We know little about Edwin Burke as an actor because after attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts he soon turned to writing and directing. I found a few references to his playing "leading roles" in Othello and Hamet in a local New York Shakespeare company during the 1910s, after which he began a career that eventually ended with 250 plays and screenplays. In 1932 he worked on the script for the movie Bad Girl, which won an Oscar for its director, Frank Borzage. Burke's first play This Thing Called Love launched him as a successful playwright; the play ran for more than 100 performances at New York's Maxine Elliott's Theater. He is credited with more that 35 film and television scripts. My primary source is a site for The Lamb's Club and a short biographical note on Burke (http://www.the-lambs.org/oscar.htm).

The card, a photo taken early in Burke's short career as an actor, is identified as the American Actor Series--AA 43178.