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Ben Bard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Greenberg January 26, 1893 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | May 17, 1974 (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park Great Mausoleum Azalea Terrace Ruth Roland's family crypt |
| Occupation(s) | Film, stage actor |
| Spouses | Roma Clarisse
(m. 1939; died 1947) |
Ben Bard (January 26, 1893 – May 17, 1974) was an American movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville.[1]
In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a short film made in Lee DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. He had a small role in The Bat Whispers (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading Hollywood acting school, Ben Bard Drama.
Bard was recruited to be a leading man at Fox Film Corporation. However, he was typecast as a "Suave Heavy"—a smooth-talking, well-dressed fellow with a dark side. An example of this type is his portrayal of "Mr. Brun" in The Seventh Victim (1943). Also in 1943, Bard appeared in two other Val Lewton-produced horror films: The Leopard Man, as Robles, the Police Chief, and The Ghost Ship, as First Officer Bowns.
Bard became the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth-Century-Fox in September 1956,[2] eventually resigning in August 1959. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.
- ^ Laurie Joe, Jr. (1953). Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt. p. 86.
- ^ Schallert, Edwin (September 12, 1956). "Rory Calhoun Aligns With Independents; New Plays Due; Bard Signs". Los Angeles Times. Vol. 75, no. 9. Los Angeles, California. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.