William Benedict
| William Benedict | |
|---|---|
|
William Benedict. | |
| Born |
April 16, 1917 Haskell, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died |
November 25, 1999 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1935–1992 |
| Spouse(s) | Dolly Benedict (1969-?) |
William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999) was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series.
Born in Haskell, Oklahoma, he took part in school theatricals, and on leaving school he made his way to Hollywood. His first film was $10 Raise (1935) starring Edward Everett Horton, which launched Benedict on a busy career. The blond-haired Benedict almost always played juvenile roles, such as newsboys, messengers, office boys, and farmhands.
In 1939, when Universal Pictures began its Little Tough Guys series to compete with the popular Dead End Kids features, Billy Benedict was recruited into the cast. These films led him into the similar East Side Kids movies (usually playing a member of the East Side gang, but occasionally in villainous roles). The East Side Kids became The Bowery Boys in 1946, and Benedict stayed with the series (as "Whitey") through the end of 1951.
Other films included My Little Chickadee (1940) starring W. C. Fields and Mae West, The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster (1955), The Sting (1973) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975). Benedict never shook his juvenile image completely, and continued to play messengers and news vendors well into his sixties. He also worked often in television commercials.[1]
Selected filmography
- Ten Dollar Raise (1935)
- Doubting Thomas (1935)
- Ladies Love Danger (1935)
- College Scandal (1935)
- Silk Hat Kid (1935)
- Show Them No Mercy (1935)
- Your Uncle Dudley (1935)
- Three Kids and a Queen (1935)
- Way Down East (1935)
- Libeled Lady (1936)
- The Country Doctor (1936)
- Ramona (1936)
- The Witness Chair (1936)
- They Wanted to Marry (1936)
- Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
- That I May Live (1937)
- Laughing at Trouble (1937)
- Walking Down Broadway (1938)
- Hold That Co-ed (1938)
- King of the Newsboys (1938)
- Young Fugitives (1938)
- Little Tough Guys in Society (1938)
- Newsboys' Home (1939)
- Code of the Streets (1939)
- Call a Messenger (1939)
- Legion of the Lawless (1940)
- Melody Ranch (1940)
- Give Us Wings (1940)
- My Little Chickadee (1940)
- Citadel of Crime (1941)
- The Mad Doctor (1941)
- The Great Mr. Nobody (1941)
- Tuxedo Junction (1941)
- Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)
- On the Sunny Side (1942)
- Rings on Her Fingers (1942)
- Wildcat (1942)
- Aerial Gunner (1943)
- Clancy Street Boys (1943)
- Ghosts on the Loose (1943)
- Moonlight in Vermont (1943)
- The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
- They Fear To Live (1944)
- Million Dollar Kid (1944)
- Follow the Leader (1944)
- Goodnight Sweetheart (1944)
- That's My Baby! (1944)
- Follow the Boys (1944)
- Whispering Footsteps (1944)
- Bowery Champs (1944)
- Block Busters (1944)
- Night Club Girl (1945) as Winnebago boy (uncredited)
- Youth on Trial (1945) as Soda Jerk (uncredited)
- Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945) as Pesky [Ch 1,3,5-8,11,13] (uncredited)
- Docks of New York (1945) as Skinny
- Patrick the Great (1945) as Joey (uncredited)
- Hollywood and Vine (1945) as Joe - Newsboy (uncredited)
- The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) as Pvt. Whitey (uncredited)
- Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945) as Skinny
- Come Out Fighting (1945) as Skinny
- Road to Utopia (1945) as Second Newsboy (uncredited)
- People Are Funny (1946) as NBC Usher
- Live Wires (1946) as Whitey
- Gay Blades (1946) as Newsboy (uncredited)
- The Gentleman Misbehaves (1946) as Bellboy (uncredited)
- The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) as Newsboy #2 (uncredited)
- Without Reservations (1946) as Western Union Telegraph Boy (uncredited)
- Do You Love Me? (1946) as Singing Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- One More Tomorrow (1946) as Stakey - Bantam Office Boy (uncredited)
- In Fast Company (1946) as Whitey
- A Boy, a Girl and a Dog (1946) as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- Bowery Bombshell (1946) as Whitey
- Spook Busters (1946) as Whitey
- No Leave, No Love (1946) as Expectant Father on Hospital Phone (uncredited)
- Never Say Goodbye (1946) as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- Mr. Hex (1946) as Whitey
- The Pilgrim Lady (1947) as Bellboy
- Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) as Whitey
- Fun on a Weekend (1947) as Hotel Bellboy (uncredited)
- The Hucksters (1947) as Bellboy at Blue Penguin Inn (uncredited)
- News Hounds (1947) as Whitey
- Bowery Buckaroos (1947) as Whitey
- Merton of the Movies (1947) as Von Strutt's Assistant (uncredited)
- Angels' Alley (1948) as Whitey
- Secret Service Investigator (1948) as Counterman
- Jinx Money (1948) as Whitey
- Night Wind (1948) as Irv Bennett (uncredited)
- Smugglers' Cove (1948) as Whitey
- Trouble Makers (1948) as Whitey
- Fighting Fools (1949) as Whitey
- Riders of the Pony Express (1949) as Eddie Lund
- Hold That Baby! (1949) as Whitey
- Angels in Disguise (1949) as Whitey
- Master Minds (1949) as Whitey
- Blonde Dynamite (1950) as Whitey
- Lucky Losers (1950) as Whitey
- Triple Trouble (1950) as Whitey
- Blues Busters (1950) as Whitey
- Bowery Battalion (1951) as Whitey
- Ghost Chasers (1951) as Whitey
- Let's Go Navy! (1951) as Whitey
- Crazy Over Horses (1951) as Whitey
- The Magnetic Monster (1953) as Albert
- Bride of the Monster (1955) as Newsboy
- The Killing (1956) as American Airlines Clerk
- Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) as Bellhop (uncredited)
- The Hanging Tree (1959) as Trapper (uncredited)
- Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) as Small Man in Horseshoe (uncredited)
- Lover Come Back (1961) as Musician in Elevator (uncredited)
- Dear Heart (1964) as Stu (uncredited)
- Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) as Toy Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
- The Hallelujah Trail (1965) as Simpson - Miner
- Harlow (1965) as Bespectacled Hero in Movie (uncredited)
- What Am I Bid? (1967) as Clem
- Funny Girl (1968) as Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- Rogue's Gallery (1968) as Jocko
- Big Daddy (1969)
- Hello Dolly! (1969) as News Vendor (uncredited)
- The Dirt Gang (1972) as Station Attendant
- The Sting (1973) as Roulette Dealer
- Homebodies (1974) as Watchman
- Farewell, My Lovely (1975) (uncredited)
- Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Man on Bus
- Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976) as Telegraph Office Manager
- The Last Hurrah (1977) as Willie Degman
- Born Again (1978) as Leon Jaworski
Death
Benedict died at age 82 on November 25, 1999 at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.[1]
References
- 1 2 Staff. "William Benedict Character Actor, 82", The New York Times, November 30, 1999. Accessed March 30, 2009.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William "Billy" Benedict. |