Ben Bard

Ben Bard

1893-01-26 – 1974-05-17 (age 81) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ben Bard (January 26, 1893, Milwaukee – May 17, 1974, Los Angeles) was a movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville. In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a short film made in Lee DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process.

Bard had a small roll in Roland West's classic mystery The Bat Whispers (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading Hollywood acting school, Ben Bard Drama. He married the serial film star Ruth Roland in 1929, and was married to Roland until her death in 1937.

Bard was recruited to be a leading man at Fox Film Corporation. However, he was typecast 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 (1943).

Also in 1943, Bard appeared in two other Val Lewton-produced horror films: The Leopard Man, as Robles, the Police Chief, and The Ghost Ship, as First Officer Bowns.

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, an actress in the Our Gang series. They divorced in 1954. During the 1950s, Bard was the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth Century Fox. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.

Bard died in Los Angeles in 1974. His resting place is with Ruth Roland at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. He is survived by his son Bryan Barak Bard, who is a video documentary artist living in Israel. He is also survived by his other son Bartley Bard, who is a professional director and screenwriter.

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Photos

Known For

Born Reckless
Born Reckless

1930

as Joe Bergman

Night Work
Night Work

1930

as Pinkie

The Leopard Man
The Leopard Man

1943

as Police Chief Robles

Black Angel
Black Angel

1946

as Bartender

7th Heaven
7th Heaven

1927

as Col. Brissac

The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Victim

1943

as Mr. Brun

Youth Runs Wild
Youth Runs Wild

1944

as Mr. Taylor

The Bat Whispers
The Bat Whispers

1930

as The Unknown

The Ghost Ship
The Ghost Ship

1943

as First Officer Bowns

Romance of the Underworld
Romance of the Underworld

1928

as Derby Dan Manning

Two Girls Wanted
Two Girls Wanted

1927

as Jack Terry

My Own Pal
My Own Pal

1926

as Baxter Barton

Dressed to Kill
Dressed to Kill

1928

as Nick

The Secret Studio
The Secret Studio

1927

as Larry Kane

Meet the Baron
Meet the Baron

1933

as Charley

🎦
Car Shy

1927

as Towne Lamp

Love and the Devil
Two Flaming Youths
The Circus: Premiere
No Other Woman
No Other Woman

1928

as Albert