Lyle Talbot (born Lisle Henderson; February 8, 1902 â€" March 2, 1996)
was an American actor on stage and screen, known for his career in
film from 1931 to 1960 and for his appearances on television in the
1950s and 1960s. He played Ozzie Nelson's friend and neighbor, Joe
Randolph, for ten years in the ABC sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and
Harriet.He began his movie career under contract with Warner Bros. in
the early days of sound film. He appeared in more than 150 films,
first as a young matinee idol, the star of many B movies, and later as
a character actor. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild
and later served on its board. Talbot's long career as an actor is
recounted in a book by his youngest daughter, The New Yorker writer
Margaret Talbot, entitled The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My
Father's Twentieth Century.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised
in Brainard, Nebraska (largely by his grandmother), Talbot graduated
from high school in Omaha, Nebraska. He left home at 17, and began his
career as a magician's assistant, becoming a leading actor in
traveling tent shows in the American Midwest.He briefly established
his own theater company in Memphis, Tennessee which included his
father and stepmother, Ed and Anna Henderson. He went to Hollywood in
1931, when the film industry began producing movies with sound and
needed "actors who could talk". His screen test at Warner Bros. was
watched and appreciated by studio production chief Darryl F. Zanuck
and, even more so, by director William Wellman who immediately wanted
to cast Talbot. Talbot became a contract player at Warners along with
future stars like Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.
was an American actor on stage and screen, known for his career in
film from 1931 to 1960 and for his appearances on television in the
1950s and 1960s. He played Ozzie Nelson's friend and neighbor, Joe
Randolph, for ten years in the ABC sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and
Harriet.He began his movie career under contract with Warner Bros. in
the early days of sound film. He appeared in more than 150 films,
first as a young matinee idol, the star of many B movies, and later as
a character actor. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild
and later served on its board. Talbot's long career as an actor is
recounted in a book by his youngest daughter, The New Yorker writer
Margaret Talbot, entitled The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My
Father's Twentieth Century.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised
in Brainard, Nebraska (largely by his grandmother), Talbot graduated
from high school in Omaha, Nebraska. He left home at 17, and began his
career as a magician's assistant, becoming a leading actor in
traveling tent shows in the American Midwest.He briefly established
his own theater company in Memphis, Tennessee which included his
father and stepmother, Ed and Anna Henderson. He went to Hollywood in
1931, when the film industry began producing movies with sound and
needed "actors who could talk". His screen test at Warner Bros. was
watched and appreciated by studio production chief Darryl F. Zanuck
and, even more so, by director William Wellman who immediately wanted
to cast Talbot. Talbot became a contract player at Warners along with
future stars like Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.
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