William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993) was an American actor who achieved his greatest fame as one of the leading juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Early years
Bakewell was a native of Los Angeles, where he attended the Harvard School for Boys and Page Military Academy.
Career
Bakewell began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924) and appeared in some 170 films and television shows. He had supporting roles at the end of the silent era and reached the peak of his career around 1930. He is perhaps best remembered for playing German soldier Albert Kropp in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Rodney Jordan, Joan Crawford’s brother, in Dance, Fools, Dance (1931). He also co-starred in Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929).
In 1933, Bakewell contributed to the founding of the Screen Actors Guild, and was the 44th of the original 50 members. He never achieved stardom after the Depression years, although he became familiar in dozens of films, including his short appearance as a mounted soldier in Gone with the Wind (1939) whom Scarlett O’Hara asks when the Yankee soldiers are coming to Atlanta.
During World War II, Bakewell served in the U.S. Army with the rank of second lieutenant. He was stationed at the 73rd Evacuation Hospital and at the Radio Section of the Special Service Division as the post intelligence officer. He also worked under the department that handled distribution of recorded programs to overseas station circuits.
He starred in the Columbia Pictures serial Hop Harrigan (1946), where he played a top Air Corps pilot. He also portrayed Major Tobias Norton and a Keelboat Race Master of Ceremonies in the phenomenally popular Disney series Davy Crockett (1954-1955).
In the 1960s, he guest-starred in numerous sitcoms, including Guestward, Ho!, The Tab Hunter Show, Pete and Gladys, Bringing Up Buddy, Mister Ed, Leave It to Beaver, The Jack Benny Program, Petticoat Junction , and Hazel. He also was cast in episodes of Peter Gunn, Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, The Roaring 20s, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, and 87th Precinct He played the Virginia statesman George Wythe in the episode “George Mason” in the 1965 NBC documentary series, Profiles in Courage. He made his last film in 1975. When his acting career declined he also opened a successful real estate company.
For four decades, Bakewell served on the board of Motion Picture and Television Fund.
Book
Bakewell’s autobiography Hollywood Be Thy Name–Random Recollections of a Movie Veteran From Silents to Talkies to TV was published in 1991.
Death
In 1993, at age 84, Bakewell died of leukemia in Los Angeles.
Partial filmography
Fighting Blood (1923) – Minor Role (uncredited)
A Regular Fellow (1925)
The Last Edition (1925) – ‘Ink’ Donovan
The Gilded Butterfly (1926) – Party Guest (uncredited)
The Waning Sex (1926) – Minor Role (uncredited)
Whispering Wires (1926) – (uncredited)
Old Ironsides (1926) – Young Philadelphian (uncredited)
Bertha, the Sewing Machine Girl (1926)
The Heart Thief (1927) – Victor
Mother (1927) – Jerry Ellis
The Magic Flame (1927)
The Shield of Honor (1927) – Jerry MacDowell
West Point (1927) – ‘Tex’ McNeil
The Latest from Paris (1928) – Bud Dolan
The Devil’s Trademark (1928) – Tom Benton
Harold Teen (1928) – Percival
The Battle of the Sexes (1928) – Billy Judson
Annapolis (1928) – Skippy
Lady of the Pavements (1929) – A Pianist
The Iron Mask (1929) – Louis XIV / Twin Brother
Hot Stuff (1929) – Mack Moran
On with the Show (1929) – Jimmy/Performer in ‘Bicycle Built for Two’ Number
Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) – Wally
Lummox (1930) – Paul Charvet
Playing Around (1930) – Jack
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – Albert Kropp
The Bat Whispers (1930) – Brook
Paid (1930) – Carney
Reducing (1931) – Tommy Haverly
The Great Meadow (1931) – Jack Jarvis (uncredited)
Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) – Rodney Jordan
Daybreak (1931) – Otto
A Woman of Experience (1931) – Count Karl Runyi
Politics (1931) – Benny Emerson
Guilty Hands (1931) – Tommy Osgood
The Spirit of Notre Dame (1931) – Jim Stewart
Cheaters at Play (1932) – Maurice Perry
While Paris Sleeps (1932) – Paul Renoir
Back Street (1932) – Richard Saxel – Walter’s Son
The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933) – Minor Role (scenes deleted)
Lucky Devils (1933) – Slugger Jones
Three-Cornered Moon (1933) – Douglas Rimplegar
A Man of Sentiment (1933) – John Russell
Straightaway (1933) – Billy Dawson
You Can’t Buy Everything (1934) – Donny ‘Don’ Bell as a man
The Quitter (1934) – Russell Tilford
Speed Wings (1934) – Jerry
Green Eyes (1934) – Cliff Miller
Straight Is the Way (1934) – Dr. Wilkes
The Party’s Over (1934) – Clay
The Curtain Falls (1934) – Barry Graham
Crimson Romance (1934) – Adolph
Sons of Steel (1934) – Roland Chadburne
Laddie (1935) – Robert Pryor
On Probation (1935) – Bill Coleman
Strangers All (1935) – Dick Carter
Manhattan Butterfly (1935) – Stevens aka Stephen Collier
Together We Live (1935) – Billy
Happiness C.O.D. (1935) – Ken Sherridan
Lady Luck (1936) – Dave Haines
Sea Spoilers (1936) – Lieut. Commander Mays
Quality Street (1937) – Lt. Spicer (uncredited)
Mile-a-Minute-Love (1937) – Bob Jackson
Dangerous Holiday (1937) – Tom Wilson
Jungle Menace (1937) – Tom Banning
Trapped by G-Men (1937) – Dick Withers
Exiled to Shanghai (1937) – Andrew
The Higgins Family (1938) – Eddie Davis
The Duke of West Point (1938) – Committee Captain
King of the Turf (1939) – Intern
Hotel Imperial (1939) – Cadet (uncredited)
Zenobia (1939) – Townsman at Zeke’s Recitation (uncredited)
Those High Grey Walls (1939) – Kibitzer (uncredited)
Gone with the Wind (1939) – Mounted Officer
Beyond Tomorrow (1940) – David Chadwick
The Saint Takes Over (1940) – Shipboard Card Player (uncredited)
Seven Sinners (1940) – Ensign
Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) – Jim Forbes (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare’s Victory (1942) – Mr. Hubbell
The Dawn Express (1942) – Tom Fielding
I Live on Danger (1942) – Mac
The Postman Didn’t Ring (1942) – Robert Harwood Jr.
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942) – Hugh Pleasant
King of the Mounties (1942) – Cpl. Hall Ross
Submarine Alert (1943) – Agent Pomeroy – Fleming’s Aide (uncredited)
Yanks Ahoy (1943) – Ens. Crosby (uncredited)
Hop Harrigan America’s Ace of the Airways (1946) – Hop Harrigan
The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) – Eddie
The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) – Windor
The Trespasser (1947) – Bruce Coleman, the Literary Editor
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) – Winters
Messenger of Peace (1947) – Pastor Willie von Adel
King of the Bandits (1947) – Captain Frank Mason
Arthur Takes Over (1948) – Lawrence White
So This Is New York (1948)
Romance on the High Seas (1948) – Dudley
Night Wind (1948) – Capt. Kingston (uncredited)
Miraculous Journey (1948) – (uncredited)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948) – Dick Hebert
The Capture (1950) – Tolin
Oh! Susanna (1951) – Lieutenant (uncredited)
Wells Fargo Gunmaster (1951) – Charlie Lannon
When the Redskins Rode (1951) – Appleby
Come Fill the Cup (1951) – Hal Ortman
Radar Men from the Moon (1952) – Ted Richards
Room for One More (1952) – Milkman (scenes deleted)
So This Is Love (1953) – Charles, Waiter (uncredited)
Lucky Me (1954) – Jaguar Owner (uncredited)
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955) – Maj. Tobias Norton (archive footage)
Official Detective (1958, TV Series) – Sam Graves
Hell’s Five Hours (1958) – Minor Role (uncredited)
Johnny Rocco (1958) – Joe, Police Scientist (uncredited)
Sea Hunt – Episode Monte Cristo (1958)
The Big Fisherman (1959) – Minor Role (uncredited)
Not with My Wife, You Don’t! (1966) – Brig. Gen. Swift (uncredited)
Bonanza (1967-1968, TV Series) – Henshaw / Slatter (2 episodes)
The Strongest Man in the World (1975) – Professor
Further reading
William Bakewell (1991), Hollywood Be Thy Name: Random Recollections of a Movie Veteran From Silents to Talkies to TV (ISBN 0-8108-2388-8)
External Links
Actor William Bakewell – Wikipedia
