Ben Bard

Ben Bard (January 26, 1893 – May 17, 1974) was an American movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville.[1]

Ben Bard
Born
Benjamin Greenberg

(1893-01-26)January 26, 1893
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
DiedMay 17, 1974(1974-05-17) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
Great Mausoleum
Azalea Terrace
Ruth Roland's family crypt
OccupationFilm, stage actor
Spouse(s)Ruth Roland
(m.1929-1937; died)
Roma Clarisse
(m.1939-1947; died)
Jackie Lynn Taylor
(m.1948-1954; divorced)

In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a short film made in Lee DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. He had a small role in The Bat Whispers (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading Hollywood acting school, Ben Bard Drama.

Bard was recruited to be a leading man at Fox Film Corporation. However, he was typecast as a "Suave Heavy"—a smooth-talking, well-dressed fellow with a dark side. An example of this type is his portrayal of "Mr. Brun" in The Seventh Victim (1943). Also in 1943, Bard appeared in two other Val Lewton-produced horror films: The Leopard Man, as Robles, the Police Chief, and The Ghost Ship, as First Officer Bowns.

Bard became the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth-Century-Fox in September 1956,[2] eventually resigning in August 1959. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.

Personal life
  • In 1929 he married the serial film star Ruth Roland, and was married to Roland until her death in 1937.
  • In 1939, he married Roma Clarisse, an actress and last recipient of the Ruth Roland Scholarship to Ben Bard Drama. They had 3 children before she died in 1947.
  • In 1948 Bard married Jackie Lynn Taylor, an actress in the Our Gang series. They divorced in 1954.

Death

Bard died in Los Angeles in 1974, aged 81. His resting place is with Ruth Roland in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[3] He is survived by his two sons, Bryan Barak Bard, a video documentary artist, and Bartley Bard, a professional director and screenwriter.

Selected filmography
gollark: Assign multiple children to a parent?
gollark: Redistribute the child.
gollark: Orbital laser strike.
gollark: A parenting license requires intensive training in parenting and psychology.
gollark: Would you let untrained people with *no* relevant qualifications do another essential high-impact job like this?

References
  1. Laurie Joe, Jr. (1953). Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt. p. 86.
  2. Schallert, Edwin (September 12, 1956). "Rory Calhoun Aligns With Independents; New Plays Due; Bard Signs". Los Angeles Times. 75 (9). Los Angeles, California. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Scott Wilson (22 August 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons. 1 (3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.


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