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Ben Bard

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Ben Bard
Born
Benjamin Greenberg

(1893-01-26)January 26, 1893
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedMay 17, 1974(1974-05-17) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
Great Mausoleum
Azalea Terrace
Ruth Roland's family crypt
Occupation(s)Film, stage actor
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1929; died 1937)​
Roma Clarisse
​
​
(m. 1939; died 1947)​
​
​
(m. 1948; div. 1954)​

Ben Bard (January 26, 1893 – May 17, 1974) was an American movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville.[1]

In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a short film made in Lee DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. He had a small role in The Bat Whispers (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading Hollywood acting school, Ben Bard Drama.

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.

Bard became the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth-Century-Fox in September 1956,[2] eventually resigning in August 1959. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.

Ben Bard Theater

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For at least 20 years Bard operated the Ben Bard Theater in Hollywood. The theater had two primary functions — presenting plays and training new actors. In 1952 it presented a new show every week, put on by 150 students and seven directors. Actors who participated in the theater included Turhan Bey, Jack Carson, Alan Ladd, Kathy Lewis, and Gig Young. Talent scouts regularly attended productions to recruit new talent.[3] Facilities at the theater included classrooms, a dance auditorium, a miniature theater, study halls, and offices.[4]

Marriages

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  • In 1929 he married the serial film star Ruth Roland, 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, an actress in the Our Gang series. They divorced in 1954.

Death

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Bard died in Los Angeles in 1974, aged 81. His resting place is with Ruth Roland in an unmarked grave in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[5]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Laurie Joe, Jr. (1953). Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt. p. 86.
  2. ^ Schallert, Edwin (September 12, 1956). "Rory Calhoun Aligns With Independents; New Plays Due; Bard Signs". Los Angeles Times. Vol. 75, no. 9. Los Angeles, California. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Famed Ben Bard Theater brings along future stars". The Birmingham News. December 14, 1952. p. B 4. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ben Bard Players Come Here Feb. 17-18". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. February 4, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Scott Wilson (22 August 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
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