{{Short description|American actor (1906–1948)}} {{Use American English|date=July 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Warren Hymer | image = Warren Hymer in Meet the Boyfriend.jpg | caption = Hymer in ''[[Meet the Boyfriend]]'' (1938) | birth_name = Edgar Warren Hymer | birth_date = {{Birth date|1906|02|25|mf=yes}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1948|03|25|1906|02|25|mf=yes}} | resting_place = [[Chapel of the Pines Crematory]] | death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S. | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1929–1946 }}
'''Edgar Warren Hymer''' (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor.
== Early life == He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to his credit, according to the [[Internet Broadway Database]]<ref>{{ibdb name|6776|John B. Hymer}}</ref>), vaudeville writer and actor,<ref name=CInn>{{cite web |url=https://www.colonyhouseinn.com/colony-house-history/ |title=The History of the Colony House Inn at Lakewood |website=www.colonyhouseinn.com}}</ref> while his mother, Eleanor Kent, was an actress.<ref name=Gordon>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Dr. Roger L.|title=Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwZTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|access-date=August 15, 2018|date=January 23, 2018|publisher=Dorrance Publishing|isbn=9781480944992|page=24}}</ref>
== Career == He appeared in 129 films between 1929 and 1946, as well as the 1928 Broadway play ''The Grey Fox.''<ref>{{ibdb name|46148}}</ref> Despite his typical screen persona as an unsophisticated tough guy with a Brooklyn accent, he actually attended [[Yale University]].<ref name=CInn/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18065994 |title=Warren Hymer Dies |date=March 28, 1948 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |agency=[[Australian Associated Press]]}}</ref> With his burly frame and good-natured grin, he almost always played punch-drunk prizefighters, affable soldiers or sailors, or [[Damon Runyon|Runyonesque]] gangsters. He had only two leading roles: opposite [[Buster Keaton]] in Keaton's comeback short subject ''[[The Gold Ghost]]'' (1934), and as one of a trio of mobsters hired to assassinate [[Adolf Hitler]] in ''[[Hitler: Dead or Alive]]'' (1943).
In a famous Hollywood anecdote, [[Columbia Pictures]] head [[Harry Cohn]] had Hymer removed from the studio after he showed up for work drunk. Hymer responded by breaking into Cohn's office and urinating on his desk.<ref name=Gordon/> Cohn ordered the desk to be burned, then tried to blackball Hymer in the film industry.<ref name=Gordon/> The incident probably happened in 1939, during the filming of Hymer's last Columbia assignment, ''The Lady and the Mob.'' Cohn's warning to other studios to avoid Hymer was effective in the short term -- Hymer had only two assignments in 1940. Cohn's ace director [[Frank Capra]], who had angrily left Cohn's employ, broke the Cohn curse by hiring Hymer for his 1941 feature ''[[Meet John Doe]]''. From then on, Warren Hymer was working steadily again. He made up for lost time by accepting more frequent work at smaller studios like [[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]] and [[Producers Releasing Corporation|PRC]], between more prestigious assignments at larger studios.
Perhaps Warren Hymer's most unusual role was in the 1941 Monogram feature ''[[Phantom Killer (film)|Phantom Killer]]''. Hymer, in his usual Brooklynesque dumb-bell character, played the slow-witted assistant to police lieutenant [[Kenneth Harlan]]. Harlan could not finish the picture due to a brief illness, and the quickie production couldn't wait, so Harlan's character was fatally wounded and Hymer took over as senior officer. Grimly resolving to avenge Harlan's death, and suddenly losing all vestiges of dumbness, Hymer played the rest of the movie straight, in his own, dialect-free voice.
== Death == Hymer experienced severe health issues in his last years, slowing his work schedule. Illness forced him to retire from the screen in 1946, and he remained "seriously ill for over a year."<ref>''Showmen's Trade Review'', April 3, 1948, p. 9.</ref> He died in 1948 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], the cause of death listed as a stomach ailment.<ref>''Motion Picture Daily'', "Warren Hymer Funeral on Coast," March 30, 1948, p. 6,</ref> His remains are interred at [[Chapel of the Pines Crematory]].<ref>''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons'' by Scott Wilson</ref>
==Filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=25em}} * ''[[The Far Call]]'' (1929) - Soup Brophy ('''silent''') * ''[[Speakeasy (1929 film)|Speakeasy]]'' (1929) - Cannon Delmont * ''[[Fox Movietone Follies of 1929]]'' (1929) - Martin * ''[[The Cock-Eyed World]]'' (1929) - Marine Corporal Scout (uncredited) * ''[[The Girl from Havana]]'' (1929) - Spike Howard * ''[[Frozen Justice]]'' (1929) - Bartender * ''[[The Lone Star Ranger (1930 film)|The Lone Star Ranger]]'' (1930) - Bowery Kid * ''[[Men Without Women (film)|Men Without Women]]'' (1930) - Kaufman * ''[[Born Reckless (1930 film)|Born Reckless]]'' (1930) - Big Shot * ''[[Up the River]]'' (1930) - Dannemora Dan * ''[[Sinners' Holiday]]'' (1930) - Mitch * ''[[Oh, For a Man!]]'' (1930) - "Pug" Morini * ''[[Men on Call]]'' (1930) - Joe Burke * ''[[The Seas Beneath]]'' (1931) - "Lug" Kaufman * ''[[Charlie Chan Carries On (film)|Charlie Chan Carries On]]'' (1931) - Max Minchin * ''[[Goldie (1931 film)|Goldie]]'' (1931) - Spike Moore * ''[[The Spider (1931 film)|The Spider]]'' (1931) - Schmidt (uncredited) * ''[[The Unholy Garden (1931 film)|The Unholy Garden]]'' (1931) - Smiley Corbin * ''[[Love is a Racket]]'' (1932) - Burney Olds * ''[[The Night Mayor]]'' (1932) - Riley * ''[[Hold 'Em Jail]]'' (1932) - Steele * ''[[One Way Passage]]'' (1932) - Steve Burke * ''[[Madison Square Garden (film)|Madison Square Garden]]'' (1932) - Brassie Randall * ''[[20,000 Years in Sing Sing]]'' (1932) - Hype * ''[[The Billion Dollar Scandal]]'' (1932) - Kid McGurn * ''[[The Mysterious Rider (1933 film)|The Mysterious Rider]]'' (1933) - Jitney Smith * ''[[A Lady's Profession]]'' (1933) - Nutty Bolton * ''[[Midnight Mary]]'' (1933) - Angelo * ''[[I Love That Man]]'' (1933) - Mousey * ''[[Her First Mate]]'' (1933) - Percy * ''[[My Woman (film)|My Woman]]'' (1933) - Al, Butler (uncredited) * ''[[In the Money (1933 film)|In the Money]]'' (1933) - Gunboat Bimms * ''[[King for a Night]]'' (1933) - Goofy * ''[[Roast Beef and Movies]]'' (1934, Short) - Man at Gunpoint in Fictitious Film Scene (uncredited) * ''[[The Crosby Case]]'' (1934) - Sam Collins * ''[[The Gold Ghost]]'' (1934, Short) - Bugs Kelly * ''[[George White's Scandals (1934 film)|George White's Scandals]]'' (1934) - Pete Pandos - Greek Wrestler * ''Woman Unafraid'' (1934) - John * ''[[One Is Guilty]]'' (1934) - "Knock-Out" Walters * ''[[Little Miss Marker (1934 film)|Little Miss Marker]]'' (1934) - Canvas Back * ''[[The Cat's-Paw]]'' (1934) - 'Spike' Slattery * ''[[She Loves Me Not (1934 film)|She Loves Me Not]]'' (1934) - Mugg Schnitzel * ''[[Young and Beautiful (film)|Young and Beautiful]]'' (1934) - The Champion * ''[[Belle of the Nineties]]'' (1934) - St. Louis Fighter * ''[[Kid Millions]]'' (1934) - Louie the Lug * ''[[The Gilded Lily (1935 film)|The Gilded Lily]]'' (1935) - Taxi Driver * ''[[The Case of the Curious Bride]]'' (1935) - Oscar Pender * ''[[Hold 'Em Yale]]'' (1935) - Sam, The Gonoph * ''[[Silk Hat Kid]]'' (1935) - Misty * ''[[The Daring Young Man]]'' (1935) - Pete Hogan * ''[[Dante's Inferno (1935 film)|Dante's Inferno]]'' (1935) - Bozo - a Stoker (uncredited) * ''[[She Gets Her Man (1935 film)|She Gets Her Man]]'' (1935) - Spike * ''[[Navy Wife (1935 film)|Navy Wife]]'' (1935) - Butch * ''[[Our Little Girl]]'' (1935) * ''[[Confidential (1935 film)|Confidential]]'' (1935) - "Midget" Regan * ''[[Hong Kong Nights (film)|Hong Kong Nights]]'' (1935) - Wally * ''[[Show Them No Mercy!]]'' (1935) - Gimp * ''[[The Widow from Monte Carlo]]'' (1935) - Dopey Mullins * ''[[Hitch Hike Lady]]'' (1935) - Cluck Regan * ''[[The Leavenworth Case (film)|The Leavenworth Case]]'' (1936) - Detective O'Malley * ''[[Tango (1936 film)|Tango]]'' (1936) - Joe Sloan, Betty's Boyfriend * ''King of the Islands'' (1936, Short) - A Shipwrecked Sailor * ''[[Laughing Irish Eyes]]'' (1936) - Tiger O'Keefe * ''[[Everybody's Old Man]]'' (1936) - Mike Murphy * ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'' (1936) - Bodyguard (uncredited) * ''[[A Message to Garcia (1936 film)|A Message to Garcia]]'' (1936) - Departing Sailor (uncredited) * ''[[Desert Justice]]'' (1936) - Hymie * ''[[Nobody's Fool (1936 film)|Nobody's Fool]]'' (1936) - Sour Puss * ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]'' (1936) - Hazeltine * ''[[Rhythm on the Range]]'' (1936) - Big Brain * ''[[36 Hours to Kill]]'' (1936) - Hazy * ''[[Love Letters of a Star]]'' (1936) - Chuck * ''[[You Only Live Once (1937 film)|You Only Live Once]]'' (1937) - Buggsy * ''[[She's Dangerous]]'' (1937) - Herman Valentz * ''[[Join the Marines]]'' (1937) - Herman * ''[[Navy Blues (1937 film)|Navy Blues]]'' (1937) - Gerald "Biff" Jones * ''[[We Have Our Moments]]'' (1937) - Smacksey * ''[[Married Before Breakfast]]'' (1937) - Harry * ''[[Meet the Boyfriend]]'' (1937) - Wilbur "Bugs" Corrigan * ''[[Wake Up and Live]]'' (1937) - First Gunman * ''[[Sea Racketeers]]'' (1937) - Mate 'Spud' Jones * ''[[Bad Guy (1937 film)|Bad Guy]]'' (1937) - 'Shorty' * ''[[Ali Baba Goes to Town]]'' (1937) - Tramp * ''[[Telephone Operator (film)|Telephone Operator]]'' (1937) - Shorty * ''[[Lady Behave!]]'' (1937) - Butch * ''[[Bluebeard's Eighth Wife]]'' (1938) - Kid Mulligan * ''[[Arson Gang Busters]]'' (1938) - Tom Jones * ''[[Joy of Living]]'' (1938) - Mike * ''[[You and Me (1938 film)|You and Me]]'' (1938) - Gimpy * ''[[Gateway (film)|Gateway]]'' (1938) - Guard-Waiter * ''[[Submarine Patrol]]'' (1938) - Seaman Rocky Haggerty * ''[[Thanks for Everything (1938 film)|Thanks for Everything]]'' (1938) - Marine Sergeant * ''[[The Lady and the Mob]]'' (1939) - Frankie O'Fallon * ''[[Mr. Moto in Danger Island]]'' (1939) - Twister McGurk * ''[[Boy Friend (1939 film)|Boy Friend]]'' (1939) - Greenberg * ''[[Coast Guard (film)|Coast Guard]]'' (1939) - Lancelot O'Hara * ''[[Calling All Marines]]'' (1939) - Snooker * ''[[Destry Rides Again]]'' (1939) - Bugs Watson * ''[[Charlie McCarthy, Detective]]'' (1939) - Dutch * ''[[I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby (film)|I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby]]'' (1940) - Big Foot Louie * ''[[Love, Honor, and Oh Baby!]]'' (1940) - Bull * ''[[Meet John Doe]]'' (1941) - Angelface * ''[[Reaching for the Sun]]'' (1941) - Percy Shelley * ''[[Buy Me That Town]]'' (1941) - Crusher Howard * ''[[Birth of the Blues]]'' (1941) - Limpy * ''[[Skylark (1941 film)|Skylark]]'' (1941) - Big Man in Subway Car * ''[[Torpedo Boat (film)|Torpedo Boat]]'' (1942) - Marine * ''[[Jail House Blues (film)|Jail House Blues]]'' (1942) - Big Foot Louie * ''[[Mr. Wise Guy]]'' (1942) - Dratler * ''[[Girls' Town]]'' (1942) - Joe * ''[[So's Your Aunt Emma]]'' (1942) - Joe * ''[[Dr. Broadway]]'' (1942) - Maxie the Goat * ''[[She's in the Army]]'' (1942) - Cpl. Buck Shane * ''[[One Thrilling Night]]'' (1942) - Pat Callahan * ''[[Henry and Dizzy]]'' (1942) - Tramp at Picnic * ''[[Lure of the Islands]]'' (1942) - Albert, a gendarme * ''[[Baby Face Morgan]]'' (1942) - Wise Willie * ''[[Police Bullets]]'' (1942) - Gabby Walsh * ''[[Phantom Killer (film)|Phantom Killer]]'' (1942) - Police Sgt. Pete Corrigan * ''[[Hitler – Dead or Alive]]'' (1942) - Hans '"Dutch" Havermann * ''[[Spy Train]]'' (1943) - Herman Krantz * ''[[Danger! Women at Work]]'' (1943) - Pete * ''[[Gangway for Tomorrow]]'' (1943) - Pete * ''[[Government Girl]]'' (1943) - Military Police Sergeant (uncredited) * ''[[Since You Went Away]]'' (1944) - Convalescent Wishing for Tutti Frutti (uncredited) * ''[[Three Is a Family]]'' (1944) - Coolie * ''[[The Affairs of Susan]]'' (1945) - Waiter (uncredited) * ''[[Joe Palooka, Champ]]'' (1946) - Ira Eyler * ''[[Gentleman Joe Palooka]]'' (1946) - Louie - Sparring Partner {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{IMDb name|0405220}} *{{IBDB name}} *{{Find a Grave|11738464}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hymer, Warren}} [[Category:1906 births]] [[Category:1948 deaths]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:Male actors from New York City]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:Yale University alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory]]