Lyle Bettger


Actor
Lyle Bettger

About

Birth Place
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Born
February 13, 1915
Died
September 24, 2003
Cause of Death
Undisclosed Causes

Biography

Being the son of a baseball star (St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Frank Bettger) didn't curb Lyle Bettger's acting ambitions for a moment. He had his eyes on the entertainment industry from a young age, shining in the Dramatics Club at the Haverford School, an esteemed prep school for boys in Pennsylvania. He attended college for a few years, but left to study at the American Academy o...

Photos & Videos

Biography

Being the son of a baseball star (St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Frank Bettger) didn't curb Lyle Bettger's acting ambitions for a moment. He had his eyes on the entertainment industry from a young age, shining in the Dramatics Club at the Haverford School, an esteemed prep school for boys in Pennsylvania. He attended college for a few years, but left to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. After graduating in 1937, Bettger took stage roles with touring companies and local theater groups for what he called "10 indifferent years in the theater." The film production company Paramount stepped up with a three-year contract just as he was considering throwing in the towel. After he spent a decade appearing in mostly comedies, Paramount made the seemingly odd decision to place him in the role of a villain opposite Barbara Stanwyck in "No Man of Her Own," a dark drama about intimidation and betrayal. From this point on, Bettger was rarely granted the opportunity to play anything but cruel and intimidating characters. Off camera, however, he was quite affable, well-liked among his colleagues, and relished every moment with his longtime wife and three children.

Life Events

Photo Collections

Drums Across the River - Publicity Stills
Drums Across the River - Publicity Stills

Videos

Movie Clip

Sea Chase, The (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Ehrlich Was Like A Fox David Farrar narrates as British naval officer Napier, pursuing John Wayne, as the conflicted Captain Ehrlich of the German steamer Ergenstrasse, trying to avoid capture in the South Pacific in the early days of WWII, as his Nazi spy passenger Elsa (Lana Turner) is approached by his sneaky officer Kirchner (Lyle Bettger), in The Sea Chase, 1955.
Sea Chase, The (1953) -- (Movie Clip) No Daydreaming Moored off a South Pacific island to collect wood to fuel their way to Chile, German steamer officers Kirchner and Schmidt (Lyle Bettger, John Qualen) are interrupted by captain Ehrlich (John Wayne), who has special instructions regarding their sexy spy passenger (Lana Turner), who is in turn impressed by his consideration for old soldier Schmidt (Paul Fix), in The Sea Chase, 1955.
All I Desire (1953) -- (Movie Clip) Old Friends Like Us Riding with her daughter (Marcia Henderson) and beau (Richard Long), Barbara Stanwyck as Naomi, the Vaudeville actress just returned to the Wisconsin town she scandalized by leaving ten years earlier, is finally approached by Dutch (Lyle Bettger), her almost-lover from back then, in Douglas Sirk’s All I Desire,1953.
Lone Ranger, The (1956) -- (Movie Clip) You Can't Make A Boy Of Her Back-story in the first movie version, the governor (Charles Meredith) gets an earful about Indians in the territory, his rancher host Kilgore (Lyle Bettger) clashes with his wife (Bonita Granville) about their daughter (Beverly Washburn), in producer Jack Wrather's The Lone Ranger, 1956.

Bibliography