Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 â€" January 1, 1969) was an American
actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he appeared in many
classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he became best-known
for his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television
comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry
Hagman.MacLane was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on Christmas Day,
1902. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut,
where he excelled at American football. His first movie role, in The
Quarterback (1926), was a result of his athletic ability. He then
attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.He made his Broadway
debut in 1927, playing the assistant district attorney in Bayard
Veiller's The Trial of Mary Dugan. He then performed in the 1928
Broadway production of Gods of the Lightning and was part of the
original cast of Subway Express as Officer Mulvaney in 1929. He
appeared in the Marx Brothers' 1929 film debut The Cocoanuts. MacLane
made his first credited film appearance in the 1931 romantic drama His
Woman. The following year, he wrote the play Rendezvous, which he sold
to Arthur Hopkins. The play was performed on Broadway, with MacLane in
a featured role.The success of Rendezvous landed MacLane a contract
with Warner Bros. and brought him to the attention of several renowned
film directors, including Fritz Lang, Michael Curtiz, and William
Keighley. As a result, throughout the remainder of the 1930s, MacLane
was highly active in film, with major supporting roles in such
productions as The Case of the Curious Bride, G Men, The Prince and
the Pauper, and Lang's You Only Live Once and You and Me. He also
played the role of detective Steve McBride, opposite Glenda Farrell in
seven of the nine films featuring the fictional newspaper reporter
Torchy Blane.
actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he appeared in many
classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he became best-known
for his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television
comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry
Hagman.MacLane was born in Columbia, South Carolina, on Christmas Day,
1902. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut,
where he excelled at American football. His first movie role, in The
Quarterback (1926), was a result of his athletic ability. He then
attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.He made his Broadway
debut in 1927, playing the assistant district attorney in Bayard
Veiller's The Trial of Mary Dugan. He then performed in the 1928
Broadway production of Gods of the Lightning and was part of the
original cast of Subway Express as Officer Mulvaney in 1929. He
appeared in the Marx Brothers' 1929 film debut The Cocoanuts. MacLane
made his first credited film appearance in the 1931 romantic drama His
Woman. The following year, he wrote the play Rendezvous, which he sold
to Arthur Hopkins. The play was performed on Broadway, with MacLane in
a featured role.The success of Rendezvous landed MacLane a contract
with Warner Bros. and brought him to the attention of several renowned
film directors, including Fritz Lang, Michael Curtiz, and William
Keighley. As a result, throughout the remainder of the 1930s, MacLane
was highly active in film, with major supporting roles in such
productions as The Case of the Curious Bride, G Men, The Prince and
the Pauper, and Lang's You Only Live Once and You and Me. He also
played the role of detective Steve McBride, opposite Glenda Farrell in
seven of the nine films featuring the fictional newspaper reporter
Torchy Blane.
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