Birthday:
02-13-1915
Deathday:
09-24-2003 (88 years)
Birthplace:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lyle S. Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was a character actor known most for his Hollywood roles from the 1950s, typically portraying villains. He is perhaps most recognisable as the wrathfully jealous elephant handler Klaus from the Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lyle was the son of Frank Bettger, who was an infielder for the St Louis Cardinals. An enthusiastic fan of cinema, Lyle left school in his late teens with the ambition of becoming an actor.
Bettger graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His theatrical debut was in Brother Rat at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City in 1936. After a period languishing in small-time theatre he landed the lead role in the Broadway production of The Flying Gerardos in 1940. When Paramount sent a talent scout to see the show, Bettger was signed on a three-year contract.
Bettger's movie career began when he was cast as the lead in the film noir No Man of Her Own (1950). He soon became a regular on the set of Westerns such as Denver and Rio Grande (1952), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953), Drums Across the River (1954), The Lone Ranger (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Lyle developed a reputation for playing the bad guy and excelled in villainous roles such as the menacing Joe Beacom in Union Station (1950) and the cold-blooded Nazi Chief Officer Kirchner in The Sea Chase (1955).
Bettger also made many appearances in dramatic roles on television, starring in the 1957 series The Court of Last Resort as well as guesting on Hawaii Five-O, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Bonanza and The Time Tunnel.
Lyle was married to Mary Rolfe (1940–1996) until her death. They had three children: Lyle Jr., Frank and Paula. He was also survived by a sister, Lee Morgan.
Lyle Bettger died on September 24, 2003 in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Lyle Bettger, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Lyle S. Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was a character actor known most for his Hollywood roles from the 1950s, typically portraying villains. He is perhaps most recognisable as the wrathfully jealous elephant handler Klaus from the Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lyle was the son of Frank Bettger, who was an infielder for the St Louis Cardinals. An enthusiastic fan of cinema, Lyle left school in his late teens with the ambition of becoming an actor.
Bettger graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His theatrical debut was in Brother Rat at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City in 1936. After a period languishing in small-time theatre he landed the lead role in the Broadway production of The Flying Gerardos in 1940. When Paramount sent a talent scout to see the show, Bettger was signed on a three-year contract.
Bettger's movie career began when he was cast as the lead in the film noir No Man of Her Own (1950). He soon became a regular on the set of Westerns such as Denver and Rio Grande (1952), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953), Drums Across the River (1954), The Lone Ranger (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Lyle developed a reputation for playing the bad guy and excelled in villainous roles such as the menacing Joe Beacom in Union Station (1950) and the cold-blooded Nazi Chief Officer Kirchner in The Sea Chase (1955).
Bettger also made many appearances in dramatic roles on television, starring in the 1957 series The Court of Last Resort as well as guesting on Hawaii Five-O, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Bonanza and The Time Tunnel.
Lyle was married to Mary Rolfe (1940–1996) until her death. They had three children: Lyle Jr., Frank and Paula. He was also survived by a sister, Lee Morgan.
Lyle Bettger died on September 24, 2003 in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Lyle Bettger, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Nevada Smith
Act like Jack Rudabough
event1966 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
Nevada Smith is the young son of an Indian mother and white father. When his father is killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to find them and kill them. The boy is taken in by a gun merchant. The gun merchant shows him how to shoot and to shoot on time and correct.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Act like Ike Clanton
event1957 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
The Greatest Show on Earth
Act like Klaus
event1952 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
Forbidden
Act like Justin Keit
event1953 star_border 6
top_panel_open
Eddie Darrow, seeking a mobster's widow in Macao, gets involved in a casino owner's affairs.
No Man of Her Own
Act like Stephen Morley
event1950 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
A penniless pregnant woman adopts the identity of a rich woman killed in a train crash.
The Sea Chase
Act like Chief Officer Kirchner
event1955 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrlich, an anti-Nazi but proud German, hopes to outrun or out-maneuver the British warship pursuing him. Aboard his vessel is Elsa Keller, a woman Ehrlich has been ordered to return to Germany safely along with whatever secrets she carries. When Ehrlich's fiercely Nazi chief officer Kirchner commits an atrocity, the British pursuit becomes deadly.
Union Station
Act like Joe Beacom
event1950 star_border 6.4
top_panel_open
Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.
The Vanquished
Act like Roger Hale
event1953 star_border 4.6
top_panel_open
A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.
Carnival Story
Act like Frank Colloni
event1954 star_border 4.6
top_panel_open
In search of a better life, a German girl named Willi joins an American carnival passing through Munich. While traveling from town to town, she is torn between two suitors: cruel carnival barker Joe and kindhearted high-dive artist Frank. Frank gets the upper hand when he asks Willi to join his act. The partners soon become the most popular attraction at the carnival. But tragedy is only a slip away.
All I Desire
Act like Dutch Heinemann
event1953 star_border 7
top_panel_open
In 1910, a stage actress re-visits her husband and children she deserted ten years ago.
Destry
Act like Phil Decker
event1954 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
Western remake of "Destry Rides Again", starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Thomas Mitchell, Lori Nelson and Lyle Bettger.
The Hawaiians
Act like Janders
event1970 star_border 5.4
top_panel_open
A wanderer returns home only to find political turmoil, disease and romantic difficulties.
The Fastest Guitar Alive
Act like Charlie
event1967 star_border 4.3
top_panel_open
Confederate super-spy Johnny and his partner in crime Steve travel to San Francisco near the end of the Civil War, masquerading, respectively, as a singer/guitar instructor and a magic-elixir vendor. Once there, Johnny dons a fake wig, beard and mustache, and steals Union gold to bring back to the South, aided by a guitar that doubles as a gun.
Johnny Reno
Act like Jess Yates
event1966 star_border 6.4
top_panel_open
The townsfolk are set on lynching an accused killer held in the town lockup. But US Marshal Johnny Reno stands in their way.
Impasse
Act like Hansen
event1969 star_border 4.7
top_panel_open
Adventurers search for World War II gold in the Philippines.
The Lone Ranger
Act like Reece Kilgore
event1956 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
The territorial governor asks the Lone Ranger to investigate mysterious raids on settlers by Indians who ride with saddles. Wealthy rancher Reese Kilgore wants to mine silver on Spirit Mountain which is sacred to the Indians.
Drums Across the River
Act like Frank Walker
event1954 star_border 5.4
top_panel_open
When whites hunger after the gold on Ute Indian land, a bigoted young man finds himself forced into a peacekeeping role.
The Great Sioux Uprising
Act like Stephen Cook
event1953 star_border 5.7
top_panel_open
During the Civil War, in Wyoming, horse dealers Joan Britton and Stephen Cook are competing to supply the Union Army with horses. A Cherokee is in the area to stir up the Sioux against the Union just as Cook decides to steal a herd of Sioux horses. Ex-army doctor Jonathan Westgate opposes Cook’s unscrupulous methods as well as being Cook’s rival for the affections of Joan. It seems Westgate is the only one able to prevent a new Indian war.
Showdown at Abilene
Act like Dave Mosely
event1956 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
Jim Trask, former sheriff of Abilene, returns to the town after fighting for the Confederacy to find everyone thought he was dead. His old friend Dave Mosely is now engaged to Trask's former sweetheart and is one of the cattlemen increasingly feuding with the original farmers. Trask is persuaded to take up as sheriff again but there is something about the death of Mosely's brother in the Civil War that is haunting him.
Denver and Rio Grande
Act like Johnny Buff
event1952 star_border 5.4
top_panel_open
Jim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass, while a group of less scrupulous construction workers sabotages the entire operation in the hopes that they can get their tracks laid first and get the money from the railroad.
Dear Brat
Act like Baxter
event1951 star_border 4
top_panel_open
Mirian Wilkins, the teenage daughter of Senator Wilkins, starts a Society for the Rehabilitation of Criminals and, without the approval or knowledge of her father, elects him to the position of honorary president. When the family's new gardener, Baxter, turns out to be a notorious ex-convict who was sentenced to prison by Senator Wilkins when he was a judge, Wilkins considers firing him until his daughter points out that would be an unwise decision considering the position her father held on society.
Return of the Gunfighter
Act like Clay Sutton
event1967 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
A gunfighter and a cowboy help a Mexican girl avenge the land-related murder of her parents.
Guns of the Timberland
Act like Clay Bell
event1960 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
Logger Jim Hadley and his lumberjack crew are looking for new forest to cut. They locate a prime prospect outside the town of Deep Wells. The residents of Deep Wells led by Laura Riley are opposed to the felling of the trees, believing that losing them would cause mudslides during the heavy rains. Conflict between the town's residents and the loggers is inevitable.
The First Legion
Act like Dr. Peter Morrell
event1951 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
A Catholic priest fights against his colleagues' immediate acceptance of an ambiguous “miracle”.
Town Tamer
Act like Lee Ring
event1965 star_border 6.4
top_panel_open
A gunfighter is hired to clean up a wild frontier town, but there are forces afoot who want to keep the town as wide-open as it is. Lyle Bettger, Bruce Cabot and Richard Jaeckel co-star as the lawless bad guys in this Western based on a novel by Frank Gruber.
Hurricane Smith
Act like Clobb
event1952 star_border 6
top_panel_open
South Sea freebooters fight for hidden treasure and the love of the beautiful Luana.
M Station: Hawaii
Act like Adm. Lincoln
event1980 star_border 6
top_panel_open
In this unsold pilot, the US government hires a salvage team to recover a sunken Russian submarine, heightening Cold War tensions.
Gundown at Sandoval
event1959
top_panel_open
In this exciting western, cowpoke Texas John Slaughter rides out for revenge against the man who killed his friend. He heads for Sandoval, a notorious outlaw lair. Horses gallop, guns blaze, and mayhem ensues.
La Classe américaine
Act like Famous Man (archive footage) (uncredited)
event1993 star_border 7.6
top_panel_open
George Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, dies tragically during a cruise. The director of an American newspaper, wondering about the meaning of these intriguing final words, asks his three best investigators, Dave, Peter and Steven, to solve the mystery. (Sixteen French actors dub scenes from various Warner Bros. films to create a parody of Citizen Kane, 1941.)
The Time Tunnel
Act like Maj. Hoffman (1 ep.)
event1966 star_border 7.6
top_panel_open
The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series, written around a theme of time travel adventure. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science fiction television series, released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran for one season of 30 episodes. Reruns are viewable on cable and by internet streaming. A pilot for a new series was produced in 2002, although it was not picked up.
Burke's Law
Act like Captain Donahue (1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 6
top_panel_open
Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Act like Ted Johnson (1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 5.3
top_panel_open
Kraft Suspense Theatre is an American anthology series that was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly. Como's production company, Roncom Films, also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre. Writer, editor, critic and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series.
Later syndicated under the title Crisis, it was one of the few suspense series telecast in color at the time. While most of NBC's shows were in color then, all-color network line-ups did not become the norm until the 1966-67 season.
Hawaii Five-O
Act like Otis Klepper (1 ep.)
event1968 star_border 7.1
top_panel_open
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett instructing his subordinate to "Book 'em, Danno!", sometimes specifying a charge such as "murder one".
Mannix
(1 ep.)
event1967 star_border 6.7
top_panel_open
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions.
Gunsmoke
Act like Polk (1 ep.)
event1955 star_border 6.6
top_panel_open
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
Combat!
Act like Capt. Brauer (1 ep.)
event1962 star_border 7.6
top_panel_open
Combat! is an American television program that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans in France during World War II. The program starred Rick Jason as platoon leader Second Lieutenant Gil Hanley and Vic Morrow as Sergeant "Chip" Saunders.
The Tall Man
(1 ep.)
event1960 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
The Tall Man is a half-hour American western television series about Sheriff Pat Garrett and the gunfighter Billy the Kid that aired seventy-five episodes on NBC from 1960 to 1962, filmed by Revue Productions.
Rawhide
Act like Major Victor Darius (1 ep.)
event1959 star_border 7.2
top_panel_open
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
Cimarron Strip
(1 ep.)
event1967 star_border 5
top_panel_open
Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke. Reruns of the original show were aired in the summer of 1971.
Cimarron Strip was one of only three 90-minute weekly Western series that aired during the 1960s, and the only 90-minute series of any kind to be centered primarily around one lead character. Cimarron Strip was set in the Oklahoma Panhandle, which comprises, east to west, Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties in Oklahoma. The show is set in 1888, just as the continuous frontier of the West, which once ran from the Canadian to the Mexican border, was closing. In less than five years there would no longer be that "continuous frontier," only pockets of undeveloped land. This was the late "Wild West" that Marshall Jim Crown was called to defend.
Police Story
(2 ep.)
event1973 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
Police Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and violence on network TV. Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots.
Daniel Boone
Act like Lehman Henderson (1 ep.)
event1964 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.
Lux Video Theatre
Act like Joe (1 ep.)
event1950 star_border 6
top_panel_open
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Act like Sheriff Matt Saver (1 ep.)
event1951 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
The 20th Century Fox Hour
(1 ep.)
event1955 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars. The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.
Grindl
(1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 5.5
top_panel_open
Grindl is an American situation comedy that began in the fall of 1963 on NBC, originally sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The show, starring Imogene Coca in the title role, lasted for one season.
The Rifleman
(2 ep.)
event1958 star_border 7
top_panel_open
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
Laramie
(2 ep.)
event1959 star_border 6.4
top_panel_open
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. A Revue Studios production, the program originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert L. Crawford, Jr., as Andy Sherman.
Mr. Novak
Act like Brigham (1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 6.5
top_panel_open
Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.
Law of the Plainsman
Act like Sheriff Max Chaffee (1 ep.)
event1959 star_border 6
top_panel_open
Law of the Plainsman is a Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on the NBC television network from October 1, 1959, until May 5, 1960. The character of Native American U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart was introduced in two episodes of the popular ABC Western television series The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain.
Law of the Plainsman is distinctive and unique in that it was one of the few television programs that featured a Native American as the lead character, a bold move for U.S.network television at that time. Ansara had earlier appeared in the series Broken Arrow, having portrayed the Apache chief, Cochise. Ansara, however, was not Native American but of Syrian descent.
Ansara played Sam Buckhart, an Apache Indian who saved the life of a U.S. Cavalry officer after an Indian ambush. When the officer died, he left Sam money that was used for an education at private schools and Harvard University. After school, he returned to New Mexico where he became a Deputy Marshal working for Marshal Andy Morrison. He lived in a boarding house run by Martha Commager. The only other continuing character was 8-year old Tess Logan, an orphan who had been rescued by Buckhart. Robert Harland, later of Target: The Corruptors! starred in seven episodes as Deputy Billy Lordan. Wayne Rogers, who went on to star in another Four Star western, Stagecoach West, and later, M*A*S*H, also played deputy Lordan in several episodes.
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Act like Sheriff Griff Evans (1 ep.)
event1956 star_border 5.5
top_panel_open
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
The Court of Last Resort
Act like Sam Larsen (26 ep.)
event1957
top_panel_open
The Court of Last Resort is an American television dramatized court show which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1958. It was co-produced by Erle Stanley Gardner's Paisano Productions, which also brought forth the long-running hit television program, Perry Mason on CBS. Its approach to dealing with potential miscarriages of justice in an entirely extra-judicial format was adopted by the BBC series Rough Justice in the 1980s.
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Act like Phil Ross (1 ep.)
event1959 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961. The series was hosted by actress June Allyson.
Blue Light
(1 ep.)
event1966 star_border 5
top_panel_open
A U.S. double agent in WWII Germany infiltrates Nazi councils while evading Allied intelligence (publicly, he was a foreign correspondent who had renounced his American citizenship). Three episodes of the series were stitched together into the 1966 theatrical movie 'I Deal in Danger.'
The Deputy
Act like Aces Thompson (1 ep.)
event1959 star_border 6.2
top_panel_open
The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.
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