Wallace Beery

Biography

Wallace Beery (1885-1949) was an American actor whose career moved from the circus and vaudeville stage to silent and sound cinema. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Champ, and in the 1930s he was one of the most bankable stars at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His heavy build and rough voice made him instantly recognizable in an era when studios valued strong character faces.

His early years were restless. The son of Noah W. Beery, he ran away from home as a boy and, at sixteen, joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant elephant trainer. He left the circus after a leopard attacked him. He then tried his luck in New York, in variety shows and Broadway musicals, where he worked in supporting roles. His brother Noah, also an actor, remained a constant point of reference in his career.

In 1913 he joined Essanay Studios, first in Chicago and later in California. He starred in a long run of comedy shorts as Sweedie, a Swedish maid, opposite Gloria Swanson, whom he married; the marriage ended badly amid drinking and domestic violence. From about 1919 he moved into villain roles in dramas and adventure films, and by the early 1920s he was regarded as one of Hollywood's most popular screen villains. He had already played Pancho Villa in Patria in 1917, a role he would return to almost two decades later.

The arrival of sound left his future uncertain until Irving Thalberg saw his gravelly voice as an asset for character parts and helped secure him a contract with MGM. The Big House (1930) earned him an Oscar nomination, and Min and Bill, alongside Marie Dressler, confirmed his box-office appeal. The Champ brought him the Academy Award. In 1934 he played Long John Silver in Treasure Island and Pancho Villa again in Viva Villa!, shot in Mexico, which earned him a gold medal at the Venice Film Festival. He worked with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford, and in Grand Hotel he played the general director Preysing. His comedies with Dressler and Marjorie Main rounded out a decade of wide popularity.

His career lost momentum in the 1940s, with smaller roles and less prominent films. His legacy rests mainly on the villains of his early years and on the gruff but warm-hearted tough guys who defined much of his later work. He died of a heart attack in 1949 at his Beverly Hills home and was buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale. He was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. He was married three times and adopted one child.

Key films

• Grand Hotel (1932), as General Director Preysing
• The Big House (1930), his major sound-era hit and first Oscar nomination
• The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor
• Robin Hood (1922), as King Richard the Lion-Hearted
• Treasure Island (1934), as Long John Silver
• Viva Villa! (1934), as Pancho Villa