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Photo of Lyle Bettger

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.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Bonanza
  • The Rifleman
  • Death Valley Days
  • Carnival Story

Known For

  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
  • The Greatest Show on Earth
  • All I Desire
  • Union Station
  • No Man of Her Own
  • The Sea Chase
  • Destry
  • The Lone Ranger
  • Drums Across the River
  • Carnival Story
  • Impasse
  • Return of the Gunfighter
  • Denver & Rio Grande
  • Johnny Reno
  • Guns of the Timberland
  • The Fastest Guitar Alive
  • The Seven Minutes
  • Town Tamer
  • Hurricane Smith
  • Dear Brat

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
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 Joseph Montgomery
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
Bonanza (TV Series) · as Jed Ferguson
1959
The Deputy (TV Series) · as Aces Thompson
1959
Rawhide (TV Series) · as Dan Madox
1958
Pursuit (TV Series) · as Police Captain
1958
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 Sheriff Griff Evans
1956
Showdown at Abilene · as Dave Mosely
1956
The Lone Ranger · as Reece Kilgore
1955
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
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

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