Benny Bartlett
| Benny Bartlett | |
|---|---|
|
Benny Bartlett 1938 | |
| Born |
August 16, 1924 Independence, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died |
December 26, 1999 (aged 75) Redding, California, U.S. |
| Other names |
Bennie Bartlett David Bartlett |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1935–1956 |
Benny Bartlett (August 16, 1924 – December 26, 1999) was an American child actor, musician, and later a member of the longest running feature-film series The Bowery Boys.
Biography
Career
Benny Bartlett was a child prodigy on the piano at eight years of age. His first stage role was when he was ten days old. At age four he was playing the trumpet, directing and singing with his own dance orchestra. He played over radio. He appeared in an RKO musical, Millions in the Air (1935), playing the piano. The next year he appeared in a short for Paramount, performing a composition he had written at the age of nine. The studio signed him to a contract soon afterwards. Bartlett began appearing with many of Paramount's biggest stars, and became such a hot property that he was often loaned out to other studios.
Later career and personal life
By the early 1940s, with the onset of puberty, he had reached the awkward age where child actors couldn't play juveniles anymore.
Bartlett joined the military during World War II. After his enlistment was over he resumed his acting career, and was cast as a member of the gang in The Bowery Boys comedies.
He exited the series in 1955, and shortly afterwards left the film business entirely.
Partial filmography
- Millions in the Air (1935)
- Thirteen Hours by Air (1936)
- Maid of Salem (1937)
- Just Around the Corner (1938)
- Gas House Kids Go West (1947)
- Gas House Kids in Hollywood (1947)
- Heart of Virginia (1948)
Further reading
- Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, pp. 11-12.
- Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 151-152.