Edward DeKalb Acuff (June 3, 1903 – December 17, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. He frequently was cast as a droll comic relief, in the support of the star. His best-known recurring role is that of Mr. Beasley, the postman, in the ''
Blondie'' movie series that starred
Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton (born Mariana Dorothy McNulty, September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was an American actress and labor leader. During her six decade career on stage, screen, radio and television, Singleton appeared as the comic-strip he ...
and
Arthur Lake.
Early years
Acuff was born in
Caruthersville, Missouri.
He was the son of DeKalb Acuff (1880-1916) and his wife Grace (later known as Mrs. H. N. Arnold).
Career
Before beginning his Hollywood film career in 1934, Acuff performed in
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
in the early-1930s. His Broadway credits include ''Jayhawker'' (1934), ''Yellow Jack'' (1934), ''John Brown'' (1934), ''Growing Pains'' (1933), ''Heat Lightning'' (1933), and ''The Dark Hours'' (1932).
In 1935,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
signed Acuff to a long-term contract and scheduled him to debut on film in ''Anchors Aweigh''. He had a recurring role as the postman in the ''
Blondie'' film series. Acuff was seen in three film serials — as Curly in ''Jungle Girl'', as Red Kelly in ''Daredevils of the West'', and as Spud Warner in ''Chick Carter Detective''.
Death
On December 17, 1956, Acuff died of a heart attack
in
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
. He is buried in
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery located at 10621 Victory Boulevard, straddling the border between the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood and Burbank, California.
The cemetery's East entrance features the Portal of the Fo ...
.
[Resting Places: The Burial Places of 14,000 Famous Persons, by Scott Wilson]
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Acuff, Eddie
1903 births
1956 deaths
American male film actors
American male stage actors
Male actors from Missouri
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
People from Caruthersville, Missouri