Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and awards, including a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for '' Sunrise at Campobello'' as well as

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in ...

nomination for '' The Awful Truth'' (1937). In 1986, Bellamy was awarded with an Academy Honorary Award. He gained prominence for his roles in '' Boy Meets Girl'' (1938), '' His Girl Friday'' (1940), '' Flight Angels'' (1940), '' The Wolf Man'' (1941), and '' Sunrise at Campobello'' (1960). He is also known for his later roles in '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), '' Oh, God!'' (1977), '' Trading Places'' (1983), and '' Pretty Woman'' (1990).

Early life

Bellamy was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy on June 17, 1904 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He was the son of Lilla Louise (née Smith), a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was 15 and managed to gain employment in a road show. He toured with road shows before finally landing in New York City. He began acting on stage there and, by 1927, owned his own theater company. In 1931, he made his film debut and worked constantly throughout the decade both as a lead and as a capable supporting actor. He co-starred in five films with Fay Wray.

Career

Ralph Bellamy Gloria McGhee Man Against Crime 1953

His film career began with '' The Secret Six'' (1931), starring Wallace Beery and featuring

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

and

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

. By the end of 1933, he had already appeared in 22 movies, including '' Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1932) and the second lead in the action film '' Picture Snatcher'' with James Cagney (1933). He played in seven more films in 1934 alone, including '' Woman in the Dark'', based on a Dashiell Hammett story, in which Bellamy played the lead, second billed under Fay Wray. Bellamy received a nomination for the

for his role in '' The Awful Truth'' (1937) with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, and played a similar part, that of a naive boyfriend competing with Grant's sophisticated character, in '' His Girl Friday'' (1940). He portrayed detective

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...

in a few films during the 1940s, but as his film career did not progress, he returned to the stage, where he continued to perform throughout the 1950s. Bellamy appeared in other movies during this time, including '' Dance, Girl, Dance'' (1940) with Maureen O'Hara and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

, and the horror classic '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) with Lon Chaney Jr. and

Evelyn Ankers Evelyn Felisa Ankers (August 17, 1918 – August 29, 1985) was a British-American actress who often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably '' The Wolf Man'' ( ...

.Maltin 1994, p. 63. He also appeared in '' The Ghost of Frankenstein'' (1942) with Chaney and

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

. Bellamy appeared on Broadway as

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in '' Sunrise at Campobello'', winning a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for the role in 1957. He reprised the role in the 1960 film version. In the summer of 1961, Bellamy hosted nine original episodes of '' Frontier Justice''. In 1950, Bellamy became a member of The Lambs, an actors club located in New York. Bellamy appeared in ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'' ("The Vintage Years", 1962) as Daniel Quint, a minister. In the story, a young woman whom Quint befriends on a stagecoach ride, Lorna Erickson (

Merry Anders Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972. Early life Anders was born ...

), sets him up to be robbed by her paramour ( William Bryant). Highly regarded within the industry, Bellamy served four terms as the president of Actors' Equity from 1952 to 1964. On film, Bellamy starred in '' The Professionals'' (1966) as an oil tycoon, and in

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

's '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968) as an evil physician. He turned to television during the 1970s. He played many roles in numerous shows, sometimes as a series regular. In 1970, he played the lead role of Ethan Arcane in the series '' The Most Deadly Game''. Bellamy portrayed Adlai Stevenson in the TV movie '' The Missiles of October'' (1974), a treatment of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

. He was a member of the cast of the short-lived series ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

'' in 1977. An

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

nomination for the mini-series '' The Winds of War'' (1983)—in which Bellamy reprised his ''Sunrise at Campobello'' role of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

—brought him back into the spotlight. This role was followed by his role as Randolph Duke, a conniving millionaire commodities trader in '' Trading Places'' (1983). The

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

film '' Coming to America'' (1988) included a brief cameo by Bellamy and

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 19 ...

, reprising their roles as the Duke brothers. Around this time, he again portrayed Franklin Roosevelt in '' War and Remembrance'' (1988), the sequel to ''The Winds of War''. Among his later roles was an appearance as a once-brilliant but increasingly senile lawyer sadly skewered by Jimmy Smits' character on an episode of ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

''. Bellamy continued working regularly and gave his final performance in '' Pretty Woman'' (1990).

Personal life

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Bellamy was seen socially with a select circle of friends known affectionately as the Irish Mafia, but they preferred the less sensational Boy's Club as its name. This group consisted of a group of Hollywood A-listers who were mainly of Irish descent (despite Bellamy having no Irish family connections). Others included James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Spencer Tracy, Lynne Overman,

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

and Frank McHugh. Bellamy opened the Palm Springs Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California, with fellow actor Charles Farrell in 1934.Niemann 2006, p. 286. Bellamy was married four times: first to Alice Delbridge (1927–1930), then to Catherine Willard (1931–1945) and organist Ethel Smith (1945–1947). Bellamy's fourth wife was Alice Murphy (1949–1991; his death). A Democrat, Bellamy was in attendance at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Death

On November 29, 1991, Bellamy died from a lung ailment at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. He was 87 years old.

Awards and honors

In 1984, Bellamy was presented with a Life Achievement Award from the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, and in 1987, he received an Honorary Academy Award "for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting." Bellamy has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6542 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. ''Palm Springs Walk of Stars.'' Retrieved: May 16, 2013. In a 2007 episode of '' Boston Legal'', footage of '' The Defender'', a 1957 episode of '' Studio One'', was used. The episode featured Bellamy and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

as a father-and-son lawyer duo. This was used in the present day to explain the relationship between Shatner's Denny Crane character and his father in the show.

Filmography

Film

Television

Short subjects

* ''Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 7'' (1936) * ''Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 12'' (1937) * ''Breakdowns of 1938'' (1938) * '' What's My Line?'', the "mystery guest" three times (in March 1952, January 1958 and September 1960)

Radio

Bibliography

* Lamparski, Richard. ''Whatever Became Of ....? – Third Series''. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1970. . * Maltin, Leonard. "Ralph Bellamy". ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia.'' New York: Dutton, 1994. . * Nieman, Greg. ''Palm Springs Legends: Creation of a Desert Oasis''. San Diego, California:

Sunbelt Publications Sunbelt Publications is an American publication company that was incorporated in 1988. The company publishes and distributes multi-language pictorials, natural science and outdoor guidebooks, and regional references. The company is located in El ...

, 2006. . * Rippingale, Sally Presley. ''The History of the Racquet Club of Palm Springs.'' Yucaipa, California: US Business Specialties, 1984. .

References

Notes

External links

* *
Character portraits of Ralph Bellamy in 'Trade Winds' 1938
by Ned Scott {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Ralph 1904 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American male actors Academy Honorary Award recipients Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Palm Springs, California Tony Award winners American people of Canadian descent Deaths from lung disease Presidents of the Actors' Equity Association Columbia Pictures contract players 20th Century Studios contract players Warner Bros. contract players Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players