Erik Rhodes (actor)

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Erik Rhodes


imagesize = 150px
birthname = Ernest Sharpe
birthdate = birth date|1906|2|10
location = El Reno, Oklahoma Territory, USA
deathdate = death date and age|1990|2|17|1906|2|10
deathplace = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
yearsactive =

Erik Rhodes (February 10, 1906 – February 17, 1990) He was an American film and Broadway singer and actor. He is most well known today for two Hollywood films he made with stars Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, "The Gay Divorcee" (1934) and in "Top Hat" (1935).

Biography

Born Ernest Sharpe at El Reno, in the Indian Territory, in what was to become the state of Oklahoma, Rhodes started performing on the Broadway stage in "A Most Immoral Lady" (1928) using his birth name Ernest Sharpe. This was followed by two musicals "The Little Show" and "Hey Nonny Nonny!" He first used the name Erik Rhodes when he appeared on Broadway in "Gay Divorce" (1932) and then in London in 1933. The making of the 1934 film version, "The Gay Divorcee", brought him to Hollywood.

His last film in the pre-war years was "On Your Toes" (1939). By the end of the war, he was very socially active in New York City often seen with Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, his onetime companion, and the Nordstrom Sisters at popular watering holes such as the Stork Club and 21 Club.Fact|date=February 2007

Between 1947 and 1964, he was back on Broadway in "The Great Campaign", "Dance Me a Song", "Collector's Item", "Can-Can", "Shinbone Alley", "Jamaica", "How to Make a Man", and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum".

Married his wife Emala in 1972 and they lived in New York City until the early 1980s.Fact|date=February 2007 He died of pneumonia in Oklahoma City at age 84 and is interred with his wife in the El Reno Cemetery in El Reno, Oklahoma.

Filmography

* "The Gay Divorcee" (1934)
* "Give Her a Ring" (1934)
* "Top Hat" (1935)
* "Another Face" (1935)
* "Old Man Rhythm" (1935)
* "The Nitwits" (1935)
* "A Night at the Ritz" (1935)
* "Charlie Chan In Paris" (1935)
* "Smartest Girl in Town" (1936)
* "Second Wife" (1936)
* "One Rainy Afternoon" (1936)
* "Special Investigator" (1936)
* "Chatterbox" (1936)
* "Two in the Dark" (1936)
* "Beg, Borrow, or Steal" (1937)
* "Fight for Your Lady" (1937)
* "Music for Madame" (1937)
* "Woman Chases Man" (1937)
* "Criminal Lawyer" (1937)
* "Dramatic School" (1938)
* "Say It in French" (1938)
* "Mysterious Mr. Moto" (1938)
* "Meet the Girls" (1938)
* "The Canary Comes Across" (1938)
* "On Your Toes" (1939)
* "" (1987)

Television

* "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" "Mirage in Manhattan" (1948)
* "Appointment with Adventure" "Escape from Vienna" (1955)
* "Perry Mason" "The Case of the Violent Vest" (1961)

Broadway

* "A Most Immoral Lady" (1928)
* "The Little Show" (1929)
* "Hey Nonny Nonny!" (1932)
* "Gay Divorce" (1932)
* "The Great Campaign" (1947)
* "Dance Me a Song" (1950)
* "Collector's Item" (1952)
* "Can-Can" (1953)
* "Shinbone Alley" (1957)
* "Jamaica" (1957)
* "How to Make a Man" (1961)
* "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1962)

External links

*ibdb name|57618|Erik Rhodes Retrieved on 2009-01-24
*imdb name|0722424|Erik Rhodes Retrieved on 2009-01-24
*findagrave|6645725 Retrieved on 2009-01-24