William Bakewell
William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993), also known as Billy Bakewell, was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Bakewell, educated at Los Angeles Harvard Military School, began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924), and went on to appear in some 170 films and television shows. He had supporting roles at the end of the silent era and reached the peak of his career around 1930. He is perhaps best remembered for playing German soldier Albert Kropp in the film classic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and Rodney Jordan, Joan Crawford's brother, in Dance, Fools, Dance (1931). He also co-starred in Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) with Winnie Lightner and Lilyan Tashman. In 1933, he contributed to the founding of the Screen Actors Guild, and was member 44 of the original 50. He never achieved stardom after the Depression years, although he became familiar in dozens of films, including his short appearance as a mounted soldier in Gone with the Wind (1939) whom Scarlett O'Hara asks when the Yankee soldiers are coming to Atlanta.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army with the rank of second lieutenant. He was stationed at the 73rd Evacuation Hospital and at the Radio Section of the Special Service Division as the Post Intelligence Officer. He also worked under the department that handled distribution of recorded programs to overseas station circuits.
He starred in the Columbia Pictures serial Hop Harrigan (1946), where he played a top Air Corps pilot. He also portrayed Major Tobias Norton and a Keelboat Race Master of Ceremonies in the phenomenally popular Disney series Davy Crockett (1954-1955).
In the 1960s, he guest starred in numerous situation comedy television series, including Guestward, Ho!, Pete and Gladys, Bringing Up Buddy, The Tab Hunter Show, Mister Ed, Leave It to Beaver, The Jack Benny Program, Petticoat Junction , and Hazel. He also was cast in episodes of Peter Gunn, Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, The Roaring 20s, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, and 87th Precinct He played the Virginia statesman George Wythe in the episode "George Mason" in the 1965 NBC documentary series, Profiles in Courage. He made his last film in 1975.
For four decades, Bakewell served on the board of Motion Picture and Television Fund. He died on April 15, 1993 of leukemia at the age of 84.
Acted in
Bruised Celluloid
1984
as Himself
The Strongest Man in the World
1975
as Professor
Set This Town on Fire
1973
as Desk Clerk
Call Her Mom
1972
as Jeremy's Father
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Nanny and the Professor
1970
as Carnival Host
Nanny and the Professor
1970
as Norm
Love, American Style
1969
as Elroy
Not With My Wife, You Don't
1966
as Brig. Gen. Swift (uncredited)
That Girl
1966
I Dream of Jeannie
1965
as Colonel Harris
Green Acres
1965
Profiles in Courage
1964
as Wythe
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Ralph Craig
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Actor
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Herbert
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
The Virginian
1962
as Sam Branch
The Virginian
1962
as Nate Eastman
Hazel
1961
87th Precinct
1961
Mister Ed
1961
The Roaring 20's
1960
Bringing Up Buddy
1960
Guestward, Ho!
1960
Pete and Gladys
1960
Peter Gunn
1958
Sea Hunt
1958
Harbor Command
1957
Leave It to Beaver
1957
Maverick
1957
M Squad
1957
as Detective
Official Detective
1957
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
1956
as Official at Keel Boat Race (uncredited)
Highway Patrol
1955
The Great Gildersleeve
1955
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
1955
as Maj. Tobias Norton
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
1955
as Norton
Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter
1954
as Major Norton
Lucky Me
1954
as Motorist (uncredited)
So This Is Love
1953
as Charles, Waiter (uncredited)
I'm the Law
1953
Radar Men from the Moon
1952
as Ted Richards
Come Fill the Cup
1951
as Hal Ortman
The Adventures of Boston Blackie
1951
When the Redskins Rode
1951
as Appleby
Wells Fargo Gunmaster
1951
as Charlie Lannon
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Major Dort
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Robert Cooper
The Capture
1950
as Herb Tolin, Bolsa Grande Oil
You Gotta Stay Happy
1948
as Dick Hebert
Night Wind
1948
as Capt. Kingston
Romance on the High Seas
1948
as Dudley (Travel Agent)
So This Is New York
1948
as Hotel Clerk
Arthur Takes Over
1948
as Lawrence White
King of the Bandits
1947
as Captain Frank Mason
Messenger of Peace
1947
as Pastor Willie von Adel
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1947
as Winters
The Trespasser
1947
as Bruce Coleman
The Farmer's Daughter
1947
as Windor
The Fabulous Dorseys
1947
as Eddie
Jungle Terror
1946
as Tom Branning
Hop Harrigan: America's Ace of the Airways
1946
as Hop Harrigan
King of the Mounties
1942
as Cpl. Hall Ross
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
1942
as Hugh Pleasant
The Postman Didn't Ring
1942
as Robert Harwood Jr.
I Live on Danger
1942
as Mac
The Dawn Express
1942
as Tom Fielding
Dr. Kildare's Victory
1942
as Mr. Hubbell
Seven Sinners
1940
as Ensign
The Saint Takes Over
1940
as Shipboard Card Player
Beyond Tomorrow
1940
as David Chadwick
Hotel Imperial
1939
as Cadet (uncredited)
Zenobia
1939
as Townsman at Zeke's Recitation
Gone with the Wind
1939
as Mounted Officer
King of the Turf
1939
as Intern
The Duke of West Point
1938
as Committee Captain
The Higgins Family
1938
as Eddie Davis
Exiled to Shanghai
1937
as Andrew
Trapped by G-Men
1937
as Dick Withers
Jungle Menace
1937
as Tom Banning
Dangerous Holiday
1937
as Tom Connor
Mile a Minute Love
1937
as Bob
Quality Street
1937
as Lieutenant Spicer
Sea Spoilers
1936
as Lieut. Commander Mays
Lady Luck
1936
as Dave Haines
Happiness C.O.D.
1935
as Ken Sherridan
Together We Live
1935
as Billy
Strangers All
1935
as Dick Carter
On Probation
1935
as Bill Coleman
Laddie
1935
as Robert Pryor
Sons of Steel
1934
as Roland Chadburne
Crimson Romance
1934
as Adolph
The Curtain Falls
1934
as Barry Graham
The Party's Over
1934
as Clay
Straight Is the Way
1934
as Dr. Wilkes
Green Eyes
1934
as Cliff Miller
Speed Wings
1934
as Jerry
The Quitter
1934
as Russell Tilford
You Can't Buy Everything
1934
as Don Bell (adult)
Straightaway
1933
as Billy Dawson
A Man of Sentiment
1933
as John Russell
Three-Cornered Moon
1933
as Douglas Rimplegar
Lucky Devils
1933
as Slugger Jones
Back Street
1932
as Richard Saxel
While Paris Sleeps
1932
as Paul Renoir
Cheaters at Play
1932
as Maurice Perry
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
as Jim Stewart
Guilty Hands
1931
as Tommy Osgood
A Woman of Experience
1931
as Count Karl Runyi
Daybreak
1931
as Otto
Politics
1931
as Benny Emerson
Dance, Fools, Dance
1931
as Rodney Jordan
Reducing
1931
as Tommy Haverly
Paid
1930
as Carney
The Bat Whispers
1930
as Brook
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930
as Albert Kropp
Playing Around
1930
as Jack
Show of Shows
1929
as Performer in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number (uncredited)
Gold Diggers of Broadway
1929
as Wally Saunders
On With the Show!
1929
as Jimmy
Hot Stuff
1929
as Mack Moran
The Iron Mask
1929
as Louis XIV / Twin Brother
Lady of the Pavements
1929
as A Pianist
Annapolis
1928
as Skippy
The Battle of the Sexes
1928
as The Son
Harold Teen
1928
as Percival
The Latest from Paris
1928
as Bud Dolan
West Point
1928
as 'Tex' McNeil
The Shield of Honor
1927
as Jerry MacDowell
Mother
1927
as Jerry Ellis
The Heart Thief
1927
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
1926
as Salesman
Old Ironsides
1926
as Young Philadelphian (uncredited)
The Last Edition
1925
as 'Ink' Donovan