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IMDbPro

Lyle Bettger(1915-2003)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Lyle Bettger
Adventurers search for World War II gold in the Philippines.
Play trailer2:02
Impasse (1969)
5 Videos
33 Photos
Handsome, blond-haired, steely-eyed villain in many film Westerns. He was never the grizzled outlaw, covered in trail dust. No, he was the immaculate-looking, "respectable" (but two-faced) dandy in silk damask vest, often puffing suavely on a cheroot, whose ashes he then might contemptuously flick in the hero's face. He could confront an antagonist wearing a wry smile, even while neatly inserting his dirk between the latter's ribs. One wonders why Bettger, with his Aryan looks and menacing sneer, never became typecast as the stereotypical Nazi SS officer or Gestapo interrogator. (Perhaps the man was just fortunate in that regard.)
BornFebruary 13, 1915
DiedSeptember 24, 2003(88)
BornFebruary 13, 1915
DiedSeptember 24, 2003(88)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos33

Barbara Stanwyck and Lyle Bettger in No Man of Her Own (1950)
Jan Sterling, Lyle Bettger, and John Payne in The Vanquished (1953)
Lyle Bettger and Frank Ferguson in Tales of Wells Fargo (1957)
Lyle Bettger and Denver Pyle in Death Valley Days (1952)
Lyle Bettger in Forbidden (1953)
Lyle Bettger and Allene Roberts in Union Station (1950)
Tony Curtis, Lyle Bettger, and Howard Chuman in Forbidden (1953)
Anne Baxter, Lyle Bettger, and Jay C. Flippen in Carnival Story (1954)
Dennis Hopper, Lyle Bettger, and Cameron Mitchell in Pursuit (1958)
Lyle Bettger in The Vanquished (1953)
Anne Baxter and Lyle Bettger in Carnival Story (1954)
Barbara Stanwyck, Lyle Bettger, and Richard Carlson in All I Desire (1953)

Known for:

Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Gloria Grahame, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour, and Cornel Wilde in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
The Greatest Show on Earth
6.6
  • Klaus
  • 1952
Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Rhonda Fleming, and Jo Van Fleet in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
7.1
  • Ike Clanton
  • 1957
Audie Murphy and Mari Blanchard in Destry (1954)
Destry
6.6
  • Decker
  • 1954
William Holden, Lyle Bettger, Barry Fitzgerald, and Nancy Olson in Union Station (1950)
Union Station
6.8
  • Joe Beacom
  • 1950

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • M Station: Hawaii (1980)
    M Station: Hawaii
    • Admiral Lincoln
    • TV Movie
    • 1980
  • Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)
    Hawaii Five-O
    • General Dexter
    • Dave DiMarco
    • Dr. Fleming ...
    • TV Series
    • 1969–1980
  • Buddy Ebsen in Barnaby Jones (1973)
    Barnaby Jones
    • Capt. Groden
    • TV Series
    • 1979
  • Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)
    Police Story
    • Commander Tully
    • Sergeant Allison
    • TV Series
    • 1973–1975
  • This Is the Life (1952)
    This Is the Life
    • Professor Adams
    • Tom
    • TV Series
    • 1969–1973
  • Raymond Burr in Ironside (1967)
    Ironside
    • Louis Blaine
    • TV Series
    • 1973
  • Mike Connors in Mannix (1967)
    Mannix
    • Julian Mallory
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • NET Playhouse (1964)
    NET Playhouse
    • James Mackay
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • David Janssen in O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971)
    O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
    • Leighton Willard
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Yvonne De Carlo, Edy Williams, Philip Carey, Jay C. Flippen, Wayne Maunder, and Marianne McAndrew in The Seven Minutes (1971)
    The Seven Minutes
    • Frank Griffith
    • 1971
  • Insight (1960)
    Insight
    • Art Kruger
    • TV Series
    • 1971
  • James Drury, Doug McClure, and John McIntire in The Virginian (1962)
    The Virginian
    • Seth Wheeler
    • TV Series
    • 1970
  • The Hawaiians (1970)
    The Hawaiians
    • Janders
    • 1970
  • Impasse (1969)
    Impasse
    • Hansen
    • 1969
  • Don Murray and Otis Young in The Outcasts (1968)
    The Outcasts
    • Sheriff
    • TV Series
    • 1969

Videos5

Trailer
Trailer 2:02
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:10
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:38
Trailer
Union Station
Trailer 2:15
Union Station
The Sea Chase
Trailer 3:28
The Sea Chase

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 6′ (1.83 m)
  • Born
    • February 13, 1915
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Died
    • September 24, 2003
    • Atascadero, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouse
    • Mary Gertrude RolfeApril 8, 1941 - October 28, 1996 (her death, 3 children)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Roy Titus"; Broadway debut) in "Dance Night: on Broadway. Written by Kenyon Nicholson. Scenic Design by Raymond Sovey. Directed by Lee Strasberg. Belasco Theatre: 14 Oct 1938-Oct 1938 (closing date unknown/3 performances). Cast: Mary Boylan (as "Miss Spangelman"l Broadway debut), Perry Bruskin (as "Claude Swayze"), Frances Carden (as "Midge Opdyke"), Richard Clayton (as "Marvin Kinney"), Del Cleveland (as "Buzz Johnson"), Bert Conway (as "Hobie Morgan"), Harry Cooke (as "Art Manson"), June Curtis (as "Dora Roach"), Gail De Hart (as "Leona Skillman"), Anthony Dwyer (as "Homer Diltz"), Terry Fay (as "Irma Lucas"), Melbourne Ford (as "Winfield Stout"), Lillian Green (as "Reba Clark"), Fred Herrick (as "Earl Hendricks"), Darthy Hinckley (as "Ruth Tabor"), Edward Hodge (as "Cliff Gantz"), Marian Leach (as "Arlene Hooper"), Edwin Mann (as "Wallace Tinsman"), Frank Maxwell (as "Leonard Kerr"), Robert Mayors (as "Albie Kline"), Josephine McKim (as "Rhonda Carver"), Charles Mendick (as "Grover Paxton"; Broadway debut), Judy Parrish (as "Frances Hight"), David Paul (as "Lloyd Pedrick"), Gordon Peters (as "Otis Skillman"), Maida Reade (as "Ella Gantz"), Mary Rolfe (as "Jewel Hendricks"), Mary Servoss (as "Blanche Hendricks"), David Wayne (as "Harvey Bodine"). Produced by Robert Rockmore.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Probably best remembered for his role playing Klaus, the jealous and mean-spirited elephant trainer in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
  • Quotes
    [about his constantly being cast in films as the villain] It was tough being a dad at that time. I remember my two sons, then seven and eight, accompanying their mom to one of my movies. I was, of course, the villain, and near the end where you have the big fight my sons yelled out, "Gee, I hope my daddy wins". But they were disappointed.

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