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Lyle Bettger

Lyle Bettger

Actor

Born February 13, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died September 24, 2003

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Biography

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.

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Impasse (1969) Original Trailer [HD]

Lone Ranger, The - Trailer (1956)

Drums Across the River (1954) ORIGINAL TRAILER

ALL I DESIRE (1953) Theatrical Trailer - Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Lyle Bettger

THE GREAT SIOUX UPRISING (1953) ♦RARE♦ Theatrical Trailer

Filmography

Actor

77

Type

Year

M Station: Hawaii Poster

M Station: Hawaii TV Movie1980Admiral Lincoln

Barnaby Jones Poster

Barnaby Jones TV Series1973Capt. Groden

Police Story Poster

Police Story TV Series1973Commander Tully

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Poster

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury TV Series1971Leighton Willard

The Seven Minutes Poster

The Seven Minutes Feature Film1971Frank Griffith

The Hawaiians Poster

The Hawaiians Feature Film1970Janders

Impasse Feature Film1969Hansen

Hawaii Five-O Poster

Hawaii Five-O TV Series1968Jonathan Kaye

The Outcasts Poster

The Outcasts TV Series1968Sheriff

Cimarron Strip Poster

Cimarron Strip TV Series1967Tate

Ironside Poster

Ironside TV Series1967Louis Blaine

Mannix TV Series1967Julian Mallory

The Fastest Guitar Alive Poster

The Fastest Guitar Alive Feature Film1967Charlie

Blue Light Poster

Blue Light TV Series1966The Colonel

Johnny Reno Poster

Johnny Reno Feature Film1966Mayor Jess Yates

Nevada Smith Poster

Nevada Smith Feature Film1966Jack Rudabough

Return of the Gunfighter Poster

Return of the Gunfighter Feature Film1966Clay Sutton

The Time Tunnel Poster

The Time Tunnel TV Series1966Maj. Hoffman

A Man Called Shenandoah Poster

A Man Called Shenandoah TV Series1965Sheriff

Town Tamer Poster

Town Tamer Feature Film1965Lee Ring - aka Marshal Les Parker

Daniel Boone Poster

Daniel Boone TV Series1964Joseph Montgomery

NET Playhouse Poster

NET Playhouse TV Series1964James Mackay

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Poster

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV Series1964Dr. King

Burke's Law Poster

Burke's Law TV Series1963Captain Donahue

Grindl TV Series1963Norman

Kraft Suspense Theatre Poster

Kraft Suspense Theatre TV Series1963Ted Johnson

Mr. Novak Poster

Mr. Novak TV Series1963Brigham

Combat! TV Series1962Capt. Brauer

The Virginian Poster

The Virginian TV Series1962Seth Wheeler

Gundown at Sandoval Poster

Gundown at Sandoval Feature Film1961

Guns of the Timberland Poster

Guns of the Timberland Feature Film1960Clay Bell

Insight TV Series1960Art Kruger

The Law and Mr. Jones Poster

The Law and Mr. Jones TV Series1960Duff McIntyre

The Tall Man Poster

The Tall Man TV Series1960Vince Ober

Bonanza TV Series1959Jed Ferguson

Grand Jury Poster

Grand Jury TV Series1959Harry Driscoll

Laramie TV Series1959Calvin Hawks

Law of the Plainsman Poster

Law of the Plainsman TV Series1959Sheriff Max Chaffee

Rawhide TV Series1959Dan Madox

The Deputy Poster

The Deputy TV Series1959Aces Thompson

The DuPont Show with June Allyson Poster

The DuPont Show with June Allyson TV Series1959Phil Ross

Pursuit TV Series1958Police Captain

The Rifleman Poster

The Rifleman TV Series1958Holt Coyle

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Poster

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Feature Film1957Ike Clanton

Official Detective Poster

Official Detective TV Series1957Harry Driscoll

Tales of Wells Fargo Poster

Tales of Wells Fargo TV Series1957John Wesley Hardin

The Court of Last Resort Poster

The Court of Last Resort TV Series1957Sam Larsen

Wagon Train Poster

Wagon Train TV Series1957Joe Trumbell

Showdown at Abilene Poster

Showdown at Abilene Feature Film1956Dave Mosely

The Lone Ranger Poster

The Lone Ranger Feature Film1956Reece Kilgore

Zane Grey Theatre Poster

Zane Grey Theatre TV Series1956Sheriff Griff Evans

Gunsmoke Poster

Gunsmoke TV Series1955Polk

The 20th Century-Fox Hour Poster

The 20th Century-Fox Hour TV Series1955Marshal Mark Strett

The Sea Chase Poster

The Sea Chase Feature Film1955Chief Officer Kirchner

TV Reader's Digest Poster

TV Reader's Digest TV Series1955Lester Miller

Warner Brothers Presents Poster

Warner Brothers Presents TV Series1955Harry Parker

Carnival Story Poster

Carnival Story Feature Film1954Frank Colloni

Destry Feature Film1954Decker

Drums Across the River Poster

Drums Across the River Feature Film1954Frank Walker

The Magical World of Disney Poster

The Magical World of Disney TV Series1954Al Barko

All I Desire Poster

All I Desire Feature Film1953Dutch Heinemann

Forbidden Poster

Forbidden Feature Film1953Justin

The Great Sioux Uprising Poster

The Great Sioux Uprising Feature Film1953Stephen Cook

The Vanquished Poster

The Vanquished Feature Film1953Roger Hale

Death Valley Days Poster

Death Valley Days TV Series1952Major Ben Roberts

Denver & Rio Grande Poster

Denver & Rio Grande Feature Film1952Johnny Buff

Hurricane Smith Poster

Hurricane Smith Feature Film1952Clobb

Masquerade Party Poster

Masquerade Party TV Series1952Self

The Ford Television Theatre Poster

The Ford Television Theatre TV Series1952Simon

The Greatest Show on Earth Poster

The Greatest Show on Earth Feature Film1952Klaus

This Is the Life Poster

This Is the Life TV Series1952Professor Adams

Dear Brat Poster

Dear Brat Feature Film1951Mr.Baxter

Schlitz Playhouse Poster

Schlitz Playhouse TV Series1951Self - Host

The First Legion Poster

The First Legion Feature Film1951Dr. Peter Morrell

Lux Video Theatre Poster

Lux Video Theatre TV Series1950Joe

No Man of Her Own Poster

No Man of Her Own Feature Film1950Stephen Morley

Union Station Poster

Union Station Feature Film1950Joe Beacom

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