor was married three times; his second wife was Lilyan Tashman, who died in 1934. Edmund Lowe's final film was 1960's Heller in Pink Tights; halfway through shooting, Lowe fell seriously ill and had to be doubled in long and medium shots by actor Bernard Nedell.
by Hal Erickson
biography
