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Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and awards, including a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Sunrise at Campobello as well as Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Awful Truth (1937). In 1986, Bellamy was awarded with an Academy Honorary Award.

He gained prominence for his roles in Boy Meets Girl (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), (1940), The Wolf Man (1941), and Sunrise at Campobello (1960). He is also known for his later roles in Rosemary's Baby (1968), Oh, God! (1977), (1983), and (1990).


Early life
Bellamy was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy on June 17, 1904, in , . He was the son of Lilla Louise (née Smith), a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was 15 and managed to gain employment in a road show. He toured with road shows before finally landing in New York City. He began acting on stage there and, by 1927, owned his own theater company. In 1931, he made his film debut and worked constantly throughout the decade both as a lead and as a capable supporting actor. He co-starred in five films with .
(2015). 9781476604152, McFarland. .


Career
His film career began with The Secret Six (1931), starring and featuring and . By the end of 1933, he had already appeared in 22 movies, including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932) and the second lead in the action film with (1933). He played in seven more films in 1934 alone, including Woman in the Dark, based on a story, in which Bellamy played the lead, second billed under . Bellamy received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Awful Truth (1937) with and , and played a similar part, that of a naive boyfriend competing with Grant's sophisticated character, in His Girl Friday (1940). He portrayed detective in a few films during the 1940s, but as his film career did not progress, he returned to the stage, where he continued to perform throughout the 1950s. Bellamy appeared in other movies during this time, including Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) with Maureen O'Hara and , and the horror classic The Wolf Man (1941) with Lon Chaney Jr. and .Maltin 1994, p. 63. He also appeared in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) with Chaney and .

Bellamy appeared on Broadway as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello, winning a for the role in 1957. He reprised the role in the 1960 film version.

In the summer of 1961, Bellamy hosted nine original episodes of Frontier Justice. In 1950, Bellamy became a member of The Lambs, an actors club located in New York. "What is The Lambs?" The-Lambs.org. Retrieved: May 16, 2013.

Bellamy appeared in Death Valley Days ("The Vintage Years", 1962) as Daniel Quint, a minister. In the story, a young woman whom Quint befriends on a stagecoach ride, Lorna Erickson (), sets him up to be robbed by her paramour (William Bryant).

Highly regarded within the industry, Bellamy served four terms as the president of Actors' Equity from 1952 to 1964. On film, Bellamy starred in The Professionals (1966) as an oil tycoon, and in 's Rosemary's Baby (1968) as an evil physician. He turned to television during the 1970s. He played many roles in numerous shows, sometimes as a series regular. In 1970, he played the lead role of Ethan Arcane in the series The Most Deadly Game. Bellamy portrayed Adlai Stevenson in the TV movie The Missiles of October (1974), a treatment of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was a member of the cast of the short-lived series Hunter in 1977.

An nomination for the mini-series The Winds of War (1983)—in which Bellamy reprised his Sunrise at Campobello role of Franklin D. Roosevelt—brought him back into the spotlight. This role was followed by his role as Randolph Duke, a conniving millionaire commodities trader in (1983). The film Coming to America (1988) included a brief cameo by Bellamy and , reprising their roles as the Duke brothers. Around this time, he again portrayed Franklin Roosevelt in War and Remembrance (1988), the sequel to The Winds of War.

Among his later roles was an appearance as a once-brilliant but increasingly senile lawyer sadly skewered by ' character on an episode of L.A. Law. Bellamy continued working regularly and gave his final performance in (1990).


Personal life
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Bellamy was seen socially with a select circle of friends known affectionately as the Irish Mafia, but they preferred the less sensational Boy's Club as its name. This group consisted of a group of Hollywood A-listers who were mainly of Irish descent (despite Bellamy having no Irish family connections). Others included , Pat O'Brien, , , and . "The Irish Mafia (Boy's Club)." Classic Hollywood. Retrieved: August 13, 2013. Bellamy opened the Palm Springs Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California, with fellow actor in 1934.Niemann 2006, p. 286.Rippingale 1984, p. 146.

Bellamy was married four times: first to Alice Delbridge (1927–1930), then to Catherine Willard (1931–1945), then to organist Ethel Smith (1945–1947), and finally to Alice Murphy (1949–1991; his death).Lamparski 1970 .

A Democrat, Bellamy was in attendance at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Retrieved: May 16, 2013.


Death
On November 29, 1991, Bellamy died from a lung ailment at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was 87 years old.


Awards and honors
In 1984, Bellamy was presented with a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild, and in 1987, he received an Honorary Academy Award "for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting." Bellamy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6542 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Retrieved: May 16, 2013.

In a 2007 episode of , footage of The Defender, a 1957 episode of Studio One, was used. The episode featured Bellamy and as a father-and-son lawyer duo. This was used in the present day to explain the relationship between Shatner's character and his father in the show.


Filmography

Film
1931The Secret SixJohnny Franks
1931The Magnificent LieBill Childers
1931West of BroadwayMac, the Ranch Foreman
1931SurrenderCaptain Ebbing
1932ForbiddenHolland
1932Disorderly ConductCaptain Tom Manning
1932Young AmericaJudge Blake
1932The Woman in Room 13John Bruce
1932Rebecca of Sunnybrook FarmDr. Ladd
1932Almost MarriedDeene Maxwell
1932Wild GirlJack Marbury
1932Air MailMike Miller
1933Second Hand WifeCarter Cavendish
1933Joseph B. 'Joe' Smith
1933Below the SeaMcCreary
1933Destination UnknownStowaway
1933McLean
1933The Narrow CornerEric Whittenson
1933'Speed' Hardy
1933Hal Caldwell
1933Jim Steele
1933Ace of AcesCaptain/Major Blake
1933Ever in My HeartJeff
1933Before MidnightInspector Steve Trent
1934SpitfireGeorge Fleetwood
1934Once to Every WomanDr. Barclay
1934This Man Is MineJim Dunlap
1934The Crime of Helen StanleyInspector Steve Trent
1934One Is GuiltyInspector Steve Trent
1934Girl in DangerInspector Steve Trent
1934Woman in the DarkJohn Bradley
1935HelldoradoJ.F. Van Avery
1935Rendezvous at MidnightCommissioner Robert Edmonds
1935GigoletteTerry Gallagher
1935The Wedding NightFredrik Sobieski
1935Eight BellsSteve Andrews
1935Barry Eldon
1935The HealerDr. Holden
1935Navy WifeDr. Quentin Harden
1935Hands Across the TableAllen Macklyn
1936Dangerous IntrigueTony Halliday
1936Daniel S. 'Dan' Bailey
1936The Final HourJohn Vickery
1936Straight from the ShoulderCurt Hayden
1936The Man Who Lived TwiceDr. James Blake/'Slick' Rawley
1936Wild Brian KentBrian Kent
1936Johnny Pierce
1937Let's Get MarriedKirk Duncan
1937It Can't Last ForeverRuss Matthews
1937The Awful TruthDaniel Leeson
1938The Crime of Dr. HalletDr. Paul Hallet
1938Fools for ScandalPhillip Chester
1938Boy Meets GirlC. Elliott Friday
1938CarefreeStephen Arden
1938Girls' SchoolMichael Hendragin
1938Trade WindsBen Blodgett
1939Smashing the Spy RingJohn Baxter
1939Let Us LiveLieutenant Everett
1939Blind AlleyDr. Shelby
1939Coast GuardLt. Raymond 'Ray' Dower
1940His Girl FridayBruce Baldwin
1940Bill Graves
1940Clarence P. Fletcher
1940Queen of the MobFBI Agent Scott Langham
1940Dance, Girl, DanceSteve Adams
1940Public Deb No. 1Bruce Fairchild
1940Meet the WildcatLt. Brad Williams
1940Ellery Queen, Master DetectiveEllery Queen
1941Footsteps in the DarkDr. Davis
1941Ellery Queen's Penthouse MysteryEllery Queen
1941Affectionately YoursOwen Wright
1941Dive BomberLance Rogers
1941Ellery Queen and the Perfect CrimeEllery Queen
1941Ellery Queen and the Murder RingEllery Queen
1941The Wolf ManColonel Montford
1942The Ghost of FrankensteinErik Ernst
1942Lady in a JamStanley Gardner
1942Men of TexasMajor Lamphere
1942The Great ImpersonationSir Edward Dominey /
Baron Leopold von Ragenstein
1943Stage Door CanteenRalph Bellamy
1944Guest in the HouseDouglas Proctor
1945Delightfully DangerousArthur Hale
1945Lady on a TrainJonathan Waring
1955The Court-Martial of Billy MitchellCongressman Frank R. Reid
1960Sunrise at CampobelloFranklin Delano Roosevelt
1966The ProfessionalsGrant
1968Rosemary's BabyDr. Abraham Sapirstein
1971Doctors' WivesJake Porter
1972Cancel My ReservationJohn Ed
1975The Log of the Black Pearl
1977Oh, God!Sam Raven
1980The Memory of Eva RykerWilliam E. Ryker
1983Randolph Duke
1983The UnBobPolice Officer
1983Little House on the PrairieDr. Marvin Haynes
1984Terror in the Aisles(Archival footage)
1987Albert Dennison
1987Amazon Women on the MoonMr. GowerSegment: "Titan Man"
1988Coming to AmericaRandolph Dukecameo
1988The Good MotherFrank, Grandfather
1990James Morse


Television
1966The F.B.I.Captain Jennersonepisode "The Death Wind"
1961RawhideJudge QuinceS4:E4, "Judgment at Hondo Seco"
1961CheckmateGovernor Tom Barkerepisode "Portrait of a Running Man"
S8:E9, "The Pursuit"
1967Sheriff Bassettepisode "Rope Fever"
1968The F.B.I.Drydenepisode "The Butcher"
1968The VirginianJeremiahseason 7 episode 01 (The saddle warmer)
1974The Missiles of OctoberU.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevensontelevision film
1976Once an EagleEd CaldwellTV miniseries
1976The MoneychangersJerome PattertonTV miniseries
1977The Bob Newhart ShowProfessor Alan Dreebenepisode "You're Fired, Mr. Chips"
1977Testimony of Two MenDr. Jim SpauldingTV miniseries
1978WheelsLowell BaxterTV miniseries
1980CondominiumLee MessengerTelevision film
1984The Winds of WarFranklin D. RooseveltTV miniseries
1986The Twilight ZoneEmile Francis BendictsonS1:E15a, "Monsters!"
1987MatlockSen. Lambert Crawford"The Power Brokers" parts 1 and 2 (season 2, episodes 5 and 6)
1988War and RemembranceFranklin D. RooseveltTV miniseries
1988L.A. LawAugust ReddingS2:E15, "The Bald Ones"
1989–1990Christine CromwellCyrus Blainfour episodes


Short subjects
  • Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 7 (1936)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 12 (1937)
  • Breakdowns of 1938 (1938)
  • What's My Line?, the "mystery guest" three times (in March 1952, January 1958 and September 1960)


Radio
Phantom Lady


Bibliography
  • Lamparski, Richard. Whatever Became Of ....? – Third Series. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970. .
  • Maltin, Leonard. "Ralph Bellamy". Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia. New York: Dutton, 1994. .
  • Nieman, Greg. Palm Springs Legends: Creation of a Desert Oasis. San Diego, California: Sunbelt Publications, 2006. .
  • Rippingale, Sally Presley. The History of the Racquet Club of Palm Springs. Yucaipa, California: US Business Specialties, 1984. .


See also
  • List of people from California
  • List of people from Palm Springs, California

Notes


External links

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