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Alan Bridge

American actor (1891–1957) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alan Bridge
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Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957[1] ) 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.

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Life and career

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Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Philadelphia,[1] Bridge and his sister, who became actress Loie Bridge,[2] grew up with their mother and stepfather, a local butcher.[3] Having entered into vaudeville alongside his sister while still a teenager,[1][4] Bridge served in the American infantry during World War I.[5] Picking up where they left off shortly thereafter, they toured the U.S. as a team until 1924. Among those who appeared alongside the Bridges during those years were future film players such as Emmett Lynn,[6] Harry Cheshire,[7] Chill Wills,[8] and Joan Crawford.[1]

In 1930, Bridge broke into movies by co-scripting the comedy short Her Hired Husband.[9] The following year he co-wrote and costarred in the Western, God's Country and the Man (aka A Man's Country and Rose of the Rio Grande).[10]

Bridge 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.[11] He is perhaps best remembered for his role as "The Mister", the chain-gang boss over Joel McCrea in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels.[12] Bridge played against type as a kindly lawyer in Sturges' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.[13]

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

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Personal life and death

Bridge married Blanche Valarie Soules on December 24, 1935 at the United Christian Church of America in Los Angeles, California.[citation needed] She died on April 19, 1945.[14]

Bridge died in Los Angeles at the age 66. His remains are interred at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood.[15]

Selected filmography

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References

External links

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