Biography.guide
Home › People › Film director › Edward Dillon
Portrait of Edward Dillon

Edward Dillon

1879 – 1933

American film director and actor

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Edward Dillon

Lived 1879 – 1933 (aged 53–54). Edward Dillon was an American film director, actor, screenwriter and film actor.

Edward Dillon ( or 1879 or 1882 – July 11, 1933) was an American actor, director and screenwriter of the silent era.

Early and personal life Dillon was born in 1872, 1873, 1879 or 1882, in New York City. His brother John T. Dillon was also an actor. Newman kept her married name, Dillon. She attended his funeral in 1933, and afterward listed herself as a widow rather than divorced.

Career Dillon's work on Broadway included acting in Prince Otto (1900), Francesca da Rimini (1901), The Taming of the Shrew (1905), and The Ranger (1907). He left the stage to begin acting in films in 1908, working under D. W. Griffith at Biograph. He performed in more than 320 films between 1905 and 1932 and also directed 134 productions between 1913 and 1926. He was Mary Pickford's first leading man, and he was instrumental in Fay Tincher's developing into a star. In 1915 he was described as a director for Komic Pictures Company when a fire devastated his home.

Dillon died on July 11, 1933, at the age of 60 in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack.

Selected filmography Actor

The Invisible Fluid (1908, Short) – Messenger Bobby's Kodak (1908, Short) – Father When Knights Were Bold (1908) *short The Fight for Freedom (1908, Short) – Man in Bar / Member of the Posse The Kentuckian (1908, Short) – Ward Fatherly Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court (1908, Short) Where the Breakers Roar (1908, Short) – Policeman After Many Years (1908, Short) The Feud and the Turkey (1908, Short) The Reckoning (1908, Short) The Welcome Burglar (1909, Short) The Brahma Diamond (1909, Short) In the Border States (1910, Short) – Confederate Soldier (uncredited) A Flash of Light (1910, Short) – At First Party The Modern Prodigal (1910, Short) – Guard The Lucky Toothache (1910, Short) – One of the Boys The Fugitive (1910, Short) – John – the Confederate Son A Mohawk's Way (1910, Short) – Friend What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911, Short) – In Shop Fisher Folks (1911, Short) – At Fair The Lonedale Operator (1911, Short) – The Telegrapher Priscilla's April Fool Joke (1911, Short) – Paul Priscilla and the Umbrella (1911, Short) – Harry Enoch Arden (1911, Short) – Rescuer A Country Cupid (1911, Short) – Among Students The Miser's Heart (1911, Short) – Down-and-Out Young Man The Old Bookkeeper (1912, Short) – The Old Bookkeeper's Employer's Friend – the Office Visitor For His Son (1912, Short) – At Soda Fountain (uncredited) The Root of Evil (1912, Short) – The Wealthy Man's Secretary – the Daughter's Husband A Voice from the Deep (1912, Short) – Percy Help! Help! (1912, Short) – Office Worker Won by a Fish (1912, Short) – Harry The Spirit Awakened (1912, Short) – The Christian Farmhand Blind Love (1912, Short) – The Young Man His Auto's Maiden Trip (1912, Short) – Mr. Jinx The Informer (1912, Short) – Confederate Soldier Love in an Apartment Hotel (1913, Short) – Pinky Doolan – a Bellboy Broken Ways (1913, Short) – Minor Role (uncredited) The Little Tease (1913, Short) – In Lunchroom Red Hicks Defies the World (1913, Short) – O'Shea, the Fighting Irishman Almost a Wild Man (1913, Short) – Rooly, Pooly, Dooly The Mothering Heart (1913, Short) – Club Patron (uncredited) An Indian's Loyalty (1913, Short) – The Young Foreman Judith of Bethulia (1914) – Minor Role (uncredited) Home, Sweet Home (1914) – The Musician Nell's Eugenic Wedding (1914, Short) Fatty and the Heiress (1914, Short) Fatty and Minnie He-Haw (1914, Short) Shotguns That Kick (1914, Short) Fatty's Wine Party (1914, Short) Fatty's Jonah Day (1914, Short) An Incompetent Hero (1914, Short) Lovers' Post Office (1914, Short) Don Quixote (1915) Mr. Goode, Samaritan (1916) – Shifty Ed Intolerance (1916) – Crook The Lady Drummer (1916) America (1924) – Minor Role (uncredited) The Skyrocket (1926) Lilac Time (1928) – Corporal 'Smithie' The Broadway Melody (1929) – Dillon – Stage Manager (uncredited) The Locked Door (1929) – Minor Role (uncredited) Hot for Paris (1929) – Ship's Cook Caught Short (1930) – Mr. Thutt Reducing (1931) – Train passenger (uncredited) Iron Man (1931) – Jeff Sob Sister (1931) – Pat The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) – Mr. Hardy (uncredited) While Paris Sleeps (1932) – Concierge's Husband Week Ends Only (1932) – Guest – Sitting / Standing Gag (uncredited) The Golden West (1932) – Pat (uncredited) Sherlock Holmes (1932) – Al (uncredited)

Director

With the Aid of Phrenology (1913) Chocolate Dynamite (1914) Those Happy Days (1914) The Sky Pirate (1914) The Alarm (1914) Nell's Eugenic Wedding (1914) Sunshine Dad (1916) A Daughter of the Poor (1917) The Antics of Ann (1917) Might and the Man (1917) The Embarrassment of Riches (1918) The Frisky Mrs. Johnson (1920) A Heart to Let (1921) Women Men Marry (1922) Broadway Gold (1923) The Speeding Venus (1926) Bred in Old Kentucky (1926) The Danger Girl (1926)

Radio The Edwin/Dillon Show (January 15, 1928 – July 13, 1928) (Distributed by KSTP St. Paul and The Film Booking Offices of America)

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1879, New York City
Birth century
Nationality

People in Edward Dillon's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Edward Dillon's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Edward Dillon?

American film director and actor (1879–1933)

When was Edward Dillon born?

Edward Dillon was born in 1879 in New York City.

When did Edward Dillon die?

Edward Dillon died on 11 July 1933 in Hollywood.

What was Edward Dillon's occupation?

Edward Dillon was a film director, actor, screenwriter and film actor.

What nationality was Edward Dillon?

Edward Dillon was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Edward Dillon

· Wikidata: Q2468264

· DBpedia: Edward Dillon (actor)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Edward Dillon. https://biography.guide/edward-dillon/

MLA: "Edward Dillon." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/edward-dillon/.

Chicago: "Edward Dillon." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/edward-dillon/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-24 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:01 UTC