Dane Clark
(Actor)
.. Michael Gordon
Born:
February 25, 1912
Died:
September 11, 1998
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Trivia:
A Brooklynite from head to toe, Dane Clark never completely forsook his streetwise pugnacity, not even while attending Cornell and John Hopkins, and earning a law degree from St. John's University. Clark held down several Depression-era jobs--road gang worker, boxer, ballplayer, magazine model--before making his first stage appearance in 1938. Four years later, he made his entree into films, at first using his given name of Bernard Zanville (sometimes spelled Zaneville). Signed by Warner Bros. in 1943, Clark was given a new professional name and purpose in life: as potential replacement for Warners' resident "tenement tough" John Garfield. Since there was plenty of life left in the original Garfield, however, Clark was largely confined to secondary roles, usually as the hero's best friend or the cocky troublemaker from Brooklyn. As the 1940s drew to a close, Clark was afforded a few leading roles by Warners, though it was while on loan-out to Republic that he delivered his finest performance, as emotionally overwrought accidental murderer Danny Hawkins in Moonrise (1948). His film appearances were fewer and farther between in the 1950s, as he sought out more rewarding roles on television and the Broadway stage. He did get to play Harlem Globetrotters maven Abe Saperstein in the 1954 feature Go, Man, Go, but he also had to produce the film himself. On TV, Clark starred as news correspondent Dan Miller on the weekly adventure series Wire Service (1956), and played hotel owner Slate Shannon on the 1959 TV version of the old Bogart-Bacall radio series Bold Venture. He also co-starred as Lt. Tragg on the ill-advised New Perry Mason (1973), and made innumerable guest appearances on such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables and Ellery Queen (1975 version).
Alexis Smith
(Actor)
.. Laurie Durant
Born:
June 08, 1921
Died:
June 09, 1993
Trivia:
In her teens she acted in summer stock, then starred in a play at Los Angeles City College; there she was spotted by a talent scout and, following a screen test, signed to a long-term film contract. For the next decade-plus she played leads in numerous films, usually cast as charming, industrious, shrewd, standoffish women; she was especially effective as "the other woman." She retired from the screen at the end of the '50s. In the early '70s she returned to star in the Broadway musical Follies; newly popular, she began making films again in 1975. She was married to actor Craig Stevens.
Zachary Scott
(Actor)
.. Rex Durant
Born:
February 24, 1914
Died:
October 03, 1965
Trivia:
Zachary Scott was the son of a highly regarded Texas surgeon. Dropping out of the University of Texas, Scott launched his theatrical career in England. In 1944, with several Broadway credits under his belt, Scott was signed by Warner Bros. to play the sharkish antihero of The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). Audiences responded positively to the charming cold-bloodedness of the sleek, mustachioed Scott, and as a result he became a star. Before undertaking another roguish character in Joan Crawford's Mildred Pierce (1945), Scott impressed his fans with his strong sympathetic performance in Jean Renoir's The Southerner (1945). And so it went for the rest of Scott's movie career, which found him alternating between heroes and heels. He was increasingly active in TV and stage work in the 1950s, devoting much of his time to promoting the career of his actress wife, Ruth Ford. Despite his many commitments, Scott kept close contact with friends and relatives in Texas; one family friend, Dabney Coleman, was so impressed by Scott's worldliness and erudition (and his exotic earring!) that he himself went into acting. Zachary Scott died in his hometown of Austin at the age of 51, the victim of a malignant brain tumor.
Eve Arden
(Actor)
.. Chris
Born:
April 30, 1908
Died:
November 12, 1990
Birthplace: Mill Valley, California, United States
Trivia:
Little Eunice Quedens' first brush with the performing arts came at age seven, when she won a WCTU medal for her recital of the pro-temperance poem "No Kicka My Dog." After graduating from high school, she became a professional actress on the California stock company circuit. Still using her given name, she played a blonde seductress in the 1929 Columbia talkie Song of Love then joined a touring repertory theater. After another brief film appearance in 1933's Dancing Lady, she was urged by a producer to change her name for professional purposes. Allegedly inspired by a container of Elizabeth Arden cold cream, Eunice Quedens reinvented herself as Eve Arden. Several successful appearances in the annual Ziegfeld Follies followed, and in 1937 Arden returned to films as a young character actress. From Stage Door (1937) onward, she was effectively typecast as the all-knowing witheringly sarcastic "best friend" who seldom got the leading man but always got the best lines. Her film roles in the 1940s ranged from such typical assignments as sophisticated magazine editor "Stonewall" Jackson in Cover Girl (1944) to such hilariously atypical performances as athletic Russian sniper Natalia Moskoroff in The Doughgirls (1944). In 1945, she earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Joan Crawford's sardonic but sympathetic business partner in Mildred Pierce. In July of 1948, she launched the popular radio situation comedy Our Miss Brooks, earning a place in the hearts of schoolteachers (and sitcom fans) everywhere with her award-winning portrayal of long-suffering but ebullient high school teacher Connie Brooks. Our Miss Brooks was transferred to television in 1952, running five successful seasons. Less successful was the 1957 TVer The Eve Arden Show, in which the star played authoress Liza Hammond. This failure was neutralized by her subsequent stage tours in such plays as Auntie Mame and Hello, Dolly! and her well-received film appearances in Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960). In 1967, she returned to TV to co-star with Kaye Ballard on the chucklesome The Mothers-in-Law which lasted two years. And in 1978, she became a favorite of a new generation with her performance as Principal McGee in the phenomenally successful film version of Broadway's Grease. In 1985, Eve Arden came out with her autobiography, The Three Phases of Eve.
Jeffrey Lynn
(Actor)
.. Dr. Arnold Vincent
Born:
February 16, 1909
Died:
November 24, 1995
Trivia:
After his graduation from Bates College, Jeffrey Lynn worked as a high school English and speech teacher. He turned to acting in the mid-'30s and in 1937 was signed to a stock Warner Bros. contract. A bit too lightweight for important roles, he was a fine second-echelon leading man, and before leaving Warners he'd compiled several impressive credits, including such roles as poet Joyce Kilmer in The Fighting 69th (1940) and Henry Mortyn Field in All This and Heaven Too (1940). He also "starred" as Ashley Wilkes in the screen tests of Selznick's Gone With the Wind (1939), feeding lines to such aspiring Scarlett O'Haras as Paulette Goddard and Frances Dee. During WWII, he served as an army intelligence officer, earning a Bronze Star. He returned to films in 1948 in hopes of revitalizing his career, but found more success as a stage and television actor. His TV credits included two series, My Son Jeep (1953) and Star Stage (1955). Jeffrey Lynn retired from acting in 1968 to devote his time to his family and "civilian" business pursuits.
S. Z. Sakall
(Actor)
.. Sam
Born:
February 02, 1883
Died:
February 12, 1955
Trivia:
Chubby-jowled Hungarian character actor S.Z. Sakall began as a sketch writer for Budapest vaudeville shows, then turned to acting at age 18. Initially billed as Szoeko Szakall (the name translated to "blonde beard," in honor of the hirsute adornment he'd grown to appear older), the actor became a star of the Hungarian stage and screen in the 1910s and 1920s. Among his German-language films of the early-talkie era were 1929's Ihre Majestaet die Liebe (remade in the U.S. as Her Majesty Love, with W.C. Fields in Sakall's role) and the box-office hit Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1930); he also briefly ran his own production company during this period. Fleeing Hitler in the late '30s, Sakall settled in Hollywood, where from 1939 through 1955 he played an endless succession of excitable theatrical impresarios, lovable European uncles, and befuddled shopkeepers. His rotund cuteness earned Sakall the nickname "Cuddles," and he was often billed as S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall in his later films. Nearly always featured in the supporting cast (notably as Karl the waiter in 1942's Casablanca), S.Z. Sakall was given the principal role of songwriter Fred Fisher in 1949's Oh, You Beautiful Doll, though top billing went to June Haver. S.Z. Sakall's final performances were seen in the 1954 film The Student Prince and the like-vintage TV series Ford Theatre.
Douglas Kennedy
(Actor)
.. Costello
Born:
September 14, 1915
Died:
August 10, 1973
Trivia:
American general-purpose actor Douglas Kennedy attended Deerfield Academy before trying his luck in Hollywood, using both his own name and his studio-imposed name Keith Douglas. He was able to secure contract-player status, first at Paramount and later at Warner Bros. Kennedy's Paramount years weren't what one could call distinguished, consisting mainly of unbilled bits (The Ghost Breakers [1940]) and supporting roles way down the cast list (Northwest Mounted Police [1940]); possibly he was handicapped by his close resemblance to Paramount leading man Fred MacMurray. Warner Bros., which picked up Kennedy after his war service with the OSS and Army Intelligence, gave the actor some better breaks with secondary roles in such A pictures as Nora Prentiss (1947), Dark Passage (1948), and The Adventures of Don Juan (1949). Still, Kennedy did not fill a role as much as he filled the room in the company of bigger stars. Chances are film buffs would have forgotten Kennedy altogether had it not been for his frequent appearances in such horror/fantasy features as Invaders from Mars (1953), The Alligator People (1959) and The Amazing Transparent Man (1960), playing the title role in the latter. Douglas Kennedy gain a modicum of fame and a fan following for his starring role in the well-circulated TV western series Steve Donovan, Western Marshal, which was filmed in 1952 and still posting a profit into the '60s.
Ransom Sherman
(Actor)
.. Tex Sanders
Born:
October 15, 1898
Trivia:
Ransom Sherman spent much of his career involved with radio and is best remembered for working on such shows as "Fibber McGee and Molly." Later, he also appeared in television shows and even hosted his own during the '50s. Over the years, Sherman also made the occasional film appearance.
Freddie Steele
(Actor)
.. Duke Carney
Born:
December 18, 1912
Died:
August 23, 1984
Trivia:
Fred Steele went from being World Middleweight Boxing champion in 1937 to having a movie career that put him into some of Hollywood's most inventive comedies for a decade. In a ring career lasting more than 15 years, Steele only lost two fights before becoming middleweight champion in 1936. Two years later, he relinquished the title and he had his last professional fight three years later. In that same year, 1941, he made his screen debut portraying himself in a picture called The Pittsburgh Kid. He did some small, uncredited roles in 1942, and then writer/director Preston Sturges saw the potential in Steele's muscular physique and strong, angular features and gave him serious acting parts in Hail the Conquering Hero and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Those films elevated Steele to the front ranks of working character men, and he next turned up in William Wellman's The Story of G.I. Joe, and from there to the comedy Duffy's Tavern, adapted from the hit radio series, and Roy William Neill's film noir masterpiece Black Angel (1946). Steele closed out his acting career in 1948 with work in a quartet of notable films: Byron Haskin's violent gangster drama I Walk Alone, Henry Hathaway's suspense thriller Call Northside 777, Lewis Seiler's psychological chiller Whiplash, and Billy Wilder's comedy A Foreign Affair.
Robert Lowell
(Actor)
.. Trask
Don McGuire
(Actor)
.. Harkus
Born:
February 28, 1919
Died:
January 01, 1979
Trivia:
Former press agent Don McGuire turned to acting in 1945. McGuire's pencil-thin mustache and patronizing persona made him a useful screen antagonist to such stars as Red Skelton (The Fuller Brush Man) and Frank Sinatra (Double Dynamite). His friendship with Sinatra lead to his first screenwriting assignment, Meet Danny Wilson (1951). He was also a pal of comedian Jerry Lewis, collaborating on Jerry's "all star" home movies in the 1950s. After scripting several topnotch 1950s films--including a handful of Martin and Lewis efforts--he landed his first directorial job, the 1956 Frank Sinatra western Johnny Concho. He then directed Jerry Lewis' first solo effort, The Delicate Delinquent (1957). His third and last theatrical-feature directorial gig was 1957's Hear Me Good, a Runyonesque comedy starring TV game show host Hal March. In partnership with comedian Jackie Cooper, McGuire wrote, produced and directed Cooper's TV sitcom Hennessey. After splitting with Cooper, McGuire turned to writing novels. In 1982, Don McGuire shared an Academy Award - posthumously - with the eminent Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal - for his first draft of the Dustin Hoffman comedy blockbuster Tootsie.
Clifton Young
(Actor)
.. Gunman
Born:
January 01, 1916
Died:
January 01, 1951
Sam Hayes
(Actor)
.. Announcer
Born:
January 01, 1904
Died:
January 01, 1958
Mike Lally
(Actor)
.. Ring Announcer
Born:
June 01, 1900
Died:
February 15, 1985
Trivia:
Mike Lally started in Hollywood as an assistant director in the early 1930s. Soon, however, Lally was steadily employed as a stunt man, doubling for such Warner Bros. stars as James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. He also played innumerable bit roles as reporters, court stenographers, cops and hangers-on. Active until 1982, Mike Lally was frequently seen in functionary roles on TV's Columbo.
Howard Mitchell
(Actor)
.. Fight Announcer
Born:
December 11, 1883
Died:
October 09, 1958
Trivia:
Howard M. Mitchell's screen acting career got off to a good start with a pair of silent serials, Beloved Adventurer (1914) and The Road of Strife (1915). Mitchell kept busy as a director in the 1920s, returning to acting in 1935. His roles were confined to bits and walk-ons as guards, storekeepers, judges, and especially police chiefs. Howard M. Mitchell closed out his career playing a train conductor in the classic "B" melodrama The Narrow Margin (1952).
Ralph Volkie
(Actor)
.. Referee
Born:
January 01, 1910
Died:
January 01, 1987
Donald Kerr
(Actor)
.. Vendor
Born:
January 01, 1891
Died:
January 25, 1977
Trivia:
Character actor Donald Kerr showed up whenever a gumchewing Runyonesque type (often a reporter or process server) was called for. A bit actor even in two-reelers and "B" pictures, Kerr was one of those vaguely familiar faces whom audiences would immediately recognize, ask each other "Who is that?", then return to the film, by which time Kerr had scooted the scene. The actor's first recorded film appearance was in 1933's Carnival Lady. Twenty-two years later, Donald Kerr concluded his career in the same anonymity with which he began it in 1956's Yaqui Drums.
Rudy Friml
(Actor)
.. Orchestra Leader
Jimmie Dodd
(Actor)
.. Bill
Born:
March 28, 1910
Died:
November 10, 1964
Trivia:
Although he is perhaps best remembered as the emcee of Walt Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club television show, for which he also wrote the opening theme, curly-haired actor/composer Jimmy Dodd (sometimes given as Jimmie Dodd) played sidekick Lullaby Joslin in the last six entries in Republic Pictures' long-running "Three Mesqueteers" series, replacing Rufe Davis and joining veterans Tom Tyler and Bob Steele. Dodd, however, was probably more city than prairie and spent the remainder of his career playing G.I.'s, elevator boys, and messengers. The people at Disney paid rather more attention to his composing of such tunes as "Rosemary,", "Ginny," and "Meet Me in Monterey" when they signed him to the Mickey Mouse Club, which ran from 1955-1959. Retired and living in Honolulu, Dodd was scheduled to star in yet another Disney venture, The Jimmie Dodd Aloha Show, when he succumbed to a fatal heart attack.
Charles Marsh
(Actor)
.. Hotel Clerk
Born:
January 01, 1893
Died:
January 01, 1953
I. Stanford Jolley
(Actor)
.. Artist
Born:
October 24, 1900
Died:
December 06, 1978
Trivia:
With his slight built, narrow face and pencil-thin mustache, I. Stanford Jolley did not exactly look trustworthy, and a great many of his screen roles (more than 500) were indeed to be found on the wrong side of the law. Isaac Stanford Jolley had toured as a child with his father's traveling circus and later worked in stock and vaudeville, prior to making his Broadway debut opposite Charles Trowbridge in Sweet Seventeen (1924). Radio work followed and he arrived in Hollywood in 1935. Pegged early on as a gangster or Western outlaw, Jolley graduated to playing lead henchman or the boss villain in the '40s, mostly appearing for such poverty-row companies as Monogram and PRC. Although Jolley is often mentioned as a regular member of the Republic Pictures' stock company, he was never under contract to that legendary studio and only appeared in 25 films for them between 1936 and 1954. From 1950 on, Jolley worked frequently on television and remained a busy performer until at least 1976. According to his widow, the actor, who died of emphysema at the Motion Picture Country Hospital, never earned more than 100 dollars on any given movie assignment. He was the father of art director Stan Jolley.
Kate Lawson
(Actor)
.. Woman on Steps
Born:
January 01, 1893
Died:
January 01, 1977
Maudie Prickett
(Actor)
.. Mrs. Gruman
Born:
January 01, 1913
Died:
January 01, 1976
Jack Worth
(Actor)
.. Doorman
Richard Walsh
(Actor)
.. Assistant Stage Manager
Tommy Garland
(Actor)
.. Rocky
John Day
(Actor)
.. Kid Lucas
John Harmon
(Actor)
.. Kid McGee
Born:
June 30, 1905
Trivia:
Bald, hook-nosed character actor John Harmon launched his film career in 1939. Harmon's screen assignments ranged from shifty-eyed gangsters, rural law enforcement officials and hen-pecked husbands. He was seen in films as diverse as Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947) and the "B" horror flick Monster of Piedra Blancas. Star Trek fans will remember John Harmon for his supporting role in the 1967 episode "City on the Edge of Forever."
Wallace Scott
(Actor)
.. Drunk
Cliff Herd
(Actor)
.. Waiter
Howard Negley
(Actor)
.. Policeman
Born:
April 16, 1898
Trivia:
American general purpose actor Howard Negley made his screen bow as Nelson in 20th Century Fox's Smokey. Negley went on to reasonably prominent character parts in such B-pictures as Charlie Chan in the Trap (1947). For the most part, he played nameless bit parts as police captains, politicians, and reporters. Howard Negley was last seen as the Twentieth Century Limited conductor in Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959).
Larry McGrath
(Actor)
.. Manager
Born:
January 01, 1889
Died:
January 01, 1960
Bob Perry
(Actor)
.. Timekeeper
Born:
January 01, 1879
Died:
January 08, 1962
Trivia:
Character actor Bob Perry made his film debut as Tuxedo George in 1928's Me Gangster. For the rest of his Hollywood career, Perry popped up in brief roles as bartenders, croupiers, referees, guards, and the like. Many of his characters were on the wrong side of the law, and few of them spoke when shooting or slugging would do. Bob Perry kept busy in films until 1949, when he retired at the reported age of 70.
George Nokes
(Actor)
.. Boy
Norman Ollestad
(Actor)
.. Boy
Born:
January 01, 1935
Died:
January 01, 1979
Harvey Parry
(Actor)
.. Handler
Born:
January 01, 1899
Died:
January 01, 1985
Trivia:
Over his 60-year career, American stunt man Harvey Parry appeared in close to 600 films. He got his start playing a Keystone Kop for Mack Sennett and over the years played stunt doubles for some of Hollywood's brightest stars including James Cagney, for whom he doubled most often, Bogart, Peter Lorre, and once, Shirley Temple. Though not generally known until long after famed silent comedian Harold Lloyd's death, Parry also doubled for Lloyd in the action sequences of Feet First (1930) on the long shots. During the '70s through the early '80s, Parry did stunt and character work (specializing as a stumbling drunk) on several television series including The Fall Guy.
Jim O'Catty
(Actor)
.. Handler
Ray Montgomery
(Actor)
.. Press Man
Born:
January 01, 1920
Trivia:
Ray Montgomery was a gifted character actor who spent his early career trapped behind a too-attractive face, which got him through the studio door in the days just before World War II, but limited him to callow, handsome supporting roles. Born in 1922, Montgomery joined Warner Bros. in 1941 and spent the next two years working in short-subjects and playing small, uncredited parts in feature films, including All Through The Night, Larceny, Inc., Air Force, and Action In The North Atlantic -- in all of which he was overshadowed by lead players such as Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, and John Garfield, and the veteran character actors in supporting roles (including Alan Hale, William Demarest, Frank McHugh, Barton McLane, and Edward Brophy) at every turn. And even in The Hard Way as Jimmy Gilpin, he was overshadowed (along with everyone else) by Ida Lupino. Montgomery went into uniform in 1943 and didn't return to the screen until three years later, when he resumed his career precisely where he left off, playing a string of uncredited roles. He got what should have been his breakthrough in 1948 with Bretaigne Windust's comedy June Bride, and his first really visible supporting role -- but again, he was lost amid the presence of such players as Robert Montgomery and Bette Davis and a screwball-comedy story-line. It was back to uncredited parts for the next few years, until the advent of dramatic television. In the early 1950s, after establishing himself on the small-screen as a quick study and a good actor, Montgomery finally got co-starring status in the syndicated television series Ramar of the Jungle, playing Professor Howard Ogden, friend and colleague of the Jon Hall's title-character in the children's adventure series. The show was rerun on local television stations continuously into the 1960s. By then, Montgomery had long since moved on to more interesting parts and performances in a multitude of dramatic series and feature films. He proved much better with edgy character roles and outright bad guys than he had ever been at playing good natured background figures -- viewers of The Adventures of Superman (which has been in reruns longer than even Ramar), in particular, may know Montgomery best for two 1956 episodes, his grinning, casual villainy in the episode "Jolly Roger" and his sadistic brutality in "Dagger Island", where his character convincingly turns on his own relatives (as well as a hapless Jimmy Olsen). He could do comedy as well as drama, and was seen in multiple episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Gale Storm Show, and Lassie, in between movie stints that usually had him in taciturn roles, such as Bombers B-52 (1957) and A Gathering of Eagles (1963). During the 1960s, the now-balding, white-haired Montgomery was perhaps most visible in police-oriented parts, as a tough old NYPD detective in Don Siegel's Madigan (1968) and as an equally crusty (but sensitive) LAPD lieutenant in the Dragnet episode "Community Relations: DR-17". Montgomery's last screen appearance was in the series Hunter -- following his retirement from acting, he opened a notably successful California real estate agency.
Harry Lewis
(Actor)
.. Press Man
Born:
April 01, 1920
Died:
June 09, 2013
Sammy Shack
(Actor)
.. Second
Charles Sullivan
(Actor)
.. Second
Born:
January 01, 1898
Died:
January 01, 1972
Trivia:
A former boxer, Charles Sullivan turned to acting in 1925. Sullivan menaced such comedians as Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy before concentrating on feature-film work. When he wasn't playing thugs (Public Enemy, 1931), he could be seen as a sailor (King Kong, 1933). Most of the time, Charles Sullivan was cast as chauffeurs, right up to his retirement in 1958.
Cy Malis
(Actor)
.. Second
Born:
January 01, 1907
Died:
January 01, 1971
Sailor Vincent
(Actor)
.. Second
Born:
January 01, 1901
Died:
January 01, 1966
Gene Delmont
(Actor)
.. Second
George Suzanne
(Actor)
.. Second
Joe LaBarba
(Actor)
.. Second
Ray McDonald
(Actor)
.. Second
Born:
January 01, 1923
Died:
January 01, 1959
Joey Gray
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Aldo Spoldi
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Ceferino Garcia
(Actor)
.. Fighter
George Goodman
(Actor)
.. Fighter
John Salvata
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Artie Sullivan
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Henry Vroom
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Rito Funay
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Wally Rose
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Larry Anzalone
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Paul Baxley
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Buddy Wright
(Actor)
.. Fighter
Alan Hale
(Actor)
.. Terrance O'Leary
Born:
March 08, 1921
Died:
January 02, 1990
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Trivia:
The son of a patent medicine manufacturer, American actor Alan Hale chose a theatrical career at a time when, according to his son Alan Hale Jr., boarding houses would post signs reading "No Dogs or Actors Allowed." Undaunted, Hale spent several years on stage after graduating from Philadelphia University, entering films as a slapstick comedian for Philly's Lubin Co. in 1911. Bolstering his acting income with odd jobs as a newspaperman and itinerant inventor (at one point he considered becoming an osteopath!), Hale finally enjoyed a measure of security as a much-in-demand character actor in the 1920s, usually as hard-hearted villains. One of his more benign roles was as Little John in Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood (1922), a role he would repeat opposite Errol Flynn in 1938 and John Derek in 1950. Talkies made Hale more popular than ever, especially in his many roles as Irishmen, blusterers and "best pals" for Warner Bros. Throughout his career, Hale never lost his love for inventing things, and reportedly patented or financed items as commonplace as auto brakes and as esoteric as greaseless potato chips. Alan Hale contracted pneumonia and died while working on the Warner Bros. western Montana (1950), which starred Hale's perennial screen cohort Errol Flynn.