Arthur Edmund Carewe

Arthur Edmund Carewe (December 30, 1884 – April 22, 1937), born Hovsep Hovsepian , was an Armenian-American stage and film actor of the silent and early sound film era.

Early life He was born on December 30, 1884 to a prosperous Armenian family in Trabzon (Trebizond), Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey). His father, Garo, was engaged in the banking business and carried some influence from his positions in the national legislature and board of education. His father died in 1892, and the Hamidian massacres forced the Hovsepian family to emigrate. Carewe emigrated to the United States on August 7, 1896, arriving in New York Harbor on the Augusta Victoria, having departed from Cherbourg. He was accompanied by his elder brother, Ardasches. He relocated to Chicago sometime before 1915 and operated another furnishing goods business until he moved to Hollywood in 1919. His debut role was in the Constance Talmadge comedy Romance and Arabella. He became a naturalized citizen June 28, 1918.

During his time in the motion picture industry, Carewe became a well-respected character actor and would perform in several classic literary screen adaptations, including The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Cat and the Canary and Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), specializing as shady, neurotic, wild-eyed characters, which he seemed to revel in playing. He also continued to perform sporadically in regional theaters, essaying in 1921 the role of Prinzivalle in Monna Vanna by Maurice Maeterlinck. In 1926, he wrote two screenplays for First National that were never produced. In 1928, he traveled to Europe, but a proposal to perform a self-penned screenplay for Universum Film AG was never realized.

He was for a time considered for, and later turned down, the role of Count Dracula in the 1931 film, which would eventually go to Bela Lugosi. Carewe appeared in fifty films over the course of his career, mostly during the silent film era.

Personal life Carewe married the soprano Irene Pavloska (née Irene Levi) on February 17, 1915, in Chicago. They divorced in 1921.

Later years and death Shortly after the release of his final film, Charlie Chan's Secret, in 1936, Carewe suffered a stroke. On April 22, 1937, he was found dead in his car in the parking lot of a Santa Monica beach motel, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1919 Venus in the East Middy Knox Lost film 1919 Romance and Arabella Claude Estabrook Lost film 1919 Daughter of Mine Joseph Rayberg / Baron Landsandhome Lost film 1919 The Rescuing Angel Eliot Slade Lost film 1919 Girls Wilbur Searles Lost film 1919 The World and Its Woman Count Alix Voronassof Lost film 1919 Dangerous Waters Victor DeLara Lost film 1919 Bonnie Bonnie Lassie Archibald Loveday Lost film 1920 Rio Grande Don Jose Alvarado Lost film 1920 Children of Destiny Count Di Varesi Lost film 1920 The Breath of the Gods Prince Hagane Lost film 1920 The Palace of Darkened Windows The Rajah Lost film 1920 Burning Daylight Arthur Howison 1921 The Mad Marriage Christiansen Lost film 1921 The Easy Road Heminway Lost film 1921 Sham Bolton Lost film 1921 Bar Nothing Stinson Lost film 1921 Her Mad Bargain Grant Lewis Lost film 1922 The Prodigal Judge Col. Fentress Lost film 1922 My Old Kentucky Home 'Con' Arnold Lost film 1922His Wife's Husband John Brainerd Lost film 1922 The Ghost Breaker Duke d'Alba Lost film 1923 Refuge Prince Ferdinand Lost film 1923 Daddy Paul Savelli Lost film 1923 Trilby Svengali Lost film 1923 The Ten Commandments Israelite Slave Uncredited 1923 The Song of Love Ramlika 1924 Sandra Henri La Flamme Lost film 1924 The Price of a Party Kenneth Bellwood Incomplete film 1925 The Boomerang Poulet 1925 The Phantom of the Opera Ledoux 1925 A Lover's Oath Prince Yussuf Lost film 1925 The Only Thing Gigberto Alternative title: Four Flaming Days 1926 Torrent Salvatti 1926 Volcano! Maurice Séquineau 1926 Diplomacy Count Orloff 1926 The Silent Lover Captain Herault 1927 The Claw Major Anthony Kinsella 1927 The Cat and the Canary Harry 1927 A Man's Past Lieutenant Destin Lost film 1927 Uncle Tom's Cabin George Harris 1930 The Matrimonial Bed Dr. Fried (credits) / Dr. Beaudine (in film) 1930 Sweet Kitty Bellairs Capt. Spicer 1931 Captain Applejack Ivan Borolsky, aka Jim 1931 God's Gift to Women Dr. Louis Dumont 1931 The Gay Diplomat Suave Man 1932 Doctor X Dr. Rowitz 1933 Mystery of the Wax Museum Sparrow - Professor Darcy 1935 Thunder in the Night Professor Omega 1936 Charlie Chan's Secret Professor Bowen (final film role)