Bendix, named William after his paternal German grandfather, was born in Manhattan, the only child of Oscar and Hilda (Carnell) Bendix. Although he will always be fondly remembered for his light-comedy portrayals (in *three* of the mass media!) [7], Bendix was a Republican. Bendix starred in a film adaptation of his radio program The Life of Riley (1949). to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. He is most remembered for The Life of Riley, The Babe Ruth Story. Bendix's delivery and the spin he put on his lines made it work." He returned for a second appearance on October 1, 1959, the fourth-season premiere of the series, in which he and Tennessee Ernie performed a comedy skit about a safari. He began with appearances in film noir, including a supporting role in The Glass Key (1942), which featured Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in the leads. [5] He played Nick the bartender in the film version of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life (1948) starring James Cagney. He is best remembered in films for the title role in The Babe Ruth Story. Bendix also appeared on The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (also 1958). William Bendix was previously married to Theresa Stefanotti (1927 - 1964). with bis wife, Therese and the widow of actor Alan Ladd at his bedside. It was later reused by Benjamin J. Grimm of the Fantastic Four. Bendix entered the hospital last Tuesday and died at 4 p.m., PST, (7 p.m., EST.) [6], In NBC's Wagon Train ("Around the Horn", 1958), Bendix played the captain of a sailing cargo ship who shanghaied Major Adams (Ward Bond), Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson) and Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath), forcing them to work on his ship. 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. Bendix's other well-known movie roles include his portrayal of Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story (1948) – a film roundly considered one of the worst sports biopics in film history[2][3][4] and Sir Sagramore opposite Bing Crosby in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), in which he took part in the trio, "Busy Doing Nothing". It was Bendix's appearance in the Hal Roach-produced film The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942), playing a rugged blue-collar man, that led to his best remembered role. Bill Takacs . His zodiac sign is Capricorn. |  It was Bendix's appearance in the Hal Roach-produced film The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942), playing a rugged blue-collar man, that led to his best remembered role. I thought, This guy could play it. Screen, stage, radio, and television actor. Brecher stated, "He was a Brooklyn guy and there was something about him. He married in 1927 and through his new father-in-law got a job managing a grocery in New Jersey. Login Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. New York: Facts on File, 1992. He was spotted in the play by Hal Roach, who signed him to a film contract. The reworked script cast Bendix as blundering Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California.

Interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California, USA. With Bendix stumbling, bumbling, and skating almost perpetually on thin ice, stretching the patience of his otherwise loving wife and child… When that business failed, Bendix joined the Federal Theatre Project, which led in turn to work with the Theatre Guild. Doug McClure, later Trampas on The Virginian, co-starred as his young understudy, Frank "Flip" Flippen. William Bendix had an encounter with Joan Carroll. Help keep William Bendix profile up to date.

shared a link: https://www.allmovie.com/artist/william-bendix-p5281. He was interred at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles. In 1922, when he was 15, Bendix was a bat boy for the New York Yankees, and became a favorite of. He received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for Wake Island (1942). Producer and creator Irving Brecher saw Bendix as the perfect personification of Chester A. Riley, giving a second chance to a show whose audition failed when the sponsor spurned Groucho Marx for the lead. trivia Save a buck or two and keep on acting--that's all there is to it. Bendix worked in films, television and radio up until the end of his life, but always claimed the stage was his first love. Bendix made a success in the Guild's production of "The Time of Your Life" as Officer Krupp. He played in supporting roles in dozens of Hollywood films, usually as a warm-hearted gangster, detective or serviceman. ISBN 0816023387. Following a stomach ailment, Bendix died at 58 from malnutrition and subsequent pneumonia. He soon gained attention after appearing in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) as Gus, a wounded and dying American sailor. 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. William Bendix is a member of the following lists: American film actors, American television actors and California Republicans. Among the others in attendance were Ann Sothern, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Adolphe Menjou, Gary Cooper, Edward Arnold, Lionel Barrymore, Leo Carrillo, and Walter Pidgeon.[8]. pg. William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. In the 1944 presidential election, for instance, he attended the massive rally organized by David O. Selznick in the Los Angeles Coliseum in support of the Dewey-Bricker ticket as well as Governor Earl Warren of California, who became Dewey's running mate in 1948 and later the Chief Justice of the United States. His uncle was composer, conductor, and violinist Max Bendix. He achieved great popularity with the radio show "The Life of Riley", which ran for nine years and then became an equally popular television show (The Life of Riley (1953)). So I took The Flotsam Family script, revised it, made it a Brooklyn Family, took out the flippancies and made it more meat-and-potatoes, and thought of a new title, The Life of Riley. Father: Oscar Bendix; Mother: Hilda Carnell. Bendix was not able to play the role on television because of a contracted film commitment. American Actor William Bendix was born on 14th January, 1906 in Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA and passed away on 14th Dec 1964 Los Angeles, CA, USA aged 58. - IMDb Mini Biography By: However, he was fired after fulfilling Ruth's request for a large order of hot dogs and soda before a game, which resulted in Ruth being unable to play that day. Producer and creator Irving Brecher saw Bendix as the perfect personification of Chester A. Riley, giving a second chance to a show whose audition failed when the sponsor spurned Groucho Marxfor the lead. He is most remembered for The Life of Riley, The Babe Ruth Story.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, "William Bendix - About This Person - Movies & TV", "Worst Movie Biopics: Real-Life Catastrophes", "BUSY DOING NOTHING>From the film "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court" (1949)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Bendix&oldid=977876247, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2014, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 September 2020, at 14:15. He also portrayed the clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in both the radio and television versions of The Life of Riley. film, The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Bendix began … Mr. William Bendix, for many years among the most familiar of Hollywood's character actors, died in hospital on Monday at the age of 58, as briefly reported in later editions of The Times yesterday. Publicity Listings He was cast in The Blue Dahlia (1946), appearing for the second time alongside Ladd and Lake. His frequent exclamation of indignation—"What a revoltin' development this is! Graduated from Public School 5 in the Bronx and attended Townsend Harris High School for a brief spell. His wife of 37 years, Theresa Stefanotti, and their two daughters survived him. In 1927, Bendix married Theresa Stefanotti. [1] In the early 1920s, Bendix was a batboy for the New York Yankees and said he saw Babe Ruth hit more than 100 home runs at Yankee Stadium. He made his film debut in 1911, at the age of five, when his father got him a small role in a Lillian Walker film being made at Vitagraph Studios, where the elder Bendix was working as a handyman. (Manhattan sections of the "El," as New Yorkers called it, were demolished circa 1956. Following a stomach ailment, Bendix died at 58 from malnutrition and subsequent pneumonia. )Jut-jawed, broken-nosed and burly, Bendix began his acting career after the ravages of the Great Depression had killed his erstwhile grocery business.

Bendix died on December 14, 1964 of complications from pneumonia. William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. The second television version of The Life of Riley ran from 1953 to 1958, long enough for Riley to become a grandfather. He became interested in the theatre and joined the Henry Street Players, a settlement house company. The gathering drew 93,000, with Cecil B. DeMille as the master of ceremonies and with short speeches by Hedda Hopper and Walt Disney. American Actor William Bendix was born on 14th January, 1906 in Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA and passed away on 14th Dec 1964 Los Angeles, CA, USA aged 58. 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"!

Official Sites. His Hollywood feature debut came about in one of his few starring roles, in Hal Roach's Brooklyn Orchid (1942). A color videotape of the broadcast survives. His wife of 37 years, Theresa Stefanotti, and their two daughters survived him. He was born in New York on January 14, 1906, and had initially no idea of becoming an actor, his ambitions centring rather on baseball. He made a personal appearance to dedicate "William Bendix Park". In 1953, Bendix became available for a new television version, and this time the show was a hit. Bendix began his acting career at age 30 in the New Jersey Federal Theatre Project.

Then creator and producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in The McGuerins from Brooklyn.