William Bendix

Acting

William Bendix

Born January 14, 1906 · New York City, New York, USA

Died December 14, 1964 · aged 58

William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley. He also received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Wake Island (1942).

Known For

Boys' Night OutBoys' Night Out · 1962
Boys' Night Out
★ 5.71962
MovieComedyRomance
Fred, George, Doug and Howie are quickly reaching middle-age. Three of them are married, only Fred is still a bachelor. They want something different than their ordinary marriages, children and TV-dinners. In secret, they get themselves an apartment with a beautiful young woman, Kathy, for romantic rendezvous. But Kathy does not tell them that she is a sociology student researching the sexual life of the white middle-class male.
The Dark CornerThe Dark Corner · 1946
The Dark Corner
★ 6.61946
MovieCrimeDrama
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Woman of the YearWoman of the Year · 1942
Woman of the Year
★ 7.01942
MovieComedyRomance
Rival reporters Sam Craig and Tess Harding fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.
The Blue DahliaThe Blue Dahlia · 1946
The Blue Dahlia
★ 6.71946
MovieCrimeMystery
Soon after a veteran returns from war, his cheating wife is found dead. He evades police in an attempt to find the real murderer.
They Drive by NightThey Drive by Night · 1940
They Drive by Night
★ 6.91940
MovieDramaCrime
Joe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success of their transport company.
The Glass KeyThe Glass Key · 1942
The Glass Key
★ 6.71942
MovieCrimeMystery
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Who Done It?Who Done It? · 1942
Who Done It?
★ 7.01942
MovieComedyMystery
Two dumb soda jerks dream of writing radio mysteries. When they try to pitch an idea at a radio station, they end up in the middle of a real murder when the station owner is killed during a broadcast.
A Bell for AdanoA Bell for Adano · 1945
A Bell for Adano
★ 6.01945
MovieWarDrama
Major Joppolo and his men are assigned to restore order to the war-torn Italian town of Adano. He has to manage getting supplies into town without interfering with troop movements, all the while dealing with colorful citizens of the town. One of his quests is to replace the bell which orders the town's life.

Filmography

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The Deep SixThe Deep Six · 1958
The Deep Six
★ 5.71958
MovieWarDrama
The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.

'Frenchy' Shapiro

Wagon TrainWagon Train · 1957
Wagon Train
★ 6.61957
SeriesWesternDrama
The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.

Capt. Matthew Cobb

Lights OutLights Out · 1949
Lights Out
★ 6.01949
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyCrime
Lights Out was an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. Versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at various times, from January 1934 to the summer of 1947 and the series eventually made the transition to television. In 1946, NBC Television brought Lights Out to TV in a series of four specials, broadcast live and produced by Fred Coe, who also contributed three of the scripts. NBC asked Cooper to write the script for the premiere, "First Person Singular", which is told entirely from the point of view of an unseen murderer who kills his obnoxious wife and winds up being executed. Variety gave this first episode a rave review ("undoubtedly one of the best dramatic shows yet seen on a television screen"), but Lights Out did not become a regular NBC-TV series until 1949.