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IMDbPro

William Bendix(1906-1964)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
William Bendix
Official Trailer
Play trailer3:12
Idol on Parade (1959)
12 Videos
99+ Photos
William Bendix was not a son of Brooklyn, New York, although because of his stereotypical "Brooklyn accent" it has been widely supposed that he was. Bendix was actually born in the Borough of Manhattan (New York City proper), in a midtown flat hard by the tracks of the long-since defunct Third-Avenue Elevated Railway. (Manhattan sections of the "El," as New Yorkers called it, were demolished circa 1956.)

Jut-jawed, broken-nosed and burly, Bendix began his acting career after the ravages of the Great Depression had killed his erstwhile grocery business. Having performed in nightclubs even while grocer, and having portrayed taxicab drivers in a series of Broadway flops, he enjoyed his first notable performance on the Broadway stage in 1939, portraying the cop Krupp in William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life." His Hollywood feature debut came about in one of his few starring roles, in Hal Roach's Brooklyn Orchid (1942). But more often than not, in his movies Bendix received less than top billing, inasmuch as so many of his film assignments involved supporting roles. Despite (or perhaps on account of) his looks he was often called upon to supply comedic support, as in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), when, portraying Sir Sagramore of King Arthur's Round Table in full suit of armor and pageboy wig, he waxeth eloquent, in his Brooklyn accent but in the most incongruent of Middle English dialects! On the other hand, that same craggy appearance had him in such roles as that of the thug Jeff in The Glass Key (1942), in which he repeatedly and gleefully uses his fists to beat star Alan Ladd's face to a pulp and then sadistically challenges Ladd, once he is healed, to come back and receive further "treatment"! Although he will always be fondly remembered for his light-comedy portrayals (in *three* of the mass media!) of Chester A. Riley in The Life of Riley (1949) and The Life of Riley (1953), perhaps William Bendix's finest and most memorable dramatic performance came in Lifeboat (1944), when he touchingly interprets the role of Gus, the shipwreck survivor whose gangrenous limb has to be removed, the absence of anesthesia notwithstanding.
BornJanuary 14, 1906
DiedDecember 14, 1964(58)
BornJanuary 14, 1906
DiedDecember 14, 1964(58)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Photos205

William Bendix in Woman of the Year (1942)
Alan Ladd, William Bendix, and Paul Singh in Calcutta (1946)
William Bendix in Calcutta (1946)
William Bendix in Calcutta (1946)
Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Lowell Gilmore, and Paul Singh in Calcutta (1946)
Alan Ladd and William Bendix in Calcutta (1946)
Alan Ladd and William Bendix in Calcutta (1946)
William Bendix and Bud Abbott in Who Done It? (1942)
William Bendix and Lou Costello in Who Done It? (1942)
William Bendix and Mary Wickes in Who Done It? (1942)
William Bendix and Lou Costello in Who Done It? (1942)
William Bendix, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and William Gargan in Who Done It? (1942)

Known for

Lifeboat (1944)
Lifeboat
7.6
  • Gus Smith
  • 1944
Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, and Brian Donlevy in The Glass Key (1942)
The Glass Key
7.0
  • Jeff
  • 1942
Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell in Macao (1952)
Macao
6.6
  • Lawrence C. Trumble
  • 1952
Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, and Doris Dowling in The Blue Dahlia (1946)
The Blue Dahlia
7.1
  • Buzz Wanchek
  • 1946

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • John Agar, William Bendix, Lon Chaney Jr., Rory Calhoun, Richard Arlen, Linda Foster, Virginia Mayo, and Regis Parton in Young Fury (1964)
    Young Fury
  • Gene Barry in Burke's Law (1963)
    Burke's Law
  • William Bendix, Yvonne De Carlo, and Dale Robertson in Law of the Lawless (1964)
    Law of the Lawless
  • Rockabye the Infantry
  • The Young and the Brave (1963)
    The Young and the Brave
  • Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, Julie Newmar, and Leslie Parrish in For Love or Money (1963)
    For Love or Money
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
  • James Garner, Kim Novak, Howard Duff, Howard Morris, and Tony Randall in Boys' Night Out (1962)
    Boys' Night Out
  • Tuesday Weld in Follow the Sun (1961)
    Follow the Sun
  • William Bendix, Christine Kaufmann, and Ron Randell in The Phony American (1961)
    The Phony American
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
  • Johnny Nobody (1961)
    Johnny Nobody
  • Allan Lane, Alan Young, and Mister Ed in Mister Ed (1961)
    Mister Ed
  • Overland Trail (1960)
    Overland Trail
  • Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)
    The Untouchables

Writer

  • A Luz Vem do Alto (1959)
    A Luz Vem do Alto

Soundtrack

  • Gene Barry in Burke's Law (1963)
    Burke's Law
  • The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956)
    The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
    • (uncredited)
  • Idol on Parade (1959)
    Idol on Parade
  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
    Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
  • Groucho Marx, William Bendix, and Marie Wilson in A Girl in Every Port (1952)
    A Girl in Every Port
    • (uncredited)
  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
    • (uncredited)
  • William Bendix and Claire Trevor in The Babe Ruth Story (1948)
    The Babe Ruth Story
    • (uncredited)
  • The Time of Your Life (1948)
    The Time of Your Life
    • ("When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (1912), uncredited)
  • Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, William Bendix, and Vivian Blaine in Greenwich Village (1944)
    Greenwich Village
    • (uncredited)
  • Lifeboat (1944)
    Lifeboat
    • (uncredited)

Videos12

Official Trailer
Trailer 1:28
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:28
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:04
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:05
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:03
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:23
Official Trailer
Detective Story
Trailer 2:22
Detective Story
The Babe Ruth Story
Trailer 2:32
The Babe Ruth Story
Idol on Parade
Trailer 3:12
Idol on Parade
They Drive By Night
Trailer 1:51
They Drive By Night
The Dark Corner
Trailer 2:26
The Dark Corner
Woman of the Year
Trailer 3:10
Woman of the Year

Personal details

Edit
    • January 14, 1906
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • December 14, 1964
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(lobar pneumonia)
    • Teresa Stefanotty BendixOctober 22, 1927 - December 14, 1964 (his death, 2 children)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "George B. Shaw"; Broadway debut) in "The Trial of Dr. Beck" on Broadway. Written by Hughes Allison. Scenic Design by Rollo Wayne. Directed by Louis M. Simon. Maxine Elliott's Theatre: 9 Aug 1937-Aug 1937 (closing date unknown/24 performances). Cast: Carrie Adams (as "Lulu Doolittle"), Clifford Dempsey (as "Judge Archer"; final Broadway role), Frank Ferguson (as "Court Clerk"), Jane Ferrell (as "Ella Gordon"), Virginia Girvin (as "Carrie Jones"), Frank Harrington (as "District Attorney Madison"), Harriet Harris (as "Ruth Ellen"), Lulu King (as "Hilda Redd"), Aurelius Lawrence (as "Oscar Brooks"), Norman Lewis (as "Herman Phillips"), Elvis Mason (as "George Doolittle"), Joseph McCallion (as "Ralph Judd"), Thomas McKenna (as "Inspector Timothy O'Malley"), LaVerne Pine (as "Mary Hudson"), Kenneth Renwick (as "Dr. John Beck"), Earl Sydnor (as "Defense Attorney Collings"), Stewart Ward (as "Dr. Julius Sims"), Dorothy Washington (as "Elenore Hopkins"), Jethro Webb (as "Patrolman James"), Kenneth Woodruff (as "Assistant District Attorney"). Produced by Federal Theatre Project of The WPA.
  • Publicity listings
    • 7 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    In 1922, when he was 15, Bendix was a bat boy for the New York Yankees, and became a favorite of Babe Ruth, who entrusted Bendix with various personal errands. Years later, in 1948, Bendix played Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story (1948).
  • Quotes
    Save a buck or two and keep on acting--that's all there is to it.

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