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