John Litel

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John B. Litel (born December 30, 1892 in Albany , Wisconsin , † February 3, 1972 in Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor .

life and career

John Litel attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He fought in the First World War , not on the side of the Americans, but with the French before they entered the war. There he was also awarded two medals for bravery. After the end of the war he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and in the years that followed he traveled through the country with theater companies. On Broadway , he appeared in over a dozen productions between 1919 and 1936. Litel made his film debut in 1929 with the film The Sleeping Porch , but his breakthrough only came in the mid-1930s. He played the founding fathers of America in leading roles in the short films Give Me Liberty (1936), The Man Without a Country (1937) and The Declaration of Independence (1938). Give Me Liberty and The Declaration of Independence received the Oscar for the best short film of their year, The Man Without a Country was at least nominated.

Since John Litel usually played serious but respectable characters such as lawyers, judges, officers or business people, he was often used in westerns or crime films. In addition, he also embodied villains. At the side of Errol Flynn he was z. B. in the Western Lord of the Wild West , Land of the Wicked and A Man of Action . He later appeared in Black Series films . In the B-movie series about the respective characters Nancy Drew and Henry Aldrich , he played the fathers of Bonita Granville and Jimmy Lydon . In the 1950s he appeared more and more on television, in addition to numerous guest roles, he played the boss of Robert Cummings in the series My Boss , of which 24 episodes were broadcast between 1952 and 1953. In contrast, he rarely appeared in films. In the 1960s, Litel slowly let his career come to an end.

By 1967 he appeared in around 215 films and television shows. He was married to Ruth Pichens from 1920 until her death in 1955, his second marriage to Beatrice West lasted from 1955 until his death on February 3, 1972. John Litel was 79 years old.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Litel | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
  2. ↑ John Litel | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
  3. ↑ My Hero. Retrieved September 13, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Litel, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Litel, John B.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Albany , Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH 3rd February 1972
Place of death Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , California