There is an Edward Joshua Boyle registerd as beeing born January 30, 1899 in Cobden to R.D. Boyle and M. Murphy. I am beginning to think that there are two Edward Boyle’s that have been confused?
Edward was recruited in WW I, where he was listed as a farmer. His paper was signed by him on Aug. 9, 1916. His birth date there is listed as Jan. 31, 1898 (perhaps he lied to get in?). It mentions that he was enlisted by the 8th Artillery Recruiting Depot. He was listed as being 5’7”,dark complexion, with brown hairs and eyes, and no special marks.
It appears he may have been married twice; there is a marriage record in Toronto between him and Doris Fearnell of Birmingham, England on March 31, 1919 (it lists his father twice under different names - Thomas D. Boyle, and then Robert D. Boyle). Witnesses were E.A. Whileby and Jessie Curlson, both of Toronto. Edward is listed as a student at the time. They were married by James Curlson.
There is a record of his crossing from Canada to the USA at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, in July of 1920. He was supposedly heading for Chicago, Illinois at the time. He is listed as single at this point.
In the 1922 marriage license of Edward and Mary, he is listed as a “student”. This took place in California. He is listed as living in Los Angeles at the time.
In the 1940 USA census for Beverly Hills, California (taken April 19, 1940), his occupation is shown as a “Decorator” in the “Motion pictures” industry. He is living with his wife, and their son (with a different last name.. was he adopted?), both of whom are listed as being born (and living in, as of April 1, 1935) in New York, New York. This contradicts their marriage license completely.
The 1951 Los Angeles Extended Area telephone directory shows him living at 218-19th Street, Santa Monica, under “EG Boyle”.
There is a U.S. Naturalization card for Edward George Boyle, born Jan 30/1899, and living at 218-19th Street, Santa Monica, California, which shows that he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on July 6, 1962.
He is mentioned on the same tombstone as his sister Mary Emeline in the Cobden Union Cemetery, where it says “Resting in Santa Monica Cal.”
Taken from IMDB database:
Edward G. Boyle left his family in a small Canadian town to take his chances in Hollywood in the Great Depression. His talent and determination led to many successes. He worked on such films as Gone with the Wind, and the Apartment, for which he won the Academy Award (he was nominated for 6 more). A favourite of Billy Wilder, he also worked on Some Like it Hot, and many other classic films.For The Apartment (1960), he won (along with Alexandre Trauner) the Academy award for “Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Black & White”
The other movies he was nominted for:
The Son of Monte Cristo in 1940, Some Like It Hot in 1959, The Children’s Hour in 1961, Seven Days in May in 1964, The Fortune Cookie in 1966 and Gaily Gaily in 1969.
Movies he was involved with:
AS SET DECORATOR:They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970) (as Edward Boyle) Cactus Flower (1969) (as Ed Boyle) Gaily, Gaily (1969) (as Edward Boyle) ... aka Chicago, Chicago (UK) The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) (as Edward Boyle) ... aka The Crown Caper ... aka Thomas Crown and Company Fitzwilly (1967) ... aka A Garden of Cucumbers ... aka Fitzwilly Strikes Back (UK) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) ... aka How to Succeed in Business... (USA: short title) The Fortune Cookie (1966) ... aka Meet Whiplash Willie (UK) Hawaii (1966) Sex and the Single Girl (1964) Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) Seven Days in May (1964) (as Edward Boyle) Irma la Douce (1963) Two for the Seesaw (1962) Kid Galahad (1962) Jack the Giant Killer (1962) The Children’s Hour (1961) ... aka The Loudest Whisper (UK) By Love Possessed (1961) The Apartment (1960) Pork Chop Hill (1959) Some Like It Hot (1959) Separate Tables (1958) Man of the West (1958) (as Edward Boyle) The Big Country (1958) Eighteen and Anxious (1957) Sweet Smell of Success (1957) The Bachelor Party (1957) The Great American Pastime (1956) These Wilder Years (1956) Seven Men from Now (1956) Good-bye, My Lady (1956) ... aka Goodbye, My Lady (USA: cable TV title) ... aka The Boy and the Laughing Dog (USA: reissue title) Nightmare (1956) Forever, Darling (1956) Man with the Gun (1955) ... aka Deadly Peacemaker ... aka The Trouble Shooter (UK) The Big Knife (1955) “Stories of the Century” (4 episodes, 1955)... aka The Fast Guns (USA: reissue title) - L.H. Musgrove (1955) TV Episode - Milt Sharp (1955) TV Episode - Jim Courtright (1955) TV Episode - Rube Burrows (1955) TV Episode Panther Girl of the Kongo (1955) ... aka Panther Girl of the Congo ... aka The Claw Monsters (USA: recut version) “Shower of Stars” (1 episode, 1954)... aka Chrysler Shower of Stars - A Christmas Carol (1954) TV Episode (as Edward Boyle) This Is My Love (1954) Private Hell 36 (1954) ... aka Baby Face Killers (USA: reissue title) Tobor the Great (1954) The Shanghai Story (1954) Johnny Guitar (1954) Overland Pacific (1954) ... aka Silver Dollar (USA) The Bigamist (1953) (as Edward Boyle) Donovan’s Brain (1953) I, the Jury (1953) (as Edward Boyle) The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) The Moon Is Blue (1953) Invaders from Mars (1953) Ruby Gentry (1952) (as Ed Boyle) Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) ... aka Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla ... aka The Boys from Brooklyn ... aka The Monster Meets the Gorilla Sudden Fear (1952) The San Francisco Story (1952) The Bushwhackers (1952) (as Edward Boyle) ... aka The Rebel (UK) (USA: working title) The Big Night (1951) Bride of the Gorilla (1951) (as Edward Boyle) Queen for a Day (1951) ... aka Horsie He Ran All the Way (1951) Tales of Robin Hood (1951) The Scarf (1951) ... aka The Dungeon Three Husbands (1951) ... aka Letter to Three Husbands Of Men and Music (1951) (as Edward Boyle) Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) The Men (1950) ... aka Battle Stripe (USA: reissue title) Guilty of Treason (1950) ... aka Treason (UK) A Kiss for Corliss (1949) ... aka Almost a Bride (USA: reissue title) ... aka Dangerous Visitor (USA: reissue title) Home of the Brave (1949) Champion (1949) Caught (1949) Force of Evil (1948) No Minor Vices (1948) So This Is New York (1948) Arch of Triumph (1948) Body and Soul (1947) ... aka An Affair of the Heart The Other Love (1947) The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947) (as Edward Boyle) ... aka Women of Paris (USA: reissue title) Strange Journey (1946) (as Edward Boyle) A Night in Casablanca (1946) (as Edward Boyle) Pardon My Past (1945) And Then There Were None (1945) (as Edward Boyle) ... aka Rene Clair’s ‘And Then There Were None’ (USA: complete title) ... aka Ten Little Niggers (UK) Story of G.I. Joe (1945) ... aka Ernie Pyle’s Story of G.I. Joe (USA: complete title) ... aka G.I. Joe (USA: short title) ... aka War Correspondent The Great John L. (1945) ... aka A Man Called Sullivan (UK) Tomorrow, the World! (1944) Abroad with Two Yanks (1944) Up in Mabel’s Room (1944) Friendly Enemies (1942) The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) (as Edward Boyle) The Great Dictator (1940) (uncredited) Kit Carson (1940) (as Edward Boyle) Gone with the Wind (1939) (uncredited) Tombstone Canyon (1932) (as Eddie Boyle)
IN ART DEPARTMENT:The Diamond Queen (1953) (set dresser) (as Edward Boyle) Angel on My Shoulder (1946) (set dresser) Song of Russia (1944) (associate set decorator) Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943) (associate art director) ... aka Crazy to Kill (UK) Assignment in Brittany (1943) (associate set decorator) Stand by for Action (1942) (associate set decorator) ... aka Cargo of Innocents (UK) Eyes in the Night (1942) (associate set decorator) (as Edward J. Boyle) Tish (1942) (associate set decorator) Gone with the Wind (1939) (interior decorator) Made for Each Other (1939) (interior decorator) Nothing Sacred (1937) (interior decorator) A Star Is Born (1937) (associate art director) The Garden of Allah (1936) (settings) (uncredited) One Frightened Night (1935) (set dresser) (uncredited) Strangers of the Evening (1932) (property master) ... aka Case of the Missing Corpse ... aka The Hidden Corpse (USA: reissue title) The Drums of Jeopardy (1931) (property master) (uncredited) ... aka Mark of Terror
AS DIRECTOR:The Fighting Failure (1926) (as E.G. Boyle)
From Boyle Bulletin #16B: He served with the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry, and was badly wounded at the time. After going to Hollywood, he served for several years as the President of the Motion Picture Interior Decorator’s Guild. It is speculated that he never applied for US citizenship, as he didn’t have a work permit, and that this is why he never visited relatives back in Canada; he might have gotten caught and not let back into the US. He retired in 1969.
His Social Security Number was 569-18-8073.