Edward Roseman

Who was Edward Roseman?

Edward Roseman, sometimes identified as Edward F. Roseman, was an American actor, primarily during the silent film era.

The son of a pharmacist, Roseman was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, christened Ernest Frederick Roseman. His father died of tuberculosis when he was seven years old so Edward and his two siblings, Jenny May and Henry, were raised in Terre Haute by his mother, Mary Lucinda. As a young adult, Roseman worked on a railroad before succumbing to the lure of vaudeville and traveling theater stock companies, including the Margaret Bird Stock Company and those founded by playwrights Lincoln J. Carter and Wright Lorimer.

Between 1913 and 1921, Roseman was a popular actor in silent films, appearing in about 50 motion pictures during that span. Following his success in the title role of the 1920 Fox Studios horror serial, Fantômas, Roseman usually was featured in a heavy role as a villain. Cast in a part which required him to play multiple personalities, Movie Weekly magazine referred to Roseman as "The Master of Makeup." He was described as "The Man of a Thousand Faces" several years before Lon Chaney Sr. earned that moniker.