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IMDbPro

Ward Bond(1903-1960)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ward Bond
Wagon Train: The Cappy Darrin Story
Play trailer1:46
The Cappy Darrin Story (1959)
19 Videos
99+ Photos
Gruff, burly American character actor. Born in 1903 in Benkelman, Nebraska (confirmed by Social Security records; sources stating 1905 or Denver, Colorado are in error.) Bond grew up in Denver, the son of a lumberyard worker. He attended the University of Southern California, where he got work as an extra through a football teammate who would become both his best friend and one of cinema's biggest stars: John Wayne. Director John Ford promoted Bond from extra to supporting player in the film Salute (1929), and became another fast friend. An arrogant man of little tact, yet fun-loving in the extreme, Bond was either loved or hated by all who knew him. His face and personality fit perfectly into almost any type of film, and he appeared in hundreds of pictures in his more than 30-year career, in both bit parts and major supporting roles. In the films of Wayne and Ford, particularly, he was nearly always present. Among his most memorable roles are John L. Sullivan in Gentleman Jim (1942), Det. Tom Polhaus in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and the Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton The Searchers (1956). An ardent but anti-intellectual patriot, he was perhaps the most vehement proponent, among the Hollywood community, of blacklisting in the witch hunts of the 1950s, and he served as a most unforgiving president of the ultra-right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. In the mid-'50s he gained his greatest fame as the star of TV's Wagon Train (1957). During its production, Bond traveled to Dallas, Texas, to attend a football game and died there in his hotel room of a massive heart attack.
BornApril 9, 1903
DiedNovember 5, 1960(57)
BornApril 9, 1903
DiedNovember 5, 1960(57)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos242

Clark Gable and Ward Bond in It Happened One Night (1934)
Humphrey Bogart and Ward Bond in Up the River (1930)
Ward Bond, Curt Bois, Bert Hanlon, Allen Jenkins, Maxie Rosenbloom, Vladimir Sokoloff, and Claire Trevor in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Ward Bond, Curt Bois, Bert Hanlon, Allen Jenkins, Maxie Rosenbloom, Vladimir Sokoloff, and Claire Trevor in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Edward G. Robinson, Ward Bond, Curt Bois, Allen Jenkins, Vladimir Sokoloff, and Claire Trevor in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Humphrey Bogart, Ward Bond, and Bert Hanlon in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Ward Bond in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Ward Bond in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Ward Bond, and Barton MacLane in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Ward Bond in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Humphrey Bogart, Ward Bond, and Barton MacLane in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Humphrey Bogart and Ward Bond in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Known for

Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon
8.0
  • Detective Tom Polhaus
  • 1941
John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond, Jeffrey Hunter, and Vera Miles in The Searchers (1956)
The Searchers
7.9
  • Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
  • 1956
Maureen O'Hara, John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, and Victor McLaglen in The Quiet Man (1952)
The Quiet Man
7.7
  • Father Peter Lonergan
  • 1952
James Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life
8.6
  • Bert
  • 1946

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)
    Wagon Train
    • Major Seth Adams
    • TV Series
    • 1957–1961
  • John Wayne, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and John Russell in Rio Bravo (1959)
    Rio Bravo
    • Pat Wheeler
    • 1959
  • Bob Hope and Rhonda Fleming in Alias Jesse James (1959)
    Alias Jesse James
    • Major Seth Adams (uncredited)
    • 1959
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
    • TV Series
    • 1953–1958
  • The Christophers
    • TV Series
    • 1955–1958
  • Victor Mature and Li Hua Li in China Doll (1958)
    China Doll
    • Father Cairns
    • 1958
  • The Growler Story
    • Quincannon
    • Short
    • 1957
  • Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne in The Wings of Eagles (1957)
    The Wings of Eagles
    • John Dodge
    • 1957
  • Ward Bond, Joseph Cotten, Betsy Blair, and Viveca Lindfors in The Halliday Brand (1957)
    The Halliday Brand
    • Big Dan Halliday
    • 1957
  • Preston Foster in Cavalcade of America (1952)
    Cavalcade of America
    • Harvey Kendall
    • M
    • Sgt. Lou Diamond
    • TV Series
    • 1955–1956
  • Hal Baylor, Hans Conried, and Chuck Hicks in Schlitz Playhouse (1951)
    Schlitz Playhouse
    • Capt. Parker
    • TV Series
    • 1952–1956
  • Jeff Chandler, Keith Andes, and Dorothy Malone in Pillars of the Sky (1956)
    Pillars of the Sky
    • Dr. Joseph Holden
    • 1956
  • Dakota Incident (1956)
    Dakota Incident
    • Sen. Blakely
    • 1956
  • John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond, Jeffrey Hunter, and Vera Miles in The Searchers (1956)
    The Searchers
    • Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
    • 1956
  • Star Stage (1955)
    Star Stage
    • Patterson
    • TV Series
    • 1956

Soundtrack

  • James Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
    It's a Wonderful Life
    • performer: "I Love You Truly" (1906) (uncredited)
    • 1946
  • Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    A Guy Named Joe
    • performer: "I'll Get By" (1928) (uncredited)
    • 1943
  • Dana Andrews, Lynn Bari, and Jon Hall in Kit Carson (1940)
    Kit Carson
    • performer: "Buffalo Gals (Won't You Come Out Tonight)" (1844) (uncredited)
    • 1940
  • Wayne Morris in The Kid Comes Back (1938)
    The Kid Comes Back
    • performer: "Listen to the Mockingbird" (1855) (uncredited)
    • 1938

Videos19

It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:37
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:46
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 1:07
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:55
It's a Wonderful Life
Trailer
Trailer 1:58
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:27
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:23
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 4:29
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:48
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:51
Official Trailer
A Guy Named Joe
Trailer 2:00
A Guy Named Joe
3 Godfathers
Trailer 3:20
3 Godfathers

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
  • Born
    • April 9, 1903
    • Benkelman, Nebraska, USA
  • Died
    • November 5, 1960
    • Dallas, Texas, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouses
      Mary Louise MayAugust 23, 1954 - November 5, 1960 (his death)
  • Parents
      John W. Bond
  • Other works
    TV commercial: Ford Edsel
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    On a hunting trip, he was accidentally shot by John Wayne. Bond left Wayne the shotgun in his will.
  • Quotes
    Some of these guys look like I would like if I were flying a B-36. I saw one on TV who mounted like an old woman. Then he leans forward, pulls back the reins, and starts flapping' his arms. The poor horse didn't know what to do. I guess you could say I'm my own technical advisor on Wagon Train.
  • Trademarks
      Often played policemen, soldiers, sailors and cowboys.

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