LB
Lyle Bettger
Actor
Born February 13, 1915Died September 24, 2003 (88 years)
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.
Known For
Filmography
| 1993 | La classe américaine · as Famous Man (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 1973 | Police Story (TV Series) |
| 1973 | Barnaby Jones (TV Series) · as Capt. Groden |
| 1971 | The Seven Minutes · as Frank Griffith |
| 1971 | O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (TV Series) · as Leighton Willard |
| 1970 | The Hawaiians · as Janders |
| 1969 | Impasse · as Hansen |
| 1968 | The Outcasts (TV Series) · as Sheriff |
| 1968 | Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) · as Jonathan Kaye |
| 1967 | Mannix (TV Series) |
| 1967 | Ironside (TV Series) · as Louis Blaine |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip (TV Series) |
| 1967 | The Fastest Guitar Alive · as Charlie |
| 1966 | Return of the Gunfighter · as Clay Sutton |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel (TV Series) · as Maj. Hoffman |
| 1966 | Nevada Smith · as Jack Rudabough |
| 1966 | Johnny Reno · as Jess Yates |
| 1966 | Blue Light (TV Series) |
| 1965 | Town Tamer · as Lee Ring |
| 1965 | A Man Called Shenandoah (TV Series) · as Sheriff |
| 1964 | NET Playhouse (TV Series) · as James Mackay |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as Lehman Henderson |
| 1964 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series) · as Dr. King |
| 1963 | Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV Series) · as Ted Johnson |
| 1963 | Mr. Novak (TV Series) · as Brigham |
| 1963 | Burke's Law (TV Series) · as Captain Donahue |
| 1963 | Grindl (TV Series) |
| 1962 | Combat! (TV Series) · as Capt. Brauer |
| 1962 | The Virginian (TV Series) · as Seth Wheeler |
| 1961 | |
| 1960 | The Law and Mr. Jones (TV Series) · as Duff Mcintyre |
| 1960 | Insight (TV Series) · as Art Kruger |
| 1960 | The Tall Man (TV Series) |
| 1960 | Guns of the Timberland · as Clay Bell |
| 1959 | Law of the Plainsman (TV Series) · as Sheriff Max Chaffee |
| 1959 | The June Allyson Show (TV Series) · as Phil Ross |
| 1959 | Laramie (TV Series) |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | The Deputy (TV Series) · as Aces Thompson |
| 1959 | Rawhide (TV Series) · as Dan Madox |
| 1958 | Pursuit (TV Series) · as Police Captain |
| 1958 | The Rifleman (TV Series) |
| 1957 | The Court of Last Resort (TV Series) · as Sam Larsen |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Joe Trumbell |
| 1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral · as Ike Clanton |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series) · as John Wesley Hardin |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theatre (TV Series) · as U.s. Marshal John Welker |
| 1956 | Showdown at Abilene · as Dave Mosely |
| 1956 | The Lone Ranger · as Reece Kilgore |
| 1955 | The 20th Century-Fox Hour (TV Series) |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Polk |
| 1955 | The Sea Chase · as Chief Officer Kirchner |
| 1955 | TV Reader's Digest (TV Series) · as Lester Miller |
| 1954 | Destry · as Phil Decker |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Al Barko |
| 1954 | Drums Across the River · as Frank Walker |
| 1954 | Carnival Story · as Frank Colloni |
| 1953 | Forbidden · as Justin Keit |
| 1953 | All I Desire · as Dutch Heinemann |
| 1953 | The Great Sioux Uprising · as Stephen Cook |
| 1953 | The Vanquished · as Roger Hale |
| 1952 | Denver & Rio Grande · as Johnny Buff |
| 1952 | Hurricane Smith · as Clobb |
| 1952 | Ford Theatre: All Star Theatre (TV Series) · as Simon |
| 1952 | This Is The Life (TV Series) · as Professor Adams |
| 1952 | Death Valley Days (TV Series) · as Major Ben Roberts |
| 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth · as Klaus |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) · as Sheriff Matt Saver |
| 1951 | Dear Brat · as Baxter |
| 1951 | The First Legion · as Dr. Peter Morrell |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Joe |
| 1950 | Union Station · as Joe Beacom |
| 1950 | No Man of Her Own · as Stephen Morley |