# Nat Pendleton

Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899–1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master and organist for the American Church in Paris.

## Early life

Nat Pendleton was born as Nathaniel Greene Pendleton in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide Elizabeth (née Johnson) Pendleton (1873–1960) and Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (1861–1914), an attorney, who was reportedly a descendant of American Revolutionary general Nathanael Greene. By March 1899, the Pendletons had moved to Cincinnati, and then later to New York. Nat went to Brooklyn's Poly Prep High School. Nat studied at Columbia University, graduating in 1916. Pendleton spoke four languages, received an economics degree, and, in 2006, was inducted into the Columbia wrestling hall of fame.

## Wrestling career

Pendleton began his wrestling career at Columbia University, and served as captain of the school's wrestling team. He was twice Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion in 1914 and 1915. Chosen to compete on the United States wrestling team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, Pendleton lost only one match during the competition and was awarded a silver medal. Some controversy continues to surround that outcome. Both Pendleton's Olympic coach, George Pinneo, and his teammate, Fred Meyer, insisted that he won his final match and should have been awarded the gold medal. Pinneo later recalled that loss as the "most unpopular of many unsatisfactory decisions," and Meyer stated, "Pendleton was the winner of that contest, no ifs or buts."
Returning to the US he became a professional wrestler and teamed up with promoter Jack Curley. Curley was aggressively promoting Pendleton and issued a series of haughty challenges, among them boasting that Pendleton could beat Ed "Strangler" Lewis and any other wrestler on the same night. John Pesek was enlisted to face Pendleton, and in a legitimate contest held on January 25, 1923, Pesek defeated and injured Pendleton. Pendleton continued to wrestle professionally into the 1930s.

## Stage career

* Naughty Cinderella (Nov 09, 1925 - Feb 20, 1926) as "K. O." Bill Smith
* The Grey Fox (Oct 22, 1928 - Jan 05, 1929) as Don Michelotto
* My Girl Friday (Feb 12, 1929 - Sep 1929) as Marcel the Great

## Film career

Pendleton began appearing in Hollywood films in uncredited parts and minor roles by the mid-1920s. Pendleton was cast in at least 94 short films and features, most often being typecast in supporting roles, usually as "befuddled good guys" or as slow-witted thugs, gangsters, and policemen. He appeared in the 1932 comedy Horse Feathers starring the Marx Brothers, performing in that film as one of two college football players who kidnap Harpo and Chico. In the 1936 production The Great Ziegfeld, he portrays the circus strongman Eugen Sandow, a role that brought him the best reviews of his career.
Pendleton appeared again as a circus strongman in the Marx Brothers' 1939 feature At the Circus. He can be seen as well in recurring roles in two MGM film series from the 1930s and 1940s. He played Joe Wayman, the ambulance driver, in MGM's Dr. Kildare series and in its spin-off series Dr. Gillespie. He also portrayed New York police lieutenant John Guild in The Thin Man series. His final screen appearances were in the 1947 releases Scared to Death with Bela Lugosi and Buck Privates Come Home starring Abbott and Costello.
Although Pendleton's professional career outside the wrestling ring was predominantly devoted to film work, he also performed in some stage productions, including in the Broadway plays Naughty Cinderella in 1925 and The Gray Fox in 1928.

## Personal life

Pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era, Arthur V. Johnson, was his uncle. His siblings include: Steve (1908–1984), an American film and television actor, and Edmund (1899–1987), a well-known music composer and choir master and organist for the American Church in Paris.
On the 1920 census, he was working as a sports manager, living in Manhattan, with his Puerto Rican wife, Juanita Alfonzo (age 22), and Ramon Alfonso (age 13), his wife's brother.
Pendleton died in a San Diego, California hospital in 1967 after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his second wife, Margaret Evelyn "Barbara" Carse.

## Legacy

Pendleton is a member of several halls of fame: the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cresco, Iowa, and the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame. He is the subject of a biography by Mike Chapman, which was published in 2015.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1913 | The Battle of Gettysburg | | Thomas H. Ince | Unconfirmed |
| 1924 | The Hoosier Schoolmaster | Bud Means | Oliver L. Sellers | |
| 1924 | Monsieur Beaucaire | Barber | Sidney Olcott | uncredited |
| 1926 | Let's Get Married | Jimmy | Gregory La Cava | |
| 1929 | The Laughing Lady | James Dugan | Victor Schertzinger | |
| 1930 | The Big Pond | Pat O'Day | Hobart Henley | |
| 1930 | La grande mare | Pat O'Day | Hobart Henley | |
| 1930 | The Last of the Duanes | Bossamer | Alfred L. Werker | Uncredited |
| 1930 | The Sea Wolf | Smoke | Alfred Santell | |
| 1931 | Seas Beneath | 'Butch' Wagner | John Ford | uncredited |
| 1931 | Fair Warning | Purvis | Alfred L. Werker | |
| 1931 | Mr. Lemon of Orange | Gangster | | Uncredited |
| 1931 | The Star Witness | Big Jack | William A. Wellman | |
| 1931 | The Spirit of Notre Dame | Assistant coach | Russell Mack | |
| 1931 | The Ruling Voice | Board Member | Rowland V. Lee | Uncredited |
| 1931 | Blonde Crazy | aka Pete | Roy Del Ruth | |
| 1931 | The Secret Witness | Gunner (Bodyguard) | Thornton Freeland | |
| 1931 | The Star Witness | Gunner (Bodyguard) | William A. Wellman | |
| 1931 | Manhattan Parade | Lady Godiva's Husband | Lloyd Bacon | Uncredited |
| 1931 | The Pottsville Palooka | Spike Mulligan | | Short |
| 1932 | Taxi! | Truck Driver Bull Martin | Roy Del Ruth | uncredited |
| 1932 | The Beast of the City | Abe Gorman | Charles Brabin | Uncredited |
| 1932 | A Fool's Advice | Naughty Boy | Ralph Ceder | |
| 1932 | Hell Fire Austin | Bouncer | Forrest Sheldon | |
| 1932 | The Big Timer | Kid Melrose | Edward Buzzell | uncredited |
| 1932 | Play Girl | Dance Hall Plumber | Ray Enright | Scenes deleted |
| 1932 | Girl Crazy | Motorcycle Cop | William A. Seiter | Uncredited |
| 1932 | State's Attorney | the Boxer | George Archainbaud | Uncredited |
| 1932 | Attorney for the Defense | Mugg | Irving Cummings | |
| 1932 | The Tenderfoot | Joe (Jealous Husband) | Ray Enright | Uncredited |
| 1932 | By Whose Hand? | Delmar | | |
| 1932 | Horse Feathers | Darwin football player MacHardie | Norman Z. McLeod | Uncredited |
| 1932 | Exposure | Maniac Killer | | |
| 1932 | The Night Club Lady | Mike McDougal | Irving Cummings | |
| 1932 | Deception | Bucky O'Neill | Lewis Seiler | Story by Nat Pendleton; script by Harold Tarshis |
| 1932 | The Sign of the Cross | Strabo | Cecil B. DeMille | |
| 1932 | Flesh | Wrestler | John Ford | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Whistling in the Dark | Joe Salvatore | Charles Reisner | |
| 1933 | Parachute Jumper | Motorcycle Policeman | Alfred E. Green | uncredited |
| 1933 | Goldie Gets Along | Motorcycle Officer Cassidy | Malcolm St. Clair | |
| 1933 | Child of Manhattan | Spyrene | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1933 | The White Sister | Corporal Cessano | Victor Fleming | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Infernal Machine | French Thug | Marcel Varnel | Uncredited |
| 1933 | The Nuisance | Aloysius P. McCarthy | Jack Conway | uncredited |
| 1933 | Baby Face | Stolvich (Laborer) | Alfred E. Green | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Lady for a Day | Shakespeare | Frank Capra | |
| 1933 | Penthouse | Tony Gazotti | W. S. Van Dyke | |
| 1933 | I'm No Angel | Harry (Acrobat) | Wesley Ruggles | Uncredited |
| 1933 | The Chief | Big Mike, a Henchman | Charles Reisner | |
| 1933 | College Coach | Ladislaus Petrowski | William A. Wellman | |
| 1934 | Lazy River | Legs Caffey | George B. Seitz | |
| 1934 | Fugitive Lovers | Alfred 'Tiny' Smith | Richard Boleslavsky | |
| 1934 | Sing and Like It | T. Fenny Sylvester | William A. Seiter | |
| 1934 | Manhattan Melodrama | Spud | George Cukor (uncredited) | |
| 1934 | The Thin Man | Lieutenant John Guild | W. S. Van Dyke | |
| 1934 | The Defense Rests | Rocky | Lambert Hillyer | |
| 1934 | The Cat's-Paw | Strozzi | Sam Taylor | |
| 1934 | The Girl from Missouri | Lifeguard | Jack Conway | |
| 1934 | Straight Is the Way | Skippy | Paul Sloane | |
| 1934 | Death on the Diamond | Harry O'Toole | Edward Sedgwick | |
| 1934 | The Gay Bride | William T. 'Shoots' Magiz | Jack Conway | |
| 1935 | Times Square Lady | Mack | George B. Seitz | |
| 1935 | Baby Face Harrington | Rocky | Raoul Walsh | |
| 1935 | Reckless | Blossom | Victor Fleming | |
| 1935 | Murder in the Fleet | 'Spud' Burke | Edward Sedgwick | |
| 1935 | Calm Yourself | Knuckles Benedict | George B. Seitz | |
| 1935 | Here Comes the Band | 'Piccolo Pete' | Paul Sloane | |
| 1935 | It's in the Air | Henry Potke | Charles Reisner | |
| 1935 | The Garden Murder Case | Sergeant Heath | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 1936 | The Great Ziegfeld | Sandow | Robert Z. Leonard | |
| 1936 | Trapped by Television | Rocky O'Neil | Del Lord | |
| 1936 | Sworn Enemy | 'Steamer' Krupp | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 1936 | The Luckiest Girl in the World | Dugan | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1936 | Two in a Crowd | Flynn | Alfred E. Green | |
| 1936 | Sing Me a Love Song | Rocky | Ray Enright | |
| 1937 | Under Cover of Night | Sergeant Lucks | George B. Seitz | |
| 1937 | Song of the City | Benvenuto Romandi | Errol Taggart | |
| 1937 | Gangway | Smiles Hogan | Sonnie Hale | |
| 1937 | Life Begins in College | George Black aka Little Black Cloud | William A. Seiter | |
| 1938 | Swing Your Lady | Joe Skopapolous | Ray Enright | |
| 1938 | Arsène Lupin Returns | Joe Doyle | George Fitzmaurice | |
| 1938 | Fast Company | Paul Terison | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1938 | The Shopworn Angel | 'Dice' | H.C. Potter | |
| 1938 | The Chaser | 'Floppy' Phil | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 1938 | The Crowd Roars | 'Pug' Walsh | Richard Thorpe | |
| 1938 | Young Dr. Kildare | Joe Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1939 | Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | Buddy Buttle | Edward Sedgwick | |
| 1939 | Calling Dr. Kildare | Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1939 | It's a Wonderful World | Sergeant Fred Koretz | W. S. Van Dyke | |
| 1939 | 6,000 Enemies | 'Socks' Martin | George B. Seitz | |
| 1939 | On Borrowed Time | Mr. Grimes | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1939 | At the Circus | Goliath the Strongman | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1939 | Another Thin Man | Lieutenant John Guild | W. S. Van Dyke | |
| 1939 | The Secret of Dr. Kildare | Joe Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1940 | Northwest Passage | 'Cap' Huff | King Vidor | |
| 1940 | The Ghost Comes Home | Roscoe | Wilhelm Thiele | |
| 1940 | Dr. Kildare's Strange Case | Joe Wayman, Ambulance Driver | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1940 | Phantom Raiders | 'Gunboat' Jacklin | Jacques Tourneur | |
| 1940 | New Moon | Bondsman | W. S. Van Dyke | Uncredited |
| 1940 | The Golden Fleecing | 'Fatso' Werner | Leslie Fenton | |
| 1940 | Dr. Kildare Goes Home | Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1940 | Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Joe Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1940 | Flight Command | CPO 'Spike' Knowles | Frank Borzage | |
| 1941 | Buck Privates | Sgt. Michael Collins | Arthur Lubin | |
| 1941 | Top Sergeant Mulligan | Top Sgt. Herman Mulligan | Jean Yarbrough | |
| 1942 | Jail House Blues | Sonny McGann | Albert S. Rogell | |
| 1942 | The Mad Doctor of Market Street | Red Hogan | Joseph H. Lewis | |
| 1942 | Calling Dr. Gillespie | Joe Wayman | Harold S. Bucquet | |
| 1942 | Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant | Joe Weyman | Willis Goldbeck | |
| 1943 | Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case | Joe Wayman | Willis Goldbeck | |
| 1943 | Swing Fever | 'Killer' Kennedy | Tim Whelan | |
| 1946 | Death Valley | Jim Ward | Lew Landers | |
| 1947 | Scared to Death | Bill Raymond | Christy Cabanne | |
| 1947 | Buck Privates Come Home | Sergeant Collins | Charles Barton | |
| 1951-1959 | Schlitz Playhouse | Otto "Bitsy" Lamb | Richard Whorf | TV series; final appearance |