John Ridgely  | |
|---|---|
![]() Ridgely in the trailer for Destination Tokyo (1943)  | |
| Born | John Huntington Rea September 6, 1909 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.  | 
| Died | January 18, 1968 (aged 58) New York City, U.S.  | 
| Alma mater | Stanford University | 
| Occupation | Actor | 
| Years active | 1935–1954 | 
| Spouse | Virginia Robinson[1] | 
John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea,[2] September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968 ) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits.[3]
Early years
Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,[4] the son of John Ridgely Rea. Ridgely's elementary schooling was in Hinsdale, Illinois, and he attended Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri.[5] He also attended Stanford University before his debut in movies.[6]
Film
He appeared in the 1946 Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep as blackmailing gangster Eddie Mars and had a pivotal role as a suffering heart patient in the film noir Nora Prentiss (1947). His most prominent other roles were his top-billed part as the bomber captain in Howard Hawks's Air Force and as real-life fighter pilot Tex Hill in 1945's God is My Co-Pilot.
The Chicago-born actor appeared in a large number of other films, particularly for Warner Bros., in the 1930s and 1940s.[7]
Freelancing after 1948, Ridgely continued to essay general-purpose parts until he left films in 1953.
Later life and death
He worked in summer-theater productions and television until his death from a heart attack at the age of 58 in 1968.[8]
Selected filmography
- Streamline Express (1935) as 2nd Steward (uncredited)
 - They Won't Forget (1937) as Boy in Pool Room (uncredited)
 - Submarine D-1 (1937) as Lieutenant Junior Grade (uncredited)
 - Missing Witnesses (1937) as Train Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
 - Hollywood Hotel (1937) as Tall Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
 - The Spy Ring (1938) as Spy Ring Member (uncredited)
 - The Patient in Room 18 (1938) as Jim Warren
 - The Invisible Menace (1938) as Pvt. Innes (scenes deleted)
 - White Banners (1938) as Charles Ellis
 - Blondes at Work (1938) as Regan
 - Forbidden Valley (1938) as Duke Lafferty
 - He Couldn't Say No (1938) as Ed the reporter
 - Torchy Blane in Panama (1938) as Reynolds
 - Crime School (1938) as Reporter Covering 'Escape' (uncredited)
 - Western Trails (1938) as Ben McClure
 - Little Miss Thoroughbred (1938) as Jim aka Slug, Becker's Henchman
 - Men Are Such Fools (1938) as Jerry (uncredited)
 - When Were You Born (1938) as Crenshaw, Policeman (uncredited)
 - My Bill (1938) as Mr. Martin, Florist
 - Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938) as Beacon Reporter
 - Racket Busters (1938) as Yellow Stripe Truck Driver (uncredited)
 - Boy Meets Girl (1938) as Simmons – Friday's Film Cutter (uncredited)
 - Garden of the Moon (1938) as Sound Control Engineer (uncredited)
 - Broadway Musketeers (1938) as Master of Ceremonies (scenes deleted)
 - Hard to Get (1938) as Burke
 - Torchy Gets Her Man (1938) as Bugs
 - Nancy Drew... Detective (1938) as Radio Station Technician (uncredited)
 - Going Places (1938) as Desk Clerk
 - King of the Underworld (1939) as Jerry
 - They Made Me a Criminal (1939) as Magee
 - Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939) as Submarine Officer (uncredited)
 - Wings of the Navy (1939) as Dan Morrison
 - Nancy Drew... Reporter (1939) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
 - Secret Service of the Air (1939) as Joe LeRoy
 - The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939) as Reporter
 - You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939) as Gas Station Attendant
 - On Trial (1939) as Radio Announcer (uncredited)
 - Women in the Wind (1939) as Salesman (uncredited)
 - Dark Victory (1939) as man Making Crack About Judith (uncredited)
 - Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) as Army Hospital Clerk (uncredited)
 - Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939) as Photographer in Mayor's Office (uncredited)
 - The Kid from Kokomo (1939) as Sam, a 50% Owner
 - Naughty but Nice (1939) as Harry, Hudson's Assistant (uncredited)
 - Indianapolis Speedway (1939) as Ted Horn
 - Waterfront (1939) as Orchestra Leader (uncredited)
 - Each Dawn I Die (1939) as Reporter (uncredited)
 - The Cowboy Quarterback (1939) as Mr. Walters
 - Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939) as Reporter at the Wrestling Match
 - Everybody's Hobby (1939) as Ranger Mike Morgan
 - The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) as Reporter at Pillory (uncredited)
 - Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939) as Reporter
 - Smashing the Money Ring (1939) as Policeman (uncredited)
 - On Dress Parade (1939) as Fort Lewis Firing Range Sergeant (uncredited)
 - The Roaring Twenties (1939) as Cab Driver (uncredited)
 - Kid Nightingale (1939) as Whitey
 - The Return of Doctor X (1939) as Rodgers
 - A Child Is Born (1939) as Intern Going to See Operation (uncredited)
 - Private Detective (1939) as Donald Norton
 - Invisible Stripes (1939) as Employment Clerk (uncredited)
 - The Fighting 69th (1940) as Moran (uncredited)
 - Castle on the Hudson (1940) as Intake Guard (uncredited)
 - Three Cheers for the Irish (1940) as Photographer (uncredited)
 - 'Til We Meet Again (1940) as Junior Officer (uncredited)
 - Saturday's Children (1940) as Mr. MacReady (voice, uncredited)
 - Torrid Zone (1940) as Gardner
 - Flight Angels (1940) as Lt. Parsons
 - Brother Orchid (1940) as Texas Pearson
 - Gambling on the High Seas (1940) as Police Radio Operator (uncredited)
 - The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940) as Brooks
 - They Drive By Night (1940) as Hank Dawson (uncredited)
 - River's End (1940) as Constable Jeffers
 - Money and the Woman (1940) as Doctor (uncredited)
 - No Time for Comedy (1940) as Cashier (uncredited)
 - Knute Rockne All American (1940) as Reporter (scenes deleted)
 - The Letter (1940) as Driver (uncredited)
 - Father Is a Prince (1940) as Salesman
 - Lady with Red Hair (1940) as Actor Playing Paul (uncredited)
 - Honeymoon for Three (1941) as Tomahawk Inn Desk Clerk (uncredited)
 - The Great Mr. Nobody (1941) as Eddie Williams
 - Here Comes Happiness (1941) as Jim
 - Knockout (1941) as Pat Martin
 - Strange Alibi (1941) as Tex
 - The Wagons Roll at Night (1941) as Arch
 - Million Dollar Baby (1941) as Ollie Ward
 - Highway West (1941) as Alex – Armored Car Guard
 - International Squadron (1941) as Bill Torrence
 - Navy Blues (1941) as Jersey
 - Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941) as Mechanic (uncredited)
 - They Died with Their Boots On (1941) as 2nd Lt. Davis (uncredited)
 - Steel Against the Sky (1941) as Joe (uncredited)
 - Dangerously They Live (1941) as John
 - The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) (uncredited)
 - The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) as Radio Man
 - Bullet Scars (1942) as Hank O'Connor
 - The Big Shot (1942) as Tim
 - Wings for the Eagle (1942) as Johnson
 - Secret Enemies (1942) as Agent John Trent
 - Air Force (1943) as Capt. Quincannon, B-17 Pilot
 - Northern Pursuit (1943) as Jim Austin
 - Destination Tokyo (1943) as Reserve Officer Raymond
 - The Doughgirls (1944) as Julian Cadman
 - Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) as Officer Saunders
 - Hollywood Canteen (1944) as himself
 - God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) as David 'Tex' Hill
 - Pride of the Marines (1945) as Jim Merchant
 - Danger Signal (1945) as Thomas Turner
 - My Reputation (1946) as Cary Abbott
 - Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946) as Mike Collins
 - The Big Sleep (1946) as Eddie Mars
 - The Man I Love (1947) as Roy Otis
 - Nora Prentiss (1947) as Walter Bailey, Heart Patient
 - That Way with Women (1947) as Sam
 - Possessed (1947) as Harker
 - That's My Man (1947) as Ramsey
 - Cheyenne (1947) as Chalkeye
 - Cry Wolf (1947) as Jackson Laidell
 - High Wall (1947) as David Wallace
 - The Iron Curtain (1948) as RCMP Officer Murphy (uncredited)
 - Night Wind (1948) as Walters
 - Luxury Liner (1948) as Chief Officer Carver
 - Sealed Verdict (1948) as Capt. Lance Nissen
 - Trouble Makers (1948) as 'Silky' Thomas
 - Command Decision (1948) as James Carwood
 - Tucson (1949) as Ben
 - Task Force (1949) as Dixie Rankin
 - Once More, My Darling (1949) as Burke
 - Border Incident (1949) as Mr. Neley
 - Backfire (1950) as Plainclothesman (uncredited)
 - Beauty on Parade (1950) as Jeffrey Woodstock
 - The Lost Volcano (1950) as Fred Barton
 - Edge of Doom (1950) as 1st Detective
 - The Petty Girl (1950) as Patrolman
 - South Sea Sinner (1950) as Don Williams
 - Rookie Fireman (1950) as Harry Williams
 - Saddle Tramp (1950) as Slim
 - Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951) as Railroad Detective Dan Hanes
 - The Last Outpost (1951) as Sam McQuade
 - A Place in the Sun (1951) as Coroner
 - Thunder in God's Country (1951) as Bill Stafford
 - Half Angel (1951) as Tim McCarey
 - When the Redskins Rode (1951) as Christopher Gist
 - When Worlds Collide (1951) as Chief Customs Inspector (uncredited)
 - As You Were (1951) as Captain
 - The Blue Veil (1951) as Doctor (uncredited)
 - Room for One More (1952) as Harry Foreman
 - The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) as Assistant Manager
 - Fort Osage (1952) as Henry Travers
 - The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952) as Bill Akeley (uncredited)
 - Off Limits (1952) as Lt. Cmdr. Parnell
 - The Congregation (1952)
 
Radio appearances
| Year | Program | Episode/source | 
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Warner Brothers Academy Theater | Special Agent[9] | 
References
- ↑ "Hollywood Movie Actor John Ridgely Biography, News, Photos, Videos".
 - ↑ Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 406. ISBN 9780786457632. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
 - ↑ John Ridgely Roles Now Number 175, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 2, 1951, p. 6
 - ↑ Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. P. 973.
 - ↑ Dudley, Fredda (August 1943). "Man with a Future". Screenland. XLVII (4): 25–29, 62. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
 - ↑ John Ridgely Roles Now Number 175, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 2, 1951, p. 6
 - ↑ John Ridgely Roles Now Number 175, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 2, 1951, p. 6
 - ↑ Willis, John, Screen World, 1969, Vol. 20, London: Frederick Muller Ltd, p. 239
 - ↑ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 39 (1): 32–41. Winter 2013.
 
