Edward Van Sloan was an American film character actor best remembered for his roles in Universal Studios horror films such as Dracula , Frankenstein , and The Mummy .
Van Sloan was born of German stock in New Trier, Minnesota, on November 1, 1882. His widowed mother, Mrs. Theresa Van Sloun, settled in San Francisco where young Edward resided with his siblings and mother as he launched his acting career in theaters. In 1911, while employed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he married Myra Jackson, with whom he had one child, Paul . During the 1920s, Van Sloan appeared in several plays at the 48th Street Theater in Broadway including the 1924 stage adaptation of Dracula before accepting an offer in late 1930 for a part in the acclaimed Tod Browningdirected screen production. Van Sloan had a style of playing horror roles that was unmistakably his, speaking his lines in a slow, exaggerated style of elocution with rolling Rs.
Source: Wikipedia