Ben Bard (January 26, 1893 – May 17, 1974) was an American movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Jack Pearl Jack Pearl (born Jack Perlman; October 29, 1894 – December 25, 1982) was a vaudeville performer and a star of early radio. He was best known for his character Baron Munchausen. Vaudeville and early films Born in New York, Pearl debuted as a ...

, Bard worked in a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

duo in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

made in

Lee DeForest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...

process. He had a small role in ''

The Bat Whispers ''The Bat Whispers'' is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Roland West, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, and released by United Artists. The film is based on the 1920 mystery play '' The Bat'', written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and ...

'' (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

acting school, Ben Bard Drama. Bard was recruited to be a

leading man A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

. However, he was

typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

as a "Suave Heavy"—a smooth-talking, well-dressed fellow with a dark side. An example of this type is his portrayal of "Mr. Brun" in ''

The Seventh Victim ''The Seventh Victim'' is a 1943 American horror film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. Written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal, and produced by Val Lewton f ...

'' (1943). Also in 1943, Bard appeared in two other

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a paint ...

-produced

horror films Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

: ''

The Leopard Man ''The Leopard Man'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Jean Brooks, and Margo (actress), Margo. Based on the book ''Black Alibi'' by Cornell Woolrich, it follows a series of violent murders ...

'', as Robles, the

Police Chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

, and ''

The Ghost Ship ''The Ghost Ship'' is a 1943 American black-and-white psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by Mark Robson, starring Richard Dix and featuring Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Ben Bard and Edmund Glover, alo ...

'', as First Officer Bowns. Bard became the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth-Century-Fox in September 1956, eventually resigning in August 1959. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.

Personal life

* In 1929 he married the

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater ...

star

Ruth Roland Ruth Roland (August 26, 1892 – September 22, 1937) was an American stage and film actress and film producer. Early life and career Roland was born in San Francisco, California to Elizabeth Lillian Hauser and Jack Roland. Her father managed a t ...

, and was married to Roland until her death in 1937. * In 1939, he married Roma Clarisse, an actress and last recipient of the Ruth Roland Scholarship to Ben Bard Drama. They had 3 children before she died in 1947. * In 1948 Bard married

Jackie Lynn Taylor Jacqueline Devon Taylor Fries (June 29, 1925 – May 5, 2014), professionally known as Jackie Lynn Taylor, was an American child actress. Biography Jacqueline Devon Taylor was born in Compton, California, and appeared in five ''Our Gang'' shor ...

, an actress in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' series. They divorced in 1954.

Death

Bard died in Los Angeles in 1974, aged 81. His resting place is with

in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. He is survived by his two sons, Bryan Barak Bard, a video documentary artist, and Bartley Bard, a professional director and screenwriter.

Selected filmography

* '' Sandy'' (1926) * ''

My Own Pal ''My Own Pal'' is a 1926 American silent Western film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Lillie Hayward. The film stars Tom Mix, Olive Borden, Tom Santschi, Virginia Marshall, Ben Bard, and William Colvin. The film was released on F ...

'' (1926) * '' 7th Heaven'' (1927) * ''

Two Flaming Youths ''Two Flaming Youths'' is a lost 1927 American silent comedy film directed by John Waters and written by John W. Conway, Donald Davis, Percy Heath, and Herman J. Mankiewicz. The film stars W. C. Fields, Chester Conklin, Mary Brian, Jack Luden ...

'' (1927) * ''

Love Makes 'Em Wild ''Love Makes 'Em Wild'' is a 1927 American comedy film directed by Albert Ray and written by Harold Shumate. The film stars John Harron, Sally Phipps, Ben Bard, Arthur Housman, J. Farrell MacDonald and Natalie Kingston. The film was released on ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Secret Studio ''The Secret Studio'' is a 1927 American drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by James Kevin McGuinness. The film stars Olive Borden, John Holland, Noreen Phillips, Ben Bard, Kate Bruce and Joseph Cawthorn. The film was releas ...

'' (1927) * ''

Come to My House ''Come to My House'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Olive Borden, Antonio Moreno and Ben Bard. Based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Somers Roche. Cast * Olive Borden as Joan Century * ...

'' (1927) * '' Dressed to Kill'' (1928) * ''

No Other Woman ''No Other Woman'' is a 2011 Filipino romantic drama film starring Anne Curtis, Derek Ramsay, and Cristine Reyes. The film is notable for breaking box office records in the Philippines. It currently holds the title of third highest grossing Fil ...

'' (1928) * '' Fleetwing'' (1928) * '' Romance of the Underworld'' (1928) * ''

Love and the Devil ''Love and the Devil'' is a 1929 American silent drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Milton Sills, María Corda and Ben Bard. Production It was the last time Korda worked with his wife María Corda who he had directed frequentl ...

'' (1929) * '' Born Reckless'' (1930) * ''

'' (1930) * ''

Meet the Baron ''Meet the Baron'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy film starring Jack Pearl, Jimmy Durante, Edna May Oliver, ZaSu Pitts, Ted Healy and the Three Stooges, His Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). The title of ...

'' (1933) * '' Black Angel'' (1946) (bartender)

References

External links

* * * *
Ben Bard
at Virtual History 1893 births 1974 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors American male stage actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Drama teachers Jewish American male actors Vaudeville performers Male actors from Milwaukee 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub