Brett King (born Bertell W. King, Jr.; December 29, 1920 â€" January
14, 1999) was an American actor who performed in films and on
television between 1949 and 1967.Born in 1920 in Ocean Beach, New
York, Brett King attended the American Theatre Wing in New York.He
served as a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during
World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished
Flying Cross. According to King's military enlistment records, he had
graduated from high school and had worked as a general office clerk
prior to joining the army in January 1942, just a month after Japan's
attack on Pearl Harbor.A few years after his discharge from the army,
King began acting in feature films in Hollywood, where he was cast in
no fewer than 13 films between 1949 and 1954. His first role was as
the character Lieutenant Teiss in the World War II film Battleground,
starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, and future U.S.
Senator George Murphy. The next year he played Al 'Kid' Beaumont in
State Penitentiary, a drama starring Warner Baxter as a former
aircraft manufacturer wrongfully accused and imprisoned for embezzling
$400,000. King was then cast in 1951 as First Lieutenant Ernie Stark
in the John Wayne and Robert Ryan film Flying Leathernecks, which
focuses on the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. That same year he played
Milo Pagano in the war film A Yank in Korea, starring Lon McCallister.
In 1954 he was also cast in the role of Joe Branch, reputed son of
Jesse James, for the 3D film Jesse James vs. the Daltons. Following
his performance in that film, King refocused his acting career,
concentrating almost exclusively on available roles on the rapidly
expanding medium of television.
14, 1999) was an American actor who performed in films and on
television between 1949 and 1967.Born in 1920 in Ocean Beach, New
York, Brett King attended the American Theatre Wing in New York.He
served as a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during
World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished
Flying Cross. According to King's military enlistment records, he had
graduated from high school and had worked as a general office clerk
prior to joining the army in January 1942, just a month after Japan's
attack on Pearl Harbor.A few years after his discharge from the army,
King began acting in feature films in Hollywood, where he was cast in
no fewer than 13 films between 1949 and 1954. His first role was as
the character Lieutenant Teiss in the World War II film Battleground,
starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, and future U.S.
Senator George Murphy. The next year he played Al 'Kid' Beaumont in
State Penitentiary, a drama starring Warner Baxter as a former
aircraft manufacturer wrongfully accused and imprisoned for embezzling
$400,000. King was then cast in 1951 as First Lieutenant Ernie Stark
in the John Wayne and Robert Ryan film Flying Leathernecks, which
focuses on the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. That same year he played
Milo Pagano in the war film A Yank in Korea, starring Lon McCallister.
In 1954 he was also cast in the role of Joe Branch, reputed son of
Jesse James, for the 3D film Jesse James vs. the Daltons. Following
his performance in that film, King refocused his acting career,
concentrating almost exclusively on available roles on the rapidly
expanding medium of television.
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