Lyle Bettger
Born: 1915-02-13 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 2003-09-24
Known For: Acting
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.
Filmography
1993
- La Classe américaine as Famous Man (archive footage) (uncredited)
1980
- M Station: Hawaii as Adm. Lincoln
1973
1970
- The Hawaiians as Janders
1969
- Impasse as Hansen
1968
- Hawaii Five-O as Otis Klepper
1967
- Mannix
- Cimarron Strip
- Return of the Gunfighter as Clay Sutton
- The Fastest Guitar Alive as Charlie
1966
- The Time Tunnel as Maj. Hoffman
- Nevada Smith as Jack Rudabough
- Johnny Reno as Jess Yates
- Blue Light
1965
- Town Tamer as Lee Ring
1964
- Daniel Boone as Lehman Henderson
1963
- Burke's Law as Captain Donahue
- Kraft Suspense Theatre as Ted Johnson
- Mr. Novak as Brigham
- Grindl
1962
- Combat! as Capt. Brauer
1960
- The Tall Man
- Guns of the Timberland as Clay Bell
1959
- Rawhide as Major Victor Darius
- Laramie
- Law of the Plainsman as Sheriff Max Chaffee
- The Deputy as Aces Thompson
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Phil Ross
- Gundown at Sandoval
1958
1957
- The Court of Last Resort as Sam Larsen
- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as Ike Clanton
1956
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Sheriff Griff Evans
- The Lone Ranger as Reece Kilgore
- Showdown at Abilene as Dave Mosely
1955
- Gunsmoke as Polk
- The 20th Century Fox Hour
- The Sea Chase as Chief Officer Kirchner
1954
- Destry as Phil Decker
- Drums Across the River as Frank Walker
- Carnival Story as Frank Colloni
1953
- Forbidden as Justin Keit
- The Great Sioux Uprising as Stephen Cook
- All I Desire as Dutch Heinemann
- The Vanquished as Roger Hale
1952
- Hurricane Smith as Clobb
- The Greatest Show on Earth as Klaus
- Denver and Rio Grande as Johnny Buff
1951
- Dear Brat as Baxter
- The First Legion as Dr. Peter Morrell
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Sheriff Matt Saver
1950
- Union Station as Joe Beacom
- Lux Video Theatre as Joe
- No Man of Her Own as Stephen Morley