Al Bridge

Al Bridge
Born Alfred Morton Bridge
(1891-02-26)February 26, 1891
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
Died December 27, 1957(1957-12-27) (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California USA
Occupation Actor
Years active 1931–1954
Spouse(s) Blanche Bridge

Al Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy moustache. Sometimes credited as Alan Bridge, and frequently not credited onscreen at all, he appeared in many westerns, especially in the Hopalong Cassidy series, where he played crooked sheriffs and henchmen.

Life and career

Bridge and his sister, who would become the actress Loie Bridge, were raised by their mother and stepfather, a Philadelphia butcher.[1] Bridge served in the American infantry during World War I.[2] Joining relatives in a theatrical troupe, Bridge toured the U.S. as an actor[3] and wrote a few scripts. He broke into movies with a pair of minor screenplays (the comedy short Her Hired Husband in 1930[4] and a Western, God's Country and the Man[5] (1931), in which he also appeared) [6] and spent the next 25 years as a familiar face in B-Westerns and mainstream comedies and dramas. In the forties, Bridge was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in ten of the eleven American films that Sturges wrote and directed.[7] He is perhaps best remembered for his role as "The Mister", the chain-gang boss over Joel McCrea in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels.[8][9]

Bridge's television work, which began in 1950 includes appearances on The Range Rider and The Gene Autry Show as well as other programs.[10]

Bridge died on December 27, 1957 in Los Angeles, California, and is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California. (Bridge's grave marker erroneously gives his birth year as 1890 and his given name as "Alford" instead of Alfred.)[11]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ 1910 U.S. Census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  2. ↑ U.S. Veterans Administration grave marker, Valhalla Memorial Park, Burbank, California
  3. ↑ 1920 U.S. Census, Kansas City, Missouri
  4. ↑ Her Hired Husband at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ aka "A Man's Country", "Rose of the Rio Grande" and "Trail of the Law"
  6. ↑ God's Country and the Man at the Internet Movie Database
  7. ↑ Al Bridge appeared in Christmas in July, The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero, The Great Moment, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, Unfaithfully Yours and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend. He also appeared in I Married a Witch, which Sturges produced. He had earlier been in Diamond Jim, which Sturges wrote the screenplay for.
  8. ↑ Takacs, Bill Biography (IMDB)
  9. ↑ Erickson, Hal Biography (Allmovie)
  10. ↑ Al Bridge at the Internet Movie Database
  11. ↑ "Al Bridge". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 3, 2010.

External links

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