Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel /ˈɛl brÉ›nˈdÉ›l/ (March 25, 1890 â€"
April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star,
best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His
biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical Just Imagine
(1930), produced by Fox Film Corporation. His screen name was
pronounced "El Bren-DEL".He was born on March 25, 1890 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Irish mother and German immigrant
father. Brendel, unlike his stage and film character, was not Swedish.
He spoke standard American English without a trace of any other
accent. He attended the University of Pennsylvania.He entered
vaudeville in 1913 as a German dialect comedian and married his
vaudeville partner. Because of the anti-German sentiment brought about
by the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Brendel developed a new
character, one he would portray on stage and in films for the rest of
his career: a good-natured, simple Swede, often called "Oley," "Ole,"
or "Ollie." During the 1910s and early 1920s, he appeared with his
wife, vaudeville star Flo Bert, doing a married-couple routine. It was
during this period that he coined his trademark lines, "Yee vizz!" and
"Yumpin' yiminy!". He made his first stage appearance in 1921. He
appeared in Cinderella on Broadway, Spice of 1922, Passing Show, and
New York Whirl.In 1926, he signed a contract with Famous Players Film
Company and appeared in eight films there over the next two years,
most memorably as the comic relief in Wings (1927) with Clara Bow and
Buddy Rogers, a film which won the first Academy Award for Outstanding
Production (an award that is comparable to today's Best Picture
Oscar.) Brendel played the character Herman Schwimpf, a
German-American whose patriotism is at first questioned when he
volunteers for service in the U.S. Air Force.
April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star,
best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His
biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical Just Imagine
(1930), produced by Fox Film Corporation. His screen name was
pronounced "El Bren-DEL".He was born on March 25, 1890 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Irish mother and German immigrant
father. Brendel, unlike his stage and film character, was not Swedish.
He spoke standard American English without a trace of any other
accent. He attended the University of Pennsylvania.He entered
vaudeville in 1913 as a German dialect comedian and married his
vaudeville partner. Because of the anti-German sentiment brought about
by the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Brendel developed a new
character, one he would portray on stage and in films for the rest of
his career: a good-natured, simple Swede, often called "Oley," "Ole,"
or "Ollie." During the 1910s and early 1920s, he appeared with his
wife, vaudeville star Flo Bert, doing a married-couple routine. It was
during this period that he coined his trademark lines, "Yee vizz!" and
"Yumpin' yiminy!". He made his first stage appearance in 1921. He
appeared in Cinderella on Broadway, Spice of 1922, Passing Show, and
New York Whirl.In 1926, he signed a contract with Famous Players Film
Company and appeared in eight films there over the next two years,
most memorably as the comic relief in Wings (1927) with Clara Bow and
Buddy Rogers, a film which won the first Academy Award for Outstanding
Production (an award that is comparable to today's Best Picture
Oscar.) Brendel played the character Herman Schwimpf, a
German-American whose patriotism is at first questioned when he
volunteers for service in the U.S. Air Force.
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