Bernard Punsly (July 11, 1923 – January 20, 2004) was an American actor who later left

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

to become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. His last name was often spelled incorrectly in film credits as Punsley.

Early life and acting career

Punsly was born on July 11, 1923, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1935, he auditioned for a part in the play ''Dead End'', because he thought it might be fun. The success of the play led to a number of its child actors being cast in a 1937 film adaptation, ''

Dead End Dead End or dead end may refer to: * Dead end (street), a street connected only at one end with other streets, called by many other official names, including ''cul-de-sac''. Film and television * ''The Dead End'' (1914 film), directed by Davi ...

'', including Punsly. Its success led to the group appearing in a series of "

Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play '' Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They prov ...

" films. He later appeared in an offshoot group of those films starring what were dubbed the "

Little Tough Guys The Little Tough Guys (later billed as 'The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys') were a group of actors who made a series of films and serials released by Universal Studios from 1938 through 1943. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End ...

". Punsly worked with well known stars such as Ronald Reagan, James Cagney,

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

, and Humphrey Bogart in these films.

After acting

Even as an actor, Punsly was known to read medical books in his spare time. He joined the army after his last film, ''

Mug Town ''Mug Town'' is a 1942 Universal film starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys. Plot Steve, Tommy, Pig, Ape, and String get chased out of town. During their attempt to hop onto a freight car, Steve dies. The other boys go and tell Ali ...

'', where he received medical training. He served in the Army Air Forces from March 1943 to March 1946. Upon discharge from the army, Punsly entered the Medical College of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, subsequently obtaining his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1949. He returned to California and set up a medical practice in Torrance, never returning to show business. He became chief of staff in the South Bay Hospital in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

Personal life

Punsly married a woman named Lynne and had two children, Brian and Richard. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on January 20, 2004, at age 80, in a hospital in Torrance, California.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Punsly, Bernard 1923 births 2004 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Actors from Redondo Beach, California 20th-century American male actors University of Georgia alumni United States Army Air Forces soldiers