William Bendix

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William Bendix

Born	14 January 1906 New York, New York, USA
Died	14 December 1964 Los Angeles, California, USA (lobar pneumonia

William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film actor. As a young boy, he was a batboy for the New York Yankees.

Bendix was born in New York City, and made his film debut in 1942, having worked as a grocer until the Great Depression. He played in supporting roles in dozens of Hollywood films, usually as a soldier, gangster or detective. He started with appearances in film noir films including a memorable performance in The Glass Key (1942), which also featured Brian Donlevy and Veronica Lake. He soon gained more attention after appearing in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) as Gus, a wounded and dying American sailor. Bendix's other well-known movie roles include his portrayal of legendary baseball-player Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story (1948) and Sir Sagramore opposite Bing Crosby in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), in which he took part in the famous trio, "Busy Doing Nothing". He also played Nick the bartender in the 1948 film version of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life. Bendix had also appeared in the stage version, but in the role of Officer Krupp (a role played on film by Broderick Crawford).

At the time, however, Bendix was probably best known for his radio work, starring as Chester A. Riley in the radio comedy series The Life of Riley from 1944 through 1951. The series is considered by some to be the first actual situation comedy. Bendix also played the title role in the second television version of the series, which ran from 1953 to 1958 (Jackie Gleason played Riley in a short-lived 1949 version). William Bendix is one of the most cherished actors in history of radio.

William Bendix died in Los Angeles from lobar pneumonia aged 58 and was interred there in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery. He was married to Theresa Stefanotti from 1927 until his death. They had two children together.

[edit] Selected filmography

Woman of the Year (1942)
Wake Island (1942) - Best Supporting Actor Nomination
Who Done It? (1942)
The Glass Key (1942)
Guadalcanal Diary (1943)
Lifeboat (1944)
The Hairy Ape (1944)
The Dark Corner (1942)
It's in the Bag (film) (1945)
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
Detective Story (1951)
Macao (1952)
Dangerous Mission (1954)

[edit] References

Smithsonian Collection: Old Time Radio All-Time Favourites, liner notes from audio cassette box set. Joe Bevilaqua. Radio Spirits: Schiller Park, 1994.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME	Bendix, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	actor
DATE OF BIRTH	January 14, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH	New York, New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH	December 14, 1964
PLACE OF DEATH	Los Angeles, California, USA