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.
- Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Man on Bus
- Sherlock Holmes in New York as Telegraph Office Manager
1975
- Ellery Queen
- Matt Helm as Scavenger
- The Dead Don't Die as Hotel Desk Clerk
- Cop on the Beat as Lennie
1974
- Little House on the Prairie as Reverend Lyman
1973
- Police Story as Prescott
- The Sting as Roulette Dealer
- The Secret Sharer as Mr. Burns
1972
- Emergency!
- The Streets of San Francisco
- The Dirt Gang as Station Attendant
- The Adventures of Nick Carter as Newsboy
- Call Her Mom as Mr. Feigelbaum
1971
- All in the Family as Jimmy McNab
- Alias Smith and Jones
1970
1969
- The Brady Bunch
- Then Came Bronson as Card Player
- Hello, Dolly! as News Vendor (uncredited)
- 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
- Here's Lucy as Deliveryman
- Land of the Giants as Villager Peabody
- Mayberry R.F.D. as Uncle Whitmore
- Funny Girl as Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- Rogue's Gallery as Jocko (as William Benedict)
1967
- Mannix
- Ironside
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Telegrapher
- Hondo
- What Am I Bid? as Clem (as Bill Benedict)
1966
- Mission: Impossible as Denver
- The Monkees as Skywriter
- Felony Squad
- Frankie and Johnny as Bum Sleeping on Bench (uncredited)
1965
- I Dream of Jeannie as Cleaning Man
- Branded
- Honey West as Farley
- The Hallelujah Trail as Simpson
- Dear Heart as Stu
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
- The Killing as American Airlines Clerk
- Mobs, Inc. as Telegraph Boy
1955
- Gunsmoke as Gus
- Navy Log
- Bride of the Monster as Newsboy
1954
1953
- I'm the Law
- The Magnetic Monster as Albert
1951
- Dragnet
- The Red Skelton Show
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Degnan
- Bowery Battalion as Whitey
- Ghost Chasers as Whitey
- Crazy Over Horses as Whitey (as William Benedict)
- Let's Go Navy! as Whitey
1950
- Blues Busters as Whitey (as William Benedict)
- Triple Trouble as Whitey, Bowery Boy
- Blonde Dynamite as Whitey
- Lucky Losers as Whitey
1949
- Master Minds as Whitey
- Angels in Disguise as Whitey
- Fighting Fools as Whitey
- Hold That Baby! as Whitey
- Riders of the Pony Express as Eddie Lund
1948
- Night Wind as Irv Bennett
- Jinx Money as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Angels' Alley as Whitey
- Smuggler's Cove as Whitey
- Secret Service Investigator as Counterman
- Trouble Makers as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
1947
- The Hucksters as Bellboy at Blue Penguin Inn (uncredited)
- Fun on a Weekend as Hotel Bellboy (uncredited)
- The Pilgrim Lady as Bellboy
- Merton of the Movies as Von Strutt's Assistant (uncredited)
- Hard Boiled Mahoney as Whitey
- News Hounds as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Bowery Buckaroos as Whitey
1946
- Road to Utopia as Newsboy #2 (uncredited)
- Without Reservations as Telegraph Delivery Boy (uncredited)
- Never Say Goodbye as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- The Kid from Brooklyn as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Mr. Hex as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Live Wires as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Spook Busters as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- Do You Love Me as Singing Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- One More Tomorrow as Stinky
- In Fast Company as Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
- People Are Funny as NBC Usher
- Gay Blades as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Bowery Bombshell as Whitey
- The Gentleman Misbehaves as Bellboy (uncredited)
1945
- Story of G.I. Joe as Pvt. Whitey (uncredited)
- Come Out Fighting as Skinny
- Hollywood and Vine as Joe the Newsboy
- Docks of New York as Skinny
- Brenda Starr, Reporter as Pesky (uncredited)
- Mr. Muggs Rides Again as Skinny
1944
- Follow the Boys as Joe (uncredited)
- Janie as Soda Jerk (uncredited)
- Block Busters as Butch
- I Won't Play as Florida
- The Whistler as The Deafmute (Uncredited)
- That's My Baby! as Office boy
- Million Dollar Kid as Skinny
- They Live in Fear as Thomas 'Mack' Knight (uncredited)
- Bowery Champs as Skinny
- Follow the Leader as Spider O'Brien
1943
- The Ox-Bow Incident as Greene (uncredited)
- Aerial Gunner as Jackson 'Sleepy' Laswell
- Thank Your Lucky Stars as Busboy (uncredited)
- Nobody's Darling as Sammy (uncredited)
- Whispering Footsteps as Jerry Murphy
- Ghosts on the Loose as Benny
- Clancy Street Boys as Butch
- All by Myself as Telegraph Messenger
- The Powers Girl as Powers Agency Office Boy (uncredited)
- Moonlight in Vermont as Abel
- Mr. Muggs Steps Out as Pinky
- Adventures of the Flying Cadets as Zombie Parker
1942
- The Talk of the Town as Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- The Glass Key as Farr's Receptionist (uncredited)
- Two Yanks in Trinidad as Messenger (uncredited)
- A Night to Remember as Messenger Boy (uncredited)
- The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine as Bellboy
- Rings on Her Fingers
- I Live on Danger as Bellboy (uncredited)
- Lady in a Jam as Barker (uncredited)
- Home in Wyomin' as Usher (uncredited)
- Wildcat as Bud Smithers
- On the Sunny Side as Messenger
- Get Hep to Love as Soda Jerk
- Perils of Nyoka as Red Davis
- Heart of the Golden West as Telegraph Messenger
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Theatre Usher
- Junior G-Men of the Air as Whitey
1941
- Great Guns as Recruit at Corral
- Second Chorus as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
- 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
- Dressed to Kill as Singing Telegram Boy
- Adventures of Captain Marvel as Whitey Murphy
- Time Out for Rhythm as Messenger (uncredited)
- Tuxedo Junction as Thomas 'Piecrust' Murphy (as Billy Benedict)
- Mr. District Attorney as Office Boy
- Cadet Girl as Soldier at Camp Show (uncredited)
- Scattergood Baines as Lafe Hopper (uncredited)
- The Great Mr. Nobody as Jig
- In Old Cheyenne as Train Vendor
1940
- The Great McGinty as Farm Boy (uncredited)
- Young People as Boy (uncredited)
- Bowery Boy as (uncredited)
- Lucky Partners as Delivery Boy (uncredited)
- Melody Ranch as Slim
- My Little Chickadee as Lem (uncredited)
- Adventures of Red Ryder as Dan Withers
- Rhythm on the River as Elevator Boy
- The Mad Doctor as Mickey Barnes (Uncredited)
- Give Us Wings as Link (as Billy Benedict)
- Grand Ole Opry as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Stage to Chino as Happy (uncredited)
- And One Was Beautiful as Delivery Man
- Legion of the Lawless as Eddie
1939
- Hollywood Hobbies as Tour Guide
- Code of the Streets as Trouble
- Pack Up Your Troubles as Office Boy
1938
- Bringing Up Baby as David's Caddy (uncredited)
- Say It in French as Midget Car Driver
- Young Fugitives as Jud (as William 'Billy' Benedict)
- There's Always a Woman as Bellboy
- King of the Newsboys as Squimpy
- Hold That Co-ed as Sylvester
- Walking Down Broadway as Eddie
- I Met My Love Again as Billy (uncredited)
- Little Tough Guys in Society as Trouble
- Hold That Kiss as Delivery Boy
- Newsboys' Home as Trouble
1937
- Flying Fists as Monk, Tall Kid
- The Last Gangster as Freddy the Office Boy
- They Wanted to Marry as Freckles
- Tim Tyler's Luck as Spud
- That I May Live as Kurt Plivens
- Tramp Trouble as Young Bindlestiff
- Jim Hanvey, Detective as Copy Boy (uncredited)
- Rhythm in the Clouds as Bellboy
1936
- After the Thin Man as Newsboy (uncredited)
- Libeled Lady as Joe
- Crack-Up as Bunky, Office Boy (uncredited)
- Ramona as Joseph Hyar
- Captain January as Telegram Delivery Boy
- Theodora Goes Wild as Henry - Copyboy (uncredited)
- Laughing at Trouble as Wilbur
- M'Liss as Archer Morpher
- The Witness Chair as Benny Ryan
- Can This Be Dixie? as Shenandoah Peachtree (uncredited)
- The Country Doctor as The Gawker
1935
- Bad Boy as Grocery Clerk
- Doubting Thomas as Caddie
- $10 Raise as Jimmy
- Way Down East as Amos
- The Farmer Takes a Wife as Boy Announcing Dan's Arrival Before Fight
- College Scandal as 'Penny' Parker
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Flash
- Show Them No Mercy! as Willie (uncredited)
- Your Uncle Dudley as Cyril Church
- Steamboat Round the Bend as Breck