William Benedict
- Acting
- April 16, 1917 · Haskell, Oklahoma, USA
- November 25, 1999
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999) was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Born in Haskell, Oklahoma, he took part in school theatricals, and on leaving school he made his way to Hollywood. His first film was $10 Raise (1935) starring Edward Everett Horton, which launched Benedict on a busy career. The blond-haired Benedict almost always played juvenile roles, such as newsboys, messengers, office boys, and farmhands. In 1939, when Universal Pictures began its Little Tough Guys series to compete with the popular Dead End Kids features, Billy Benedict was recruited into the cast. These films led him into the similar East Side Kids movies (usually playing a member of the East Side gang, but occasionally in villainous roles). The East Side Kids became The Bowery Boys in 1946, and Benedict stayed with the series (as "Whitey") through the end of 1951. Other films included My Little Chickadee (1940) starring W. C. Fields and Mae West, The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster (1955), The Sting (1973) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975). Benedict never shook his juvenile image completely, and continued to play messengers and news vendors well into his sixties. He also worked often in television commercials.
Known for
Filmography
- The Bowery Boys: Legends of Laughter · Self
- Bonanza: The Next Generation · Gus Morton
- Highway to Heaven · Bobby Joe
- Computercide · Elderly Man
- Hill Street Blues
- Goldie and the Boxer · Old Man
- Born Again · Leon Jaworski
- The Incredible Hulk · Vic
- Sherlock Holmes in New York · Telegraph Office Manager
- Quincy, M.E.
- Charlie's Angels · Emmett Winston, Esq.
- Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood · Man on Bus
- Matt Helm · Scavenger
- Ellery Queen
- Cop on the Beat · Lennie
- The Dead Don't Die · Hotel Desk Clerk
- Little House on the Prairie · Reverend Lyman
- The Sting · Roulette Dealer
- Police Story · Prescott, Bellman
- The Secret Sharer · Mr. Burns
- The Dirt Gang · Station Attendant
- The Streets of San Francisco
- The Adventures of Nick Carter · Newsboy
- Call Her Mom · Mr. Feigelbaum
- Emergency! · Hyperventilating Victim
- All in the Family · Jimmy McNab
- Alias Smith and Jones · Telegrapher (uncredited)
- The Immortal
- Hello, Dolly! · News Vendor (uncredited)
- The Brady Bunch
- Then Came Bronson · Card Player
- The Over the Hill Gang · Joe, the Telegrapher (as Bill Benedict)
- Big Daddy
- The Lottery · Joe Summers
- Here's Lucy · Deliveryman
- Mayberry R.F.D. · Uncle Whitmore, Pet Shop Owner
- Land of the Giants · Villager Peabody
- Adam-12 · Bill White
- Funny Girl · Western Union Boy (uncredited)
- Rogue's Gallery · Jocko (as William Benedict)
- Mannix
- Hondo
- The Guns of Will Sonnett · Telegrapher
- Ironside
- What Am I Bid? · Clem (as Bill Benedict)
- Mission: Impossible · Denver
- The Monkees · Skywriter, Old Man
- Felony Squad
- Frankie and Johnny · Bum Sleeping on Bench (uncredited)
- I Dream of Jeannie · Cleaning Man
- Honey West · Farley
- The Hallelujah Trail · Simpson
- Dear Heart · Stu
- Branded
- Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
- Petticoat Junction · Willie
- Lover Come Back · Musician Exiting Elevator (uncredited)
- Route 66
- The Barbara Stanwyck Show · Joe
- Dennis the Menace
- The Twilight Zone · Conklin
- The Hanging Tree · Trapper (uncredited)
- The Rifleman
- Wagon Train · Wagon Train Member (uncredited)
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie
- The Killing · American Airlines Clerk
- Mobs, Inc. · Telegraph Boy
- Navy Log
- Gunsmoke · Gus
- Bride of the Monster · Newsboy
- Lassie
- The Magnetic Monster · Albert
- I'm the Law
- Hallmark Hall of Fame · Degnan
- Dragnet
- The Red Skelton Show
- Crazy Over Horses · Whitey (as William Benedict)
- Let's Go Navy! · Whitey
- Ghost Chasers · Whitey
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok