Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. (February 4, 1905 – July 15, 1983), known professionally as Eddie Foy Jr., was an American stage, film and television actor. His career spanned six decades, beginning as part of the vaudeville act Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys.
Early life
Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the son of vaudevillian Eddie Foy and his third wife, Madeline Morando. He was one of the "Seven Little Foys" immortalized in the 1955 film of the same name. Of the seven, he had the longest performing career, and was the only child with a film career (although six Foys appeared in two short films directed by his elder brother Bryan Foy).
Career
Foy made his Broadway debut in Florenz Ziegfeld's 1929 extravaganza Show Girl alongside Ruby Keeler and Jimmy Durante. He also appeared in At Home Abroad, The Cat and the Fiddle, The Red Mill, The Pajama Game, Donnybrook! and Rumple (1957), for which he received a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Foy appeared in many B movies. He closely resembled his father and portrayed him in four feature films: Frontier Marshal (1939), Lillian Russell (1940), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Wilson (1944). He also portrayed his father in a 1964 telefilm about the family's early days in vaudeville. Among Foy's other film credits are those for The Farmer Takes a Wife, The Pajama Game, Bells Are Ringing and Gidget Goes Hawaiian.
Foy found steady work with the advent of television. In addition to starring in the first hour-long sitcom, Fair Exchange, he made numerous guest appearances on programs such as The Gisele MacKenzie Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Glynis, My Living Doll, Burke's Law, ABC Stage 67, My Three Sons and Nanny and the Professor.
Personal life
Foy was married to Anna Marie McKenney from 1933 until her death in 1952. They had a son, Eddie Foy III,
Death
Foy died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles on July 15, 1983, at age 78.
Filmography
The Swell Head (1928) Queen of the Night Clubs (1929) – Eddie Parr Leathernecking (1930) – Chick Evans Nearly Naked (1933) – Eddie Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933) – Joan's partner Myrt and Marge (1933) – Eddie Hanley Moulin Rouge (1934) – Magician (uncredited) Wonder Bar (1934) – Chorus Boy / Angel Measuring Wings (uncredited) King of Burlesque (1936) – Dancer (uncredited) Star for a Night (1936) – Dancer (uncredited) College Holiday (1936) – Dancer (uncredited) Turn Off the Moon (1937) – Dancer Secret Service of the Air (1939) – Gabby Watters (#1 'Secret Service series') Women in the Wind (1939) – Denny Corson Code of the Secret Service (1939) – Gabby (#2 'Secret Service series') Frontier Marshal (1939) – Eddie Foy The Cowboy Quarterback (1939) – Steve Adams Smashing the Money Ring (1939) – Gabby (#3 'Secret Service series') Lillian Russell (1940) – Eddie Foy Sr. Murder in the Air (1940) – Gabby Watters (#4 'Secret Service series', final) A Fugitive from Justice (1940) – Ziggy Scatterbrain (1940) – Eddie MacIntyre The Texas Rangers Ride Again (1941) – Mandolin The Case of the Black Parrot (1941) – Tripod Daniels Rookies on Parade (1941) – Cliff Dugan Country Fair (1941) – Johnny Campbell Puddin' Head (1941) – Harold L. Montgomery Jr. Four Jacks and a Jill (1942) – Happy McScud Yokel Boy (1942) – Joe Ruddy Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) – Eddie Foy Powder Town (1942) – Mr. Billy Meeker Moonlight Masquerade (1942) – Lord Percy Ticklederry Joan of Ozark (1942) – Eddie McCabe Dixie Dugan (1943) – Matt Hogan Dixie (1943) – Mr. Felham And the Angels Sing (1944) – Fuzzy Johnson Wilson (1944) – Eddie Foy Honeychile (1951) – Eddie Price The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953) – Fortune Friendly Lucky Me (1954) – Duke McGee The Pajama Game (1957) – Vernon Hines Bells Are Ringing (1960) – J. Otto Prantz Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) – Monty Stewart Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) – Beachgoer Wanting to Use Phone (uncredited) 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968) – Oscar Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) – Custard Pie Star