Edward Van Sloan

Edward Van Sloan was an American character actor who worked on stage before appearing in Universal's horror films of the 1930s. He began as a leading man with the Forsberg Players in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at the Fulton Opera House in 1915. His screen roles included Frankenstein (1931), Dracula (1931), and The Mummy (1932). In Dracula he played Professor Van Helsing, the vampire hunter, a part he had first performed in the touring production of the Dracula adaptation by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston. He took a similar role as the occultist Dr. Muller in The Mummy, and he returned as Van Helsing in Dracula's Daughter (1936). In Frankenstein he appeared as Dr. Waldman and stepped before the curtain to warn audiences that they could leave if they were too squeamish for the film. His Broadway credits included Dracula (1927), Remote Control (1929), and The Vigil (1948).