Al Bridge (February 26, 1891 â€" December 27, 1957) was an American
character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films
between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant,
gravel-voiced man with an untidy moustache. Sometimes credited as Alan
Bridge, and frequently not credited onscreen at all, he appeared in
many westerns, especially in the Hopalong Cassidy series, where he
played crooked sheriffs and henchmen.Bridge and his sister, who would
become the actress Loie Bridge, were raised by their mother and
stepfather, a Philadelphia butcher. Bridge served in the American
infantry during World War I. Joining relatives in a theatrical troupe,
Bridge toured the U.S. as an actor and wrote a few scripts. He broke
into movies with a pair of minor screenplays (the comedy short Her
Hired Husband in 1930 and a Western, God's Country and the Man (1931),
in which he also appeared. He spent the next 25 years as a familiar
face in B-Westerns and mainstream comedies and dramas. In the forties,
Bridge was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of
character actors, appearing in ten of the eleven American films that
Sturges wrote and directed. He is perhaps best remembered for his role
as "The Mister", the chain-gang boss over Joel McCrea in Preston
Sturges' Sullivan's Travels.Bridge's television work, which began in
1950 includes appearances on The Range Rider and The Gene Autry Show
as well as other programs.
character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films
between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant,
gravel-voiced man with an untidy moustache. Sometimes credited as Alan
Bridge, and frequently not credited onscreen at all, he appeared in
many westerns, especially in the Hopalong Cassidy series, where he
played crooked sheriffs and henchmen.Bridge and his sister, who would
become the actress Loie Bridge, were raised by their mother and
stepfather, a Philadelphia butcher. Bridge served in the American
infantry during World War I. Joining relatives in a theatrical troupe,
Bridge toured the U.S. as an actor and wrote a few scripts. He broke
into movies with a pair of minor screenplays (the comedy short Her
Hired Husband in 1930 and a Western, God's Country and the Man (1931),
in which he also appeared. He spent the next 25 years as a familiar
face in B-Westerns and mainstream comedies and dramas. In the forties,
Bridge was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of
character actors, appearing in ten of the eleven American films that
Sturges wrote and directed. He is perhaps best remembered for his role
as "The Mister", the chain-gang boss over Joel McCrea in Preston
Sturges' Sullivan's Travels.Bridge's television work, which began in
1950 includes appearances on The Range Rider and The Gene Autry Show
as well as other programs.
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