John Beal (actor)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Beal (* 13. August 1909 in Joplin , Missouri as James Alexander Bliedung ; † 26. April 1997 in Santa Cruz , California ) was an American actor .

Life

John Beal was the son of a merchandise store owner and concert pianist. He originally studied commerce at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to study art. However, he gave that up in favor of studying acting. At the age of 22, he finally made his Broadway debut on October 22, 1931 in the play No More Frontier, written by Talbot Jennings . Until his last Broadway appearance 62 years later on May 16, 1993 in Three Men on a Horse , Beal played in 23 different theater productions.

After Beal made his screen debut alongside Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery in the drama Another Language , in which he previously appeared on Broadway, in 1933 , he starred in the love drama The Little Minister a year later , with he played with it Katharine Hepburn's lover . Until the United States entered World War II , he still starred in films such as The Wretched , Inheritance at Midnight, and Riot in Trollness . He then joined the United States Army Air Forces and served in both the Special Services and the First Motion Picture Unit , not taking part in acts of war, but making films.

Upon returning from the war, Beal found work almost entirely on television, including serving on the jury in Reginald Rose's television play 12 Angry Men (which was later adapted as the movie The Twelve Jurors ). Although he was still seen in films such as Curse of the South and Amityville III , he hardly played any leading roles and was mainly seen in individual episodes of television series such as Bonanza , Kojak - Einsatz in Manhattan and The Streets von San Francisco . By the end of his career, Beal played in almost 100 film and television productions. His career ended with his portrayal of Nathan Locke in the thriller The Company in 1993.

On April 26, 1997, Beal died at the age of 87, two years after suffering a stroke . He was married to actress Helen Craig from 1934 until her death on July 20, 1986 . The couple had two children together.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Vallance: Obituary: John Beal , independent.co.uk , May 3, 1997, accessed March 3, 2015
  2. ↑ John Beal; Actor in Movies, Television and on Stage , latimes.com , May 1, 1997, accessed March 3, 2015
  3. ^ John Beal, 87, Actor In Films and Theater , nytimes.com , May 1, 1997, accessed March 3, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Beal, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bliedung, James Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Joplin , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1997
Place of death Santa Cruz , California