The Fussbudget

The nervous man, put upon husband, the silly servant and the distinct voice are all phrases that describe actor Edward Everett Horton. Horton was born in Brooklyn in 1886 and started his career working on the New York stage while he was studying at Columbia in 1907. He then was hired by the Dempsey Light Opera Company to perform Gilbert and Sullivan operettas on Staten Island. Horton moved to Los Angeles and rented a theater where he produced and acted in plays. He was also available to take movie roles in the 1920's. His career took off when talkies came into being and his distinctive voice and deadpan delivery made him a very popular character actor. He appeared in films with Fred Astaire, Miriam Hopkins, Carey Grant and Katherine Hepburn. 
Edward Everett Horton was also very popular on television appearing on scores of television shows. It was for his voice over work that most people remember him best. He was the narrator of "Fractured Fairy Tales" on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Horton never had a studio contract always working free-lance. He was known to be very frugal and through his frugality he and his brother bought several acres of land in Encino where Horton built a series of houses for himself and his family. His property was in the path of the Ventura Freeway and had to be sold cutting his street short. After his death the shortened street was named after him. He lived in Encino with his long time companion actor Gavin Gordon who was 15 years his junior. Edward Everett Horton died in 1970 at the age of 84.