Edd Byrnes is a retired American actor whose career spanned over four decades. He is best known for his roles in 77 Sunset Strip, Grease, and a couple of other works which were critically acclaimed in his time. Edd has retired since 1999 but seeing his numerous contributions as one of the pillars of the acting industry today, his career achievements are too enormous to be tucked away. Learn more about the bio, career, and family life of the Hollywood veteran below.
Edd Byrnes Biography
The actor (Edward Breitenberger) was born on the 30th of July 1983 in New York City, New York, United States of America into the Breitenberger family. He had two siblings named Vincent and Jo-Ann, they, however, lost their father who was an alcoholic when Edd was about 13 years old. The boys were thereafter raised by their mother who had to work extremely hard to provide for their needs. Following their father’s death, Edd adopted his maternal grandfather’s surname Byrne; thus answering Edward Byrne but more famously known as Edd Byrnes.
As a kid, Edd nursed the ambition to go into acting but did not commit himself to realize this dream while he was in high school. He went on to graduate and began working different jobs as a florist, house roofer, taxi driver, and even an ambulance driver. In the year 1956, he secured a non-paid job at the Litchfield Community Playhouse, Connecticut which brought him closer to kick-starting his childhood dreams.
After a short time of joining the company, Edd Byrnes began appearing in their plays, that same year, he secured roles in a Crossroads, Wire Service, and Navy Log. Following this positive turn of events for him, he relocated to Hollywood to gain more acting roles. In one year, he recorded appearances in Tea and Sympathy (a local stage production), episodes of television series like Telephone Time, The Adventures of Jim Bowie; films like Fear Strikes Out, Reform School Girl, and Johnny Trouble.
With these works, Edd Byrnes got recognized by Warner Bros after which he signed a contract with the entertainment company. He began working for them in a comic role in The Deep Six (1958), next came his starring in episodes of Colt .45, Cheyenne, The Deputy, and many other films and television series.
The career success Byrnes was enjoying with Waner Bros. wasn’t one that will last forever. He fell out of favor with the company following disagreements about his remunerations. However, they made amends and he got back to work but by August 1963, he bought out his contract with the company. Edd Byrnes thereafter had roles in series like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Burke’s Law, The Secret Invasion, Wicked Wicked, ‘Any Gun Can Play, Red Blood, Renegade Riders, Yellow Gold, Police Story, Telethon, and others. Edd was seen last in the CBS miniseries titled Shake, Rattle, and Roll: An American Love Story.
Career Achievements
Edd Byrnes certainly saw good days while acting as an actor. From his many acting projects, he stood in as a nominee for several awards out of which he won a couple.
In the year 1963, he won the award ‘Best Male TV Star’ at the ‘Bravo Otto awards. Edd was thereafter nominated in three other editions of the award in 1964, 1965, and 1966. He, however, didn’t win any of the later nominations.
In 2005, the actor was recognized and ranked number 5 on the ‘TV Guide’ list of TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols’.
Edd Byrnes Net Worth
Looking back at Eddy’s childhood life when his mother had to work extremely hard to provide for their needs, he has done pretty well and achieved a lot in his career as an actor which made him a millionaire. Edd Byrnes has a net worth of $5 million. In his heydays, he earned above $83, 000 monthly and an annual earning close to $1,000,000.
Family Life: Wife and Son
Edd Byrnes has only been married once. He got married to Asa Maynor, his long-time girlfriend in 1962. The marriage saw the birth of his son Logan Byrnes on the 13th of September 1965. However, by 1971, the couple got divorced because of Edd’s habitual drinking and drug abuse. Through the help of his friend Troy Donahue, Brynes was able to come out of the addiction. He did not get married a second time and has not been reported to be dating someone since then.
Logan Byrnes grew to pursue a career in the media, he started working with Fox Connecticut in 2008 and by 2016 he became a news anchor for Fox-11 News in Los Angeles, California.
