Irving Ernest Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

who appeared in almost 500 films.

Early years

Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar West Bacon (who was a teenager) and Myrtle Vane. He was born in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

, and grew up in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. His parents divorced in 1900. His father remarried, to Lena Ann Davis in Spokane later that year.

Career

Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933, Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967), was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned some 45 years. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer Day''. H ...

—wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup—in a Sennett comedy. Meet John Doe 1941

Bacon often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he appeared in three dozen features. Today's audiences may know him as the soda jerk in the W. C. Fields comedy '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'', the wily wagon driver in the

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

musical ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

'', the angry motel guest in the Oscar-winning short '' Star in the Night'', and

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

's father in '' The Glenn Miller Story''. His most familiar role was as Mr. Beasley, the weary postman in

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

' '' Blondie'' film series. During the 1950s, Bacon worked steadily in a number of television sitcoms, most notably ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'', in which he appeared in two episodes, one of which cast him as Ethel Mertz's father.

Personal life

He worked as a Carburetor and Magneto Machinist for the San Diego Battery and Ignition Company according to his 1917 WWI draft Registration Card." Bacon was married to Freda Lee Scoville until her death in 1928; they had a son and a daughter. In June 1930, Bacon married Margaret Beaver; they had a son, Frank. They were divorced in 1934. In 1937, he wed, lastly, Alice Bernice Peters. He died on February 5, 1965, aged 71, in Hollywood.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Irving 1893 births 1965 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors American male television actors Male actors from St. Joseph, Missouri 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors