Bernard Punsly, also known as Bernard Punsley (July 11, 1923 – January 20, 2004) was an American actor and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. He was the last surviving member of the

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 ...

Biography

Early life and acting career

Punsly was born on July 11, 1923, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of a tailor. He began his acting career at the age of eight in the play ''I Love An Actress''. He was later cast as Milty in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

play '' Dead End''. The success of the play led to Punsly and some of its child actors being cast in a 1937 film adaptation, '' Dead End''. In the film, which portrayed the youths as victims of society.Punsly again played Milty. After that film he appeared in the

Little Tough Guys The Little Tough Guys (later billed as 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 Kids ...

series. His other films included ''Angels With Dirty Faces'' (1938), ''

Little Tough Guy ''Little Tough Guy'' is a 1938 American crime film that starred several of the '' Dead End Kids''. In the follow-up films, the studio began using the group name '' The Little Tough Guys'', and later '' The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys''. ...

'' (1938) and ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

'' (1939). He played W.C. Fields' caddy in ''

The Big Broadcast of 1938 ''The Big Broadcast of 1938'' is a Paramount Pictures musical film, musical comedy film starring W. C. Fields and featuring Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies that were variety sh ...

''. At his death, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' recounted that Punsly "often played the innocent youth that got hooked up with the gang," and that off-camera he was considered the "good kid" among the actors. The success of the led to the group appearing in a series of films that featured actors from the films. He went on to appear in 18 other films. During his career he worked with stars such as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

, Pat O'Brien,

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 Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

. In 1994, Punsly appeared with the other last survivor of the Dead End Kids,

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later "The Bowe ...

, in which the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hall died in 1999.

After acting

Punsly left acting after his last film, '' Mug Town'' (1942), when other actors in the series went on to become the Bowery Boys. Punsly joined the U.S. Army in 1943. While serving in the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

he received medical training. Upon discharge from the Army, Punsly entered the

Medical College of Georgia The Medical College of Georgia (often referred to as MCG) is the medical school of Augusta University, the state's only public medical school, and one of the top 10 largest medical schools in the United States. Established in 1828 as the Medical ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, 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 moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and served and internship and residency at Los Angeles County Medical Center. He became an

internist Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...

at Little Company of Mary Hospital. He became chief of staff at South Bay Hospital in

Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) 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 Santa Mo ...

in 1971. He retired in 2002.

Personal life

Punsly married Marilyn "Lynne" Kufferman in 1950. He lived for many years in

Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates. The city was master-planned by the noted American lan ...

. Punsly died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on January 20, 2004, at age 80, in Torrance, California. He was survived by his wife, a son, two grandchildren and a sister.

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