William Benedict
Born: 1917-04-16 in Haskell, Oklahoma, USA
Died: 1999-11-25
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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.
Filmography
2020
- The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter as Himself
1988
- Bonanza: The Next Generation as Gus Morton
1984
1982
- Computercide as Elderly Man
1981
1979
- Goldie and the Boxer as Old Man
1978
- Born Again as Leon Jaworski
1977
- The Incredible Hulk as Vic
1976
- Charlie's Angels as Emmett Winston, Esq.
- Quincy, M.E.
- Sherlock Holmes in New York as Telegraph Office Manager
- Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Man on Bus
1975
- Ellery Queen
- Matt Helm as Scavenger
- The Dead Don't Die as Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
- Cop on the Beat as Lennie
1973
- Police Story as Prescott
- The Sting as Roulette Dealer
- The Secret Sharer as Mr. Burns
1972
- Emergency!
- The Streets of San Francisco
- The Adventures of Nick Carter as Newsboy
- The Dirt Gang as Station Attendant
- Call Her Mom as Mr. Feigelbaum
1971
- All in the Family as Jimmy McNab
- Alias Smith and Jones
1970
1969
- The Brady Bunch
- Hello, Dolly! as News Vendor (uncredited)
- Then Came Bronson as Card Player
- The Over the Hill Gang as Joe, the Telegrapher (as Bill Benedict)
- The Lottery as Joe Summers
- Big Daddy
1968
- Adam-12 as Bill White
- Land of the Giants as Villager Peabody
- Here's Lucy as Deliveryman
- Mayberry R.F.D. as Uncle Whitmore
- Funny Girl as Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- Rogue's Gallery as Jocko (as William Benedict)
1967
- Ironside
- Mannix
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Telegrapher
- Hondo
- What Am I Bid? as Clem (as Bill Benedict)
1966
- Mission: Impossible as Denver
- Felony Squad
- The Monkees
- Frankie and Johnny as Bum Sleeping on Bench (uncredited)
1965
- I Dream of Jeannie as Cleaning Man
- Branded
- Dear Heart as Stu
- Honey West as Farley
- The Hallelujah Trail as Simpson
1964
1963
- Petticoat Junction as Willie
1961
- Lover Come Back as Musician Exiting Elevator (uncredited)
1960
1959
- The Twilight Zone as Conklin
- Dennis the Menace
- The Hanging Tree as Trapper (uncredited)
1958
1957
- Wagon Train as Wagon Train Member (uncredited)
1956
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie
- Mobs, Inc. as Telegraph Boy
- The Killing as American Airlines Clerk
1955
- Gunsmoke as Gus
- Navy Log
- Bride of the Monster as Newsboy
1954
1953
- The Magnetic Monster as Albert
- I'm the Law
1951
- Dragnet
- Ghost Chasers as Whitey
- Bowery Battalion as Whitey
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
- Crazy Over Horses as Whitey (as William Benedict)
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Degnan
- Let's Go Navy! as Whitey
1950
- Blues Busters as Whitey (as William Benedict)
- Lucky Losers as Whitey
- Triple Trouble as Whitey, Bowery Boy
- Blonde Dynamite as Whitey
1949
- Master Minds as Whitey
- Angels in Disguise as Whitey
- Hold That Baby! as Whitey
- Fighting Fools as Whitey
- Riders of the Pony Express as Eddie Lund
1948
- Jinx Money as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Night Wind as Irv Bennett
- Smuggler's Cove as Whitey
- Secret Service Investigator as Counterman
- Angels' Alley as Whitey
- Trouble Makers as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
1947
- Bowery Buckaroos as Whitey
- Fun on a Weekend as Hotel Bellboy (Uncredited)
- Merton of the Movies as Von Strutt's Assistant (uncredited)
- The Hucksters as Bellboy at Blue Penguin Inn (uncredited)
- The Pilgrim Lady as Bellboy
- News Hounds as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Hard Boiled Mahoney as Whitey
1946
- Spook Busters as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Live Wires as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Mr. Hex as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Without Reservations as Telegraph Delivery Boy (uncredited)
- Bowery Bombshell as Whitey
- The Kid from Brooklyn as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Do You Love Me as Singing Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- Never Say Goodbye as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- Road to Utopia as Second Newsboy (uncredited)
- Gay Blades as Newsboy (uncredited)
- People Are Funny as NBC Usher
- In Fast Company as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- One More Tomorrow as Stinky
- The Gentleman Misbehaves as Bellboy (uncredited)
1945
- Story of G.I. Joe as Pvt. Whitey (uncredited)
- Brenda Starr, Reporter as Pesky (uncredited)
- Mr. Muggs Rides Again as Skinny
- Hollywood and Vine as Joe the Newsboy
- Docks of New York as Skinny
- Come Out Fighting as Skinny
1944
- Block Busters as Butch
- Janie as Soda Jerk (uncredited)
- The Whistler as The Deafmute (Uncredited)
- Bowery Champs as Skinny
- Million Dollar Kid as Skinny
- That's My Baby! as Office boy
- They Live in Fear as Thomas 'Mack' Knight (uncredited)
- I Won't Play as Florida
- Follow the Leader as Spider O'Brien
1943
- The Ox-Bow Incident as Greene (uncredited)
- Whispering Footsteps as Jerry Murphy
- Moonlight in Vermont as Abel
- Adventures of the Flying Cadets as Zombie Parker
- Clancy Street Boys as Butch
- All by Myself as Telegraph Messenger
- Mr. Muggs Steps Out as Pinky
- The Powers Girl as Powers Agency Office Boy (uncredited)
- Nobody's Darling as Sammy (uncredited)
- Thank Your Lucky Stars as Busboy (uncredited)
- Ghosts on the Loose as Benny
- Aerial Gunner as Jackson 'Sleepy' Laswell
1942
- The Talk of the Town as Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- The Glass Key as Farr's Receptionist (uncredited)
- Wildcat as Bud Smithers
- Lady in a Jam as Barker (uncredited)
- A Night to Remember as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine as Bellboy
- Perils of Nyoka as Red Davis
- Junior G-Men of the Air as Whitey
- Heart of the Golden West as Telegraph Messenger
- Get Hep to Love as Soda Jerk
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Theatre Usher
- I Live on Danger as Bellboy (uncredited)
- On the Sunny Side as Messenger
- Rings on Her Fingers
- Two Yanks in Trinidad as Messenger (uncredited)
- Home in Wyomin' as Usher (uncredited)
1941
- Great Guns as Recruit at Corral
- Cadet Girl as Soldier at Camp Show (uncredited)
- Second Chorus as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
- Scattergood Baines as Lafe Hopper (uncredited)
- Adventures of Captain Marvel as Whitey Murphy
- The Great Mr. Nobody as Jig
- Jesse James at Bay as Young Davis
- Confessions of Boston Blackie as Ice Cream Man
- She Knew All the Answers as Singing Telegraph Boy
- The Man Who Lost Himself as Telegram Delivery Boy
- In Old Cheyenne as Train Vendor
- Tuxedo Junction as Thomas 'Piecrust' Murphy (as Billy Benedict)
- Mr. District Attorney as Office Boy
- Time Out for Rhythm as Messenger (uncredited)
- Dressed to Kill as Singing Telegram Boy
1940
- Young People as Boy (uncredited)
- Bowery Boy as (uncredited)
- The Great McGinty as Farm Boy (uncredited)
- Lucky Partners as Delivery Boy (uncredited)
- My Little Chickadee as Lem (uncredited)
- Rhythm on the River as Elevator Boy
- Legion of the Lawless as Eddie
- Grand Ole Opry as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Stage to Chino as Happy (uncredited)
- And One Was Beautiful as Delivery Man
- Give Us Wings as Link (as Billy Benedict)
- The Mad Doctor as Mickey Barnes (Uncredited)
- Melody Ranch as Slim
- Adventures of Red Ryder as Dan Withers
1939
- Code of the Streets as Trouble
- Hollywood Hobbies as Tour Guide
- Pack Up Your Troubles as Office Boy
1938
- Newsboys' Home as Trouble
- King of the Newsboys as Squimpy
- I Met My Love Again as Billy (uncredited)
- Hold That Kiss as Delivery Boy
- Bringing Up Baby as David's Caddy (uncredited)
- Walking Down Broadway as Eddie
- Hold That Co-ed as Sylvester
- There's Always a Woman as Bellboy
- Little Tough Guys in Society as Trouble
- Say It in French as Midget Car Driver
- Young Fugitives as Jud (as William 'Billy' Benedict)
1937
- Tramp Trouble as Young Bindlestiff
- Flying Fists as Monk, Tall Kid
- Tim Tyler's Luck as Spud
- Jim Hanvey, Detective as Copy Boy (uncredited)
- Rhythm in the Clouds as Bellboy
- That I May Live as Kurt Plivens
- The Last Gangster as Freddy the Office Boy
- They Wanted to Marry as Freckles
1936
- Captain January as Telegram Delivery Boy
- Ramona as Joseph Hyar
- M'Liss as Archer Morpher
- Crack-Up as Bunky, Office Boy (uncredited)
- Libeled Lady as Joe
- Laughing at Trouble as Wilbur
- Theodora Goes Wild as Henry - Copyboy (uncredited)
- Can This Be Dixie? as Shenandoah Peachtree (uncredited)
- After the Thin Man as Newsboy (uncredited)
- The Witness Chair as Benny Ryan
- The Country Doctor as The Gawker
1935
- Bad Boy as Grocery Clerk
- Doubting Thomas as Caddie
- $10 Raise as Jimmy
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Breck
- The Farmer Takes a Wife as Boy Announcing Dan's Arrival Before Fight
- Your Uncle Dudley as Cyril Church
- Way Down East as Amos
- Show Them No Mercy! as Willie (uncredited)
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Flash
- College Scandal as 'Penny' Parker