Noah Beery

Noah Beery
Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominent character actor Noah Beery Jr. He was billed as either Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. depending upon the film.
Early life
Noah Nicholas Beery was born on a farm in Clay County, Missouri, not far from Smithville. The Beery family left the farm in the 1890s and moved to nearby Kansas City, Missouri, where the father was employed as a police officer. While still a young boy Beery got his first exposure to theatre, and at the same time showed budding entrepreneurship by selling lemon drops at the Gillis Theater in Kansas City.
Beery's deep, rich voice in his early teens led several actors at the Gillis Theater to encourage him to take singing lessons and consider a career as a performer. A summer of singing at Kansas City's Electric Park amusement park led to his leaving for New York City at age 16. Beery was three years older than his brother Wallace, who also became an actor as quickly as he could.
Career
Beery worked in vaudeville and in the choruses of musical comedies during his early years in New York. Soon, though, he turned to acting in melodramas of the period, often under the direction of William A. Brady.
After a dozen years on the stage, he joined his brother Wallace in Hollywood in 1915 to make motion pictures. He became a respected character actor, adept at playing the villain but sometimes portraying the hero. One of his most memorable characterizations was as Sergeant Gonzales in The Mark of Zorro (1920) opposite Douglas Fairbanks. The tagline on the poster for Stormswept (1923) proclaimed "Wallace and Noah Beery, the Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen".
Beery acted through the silent film era, and made the transition to sound films. He appeared in early Technicolor musicals, such as The Show of Shows (1929), the widescreen musical Song of the Flame (1930; the movie's poster noted that "Noah Beery will thrill you with his wonderful bass voice, twice as low as any ever recorded"), Bright Lights (1930), Under a Texas Moon (1930) and Golden Dawn (1930; in which he wore blackface as an African native).
He reached his peak in popularity in 1930, recording a phonograph record for Brunswick Records with songs from two of his films. However, his popularity gradually declined while his brother Wallace became the highest-paid actor in the world, winning an Oscar and arranging a contract with MGM in which he would be paid $1 more than any other actor on their roster. Noah Beery Sr. played the flamboyant supporting role of Mae West's bar-owning lover until she leaves him for Cary Grant in She Done Him Wrong (1933), and his brother Wallace performed in an extremely similar part, as the top-billed lead, later the same year in Raoul Walsh's The Bowery.
At the height of his career, Noah Beery began billing himself as Noah Beery Sr. in anticipation of his son's presence in films. After his death, his son dropped the Junior and became simply Noah Beery. Among other films, Noah Beery Sr. and Noah Beery Jr. appeared together in The Trail Beyond (1934) with John Wayne, in which Noah Jr. played Wayne's sidekick throughout the picture. Four decades later, Noah Jr. became best known as James Garner's character's father "Rocky" in the 1970s television series The Rockford Files. Noah Beery Sr. appeared in nearly 200 films during his career and in 1945 returned to New York City to star in the Mike Todd Broadway production of Up in Central Park.
Personal life
Beery married actress Marguerite Walker Lindsey in 1910. Their first child died in infancy. Their second child, actor Noah Lindsey Beery (stage name Noah Beery Jr.), was born in 1913 and was seriously ill in early childhood, prompting a brief move to Florida on the advice of doctors.
Death
Beery died on April 1, 1946, aged 64, after suffering a heart attack at the home of his brother Wallace Beery in Beverly Hills. It was Wallace's birthday, and in addition to celebrating the event, the brothers were rehearsing a radio drama they were scheduled to perform later in the evening.
He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.
Selected filmography
The Influence of a Child (1913, Short) as Jim Cooper - a Crook
The Social Highwayman (1916) as Hugh Jaffray
The Human Orchid (1916)
The Spirit of '76 (1917) as George Washington
A Mormon Maid (1917) as Darius Burr
Sacrifice (1917) as Count Wenzel
The Chosen Prince, or The Friendship of David and Jonathan (1917) as Saul
The Hostage (1917) as Boyadi
The Clever Mrs. Carfax (1917) as Adrian Graw
Molly Entangled (1917) as Shawn, the Smithy
His Robe of Honor (1918) as 'Boss' Nordhoff
The Hidden Pearls (1918) as Teariki
The Whispering Chorus (1918) as Longshoreman
The White Man's Law (1918) as Dr. Robinson
Old Wives for New (1918) as Doctor (uncredited)
Social Ambition (1918) as Big Dan Johnson
Believe Me, Xantippe (1918) as Sheriff Kamman
Less Than Kin (1918) as Senor Cortez
The Source (1918) as John Nord
The Goat (1918) as Cowboy (uncredited)
Too Many Millions (1918) as R.A. Bass
The Squaw Man (1918) as Tabywana
Under the Top (1919) as Prof. De Como
Johnny Get Your Gun (1919) as Town Marshal
The Red Lantern (1919) as Dr. Sam Wang
The Woman Next Door (1919) as Randolph Schuyler
A Very Good Young Man (1919) as Blood
Louisiana (1919) as Lem Rogers
The Valley of the Giants (1919) as Black Minorca
In Mizzoura (1919) as Jo Vernon
Everywoman (1919) as Bluff
The Sagebrusher (1920) as Sim Gage
The Fighting Shepherdess (1920) as Mormon Joe
The Sea Wolf (1920) as 'Wolf' Larsen, the Sea Wolf
Go and Get It (1920) as Dr. Ord
Love Madness (1920) as Jack Frost
The Scoffer (1920) as Boorman
The Mutiny of the Elsinore (1920) as Andreas Mellzire
Dinty (1920) as Wong Tai
The Mark of Zorro (1920) as Sergeant Pedro Gonzales
Why Tell? (1921)
Bob Hampton of Placer (1921) as Red Slavin
Beach of Dreams (1921) as Jack Raft
Bits of Life (1921) as Hindoo
The Call of the North (1921) as Galen Albret
Lotus Blossom (1921) as Tartar Chief
Tillie (1922) as Jacob Getz
Wild Honey (1922) as Henry Porthen
Belle of Alaska (1922) as Wade Harkin
The Lying Truth (1922) as Lawrence De Muidde
The Heart Specialist (1922) as Dr. Thomas Fitch
The Crossroads of New York (1922) as James Flint
I Am the Law (1922) (with Wallace Beery) as Sgt. Georges Mordeaux
Flesh and Blood (1922) as Li Fang (with Lon Chaney)
The Power of Love (1922) as Don Almeda
Youth to Youth (1922) as Brutus Tawney
Good Men and True (1922) as S.S. Thorpe
Ebb Tide (1922) as Richard Attwater
Omar the Tentmaker (1922) (with Boris Karloff) as The shah of shahs
Dangerous Trails (1923) as Insp. Criswell
The Spider and the Rose (1923) as Maître Renaud
Stormswept (1923) (with Wallace Beery) as Shark Moran
Quicksands (1923) as 'Silent' Krupz
Main Street (1923) as Adolph Valborg
Soul of the Beast (1923) as Caesar Durand
Wandering Daughters (1923) as Charle Horton
The Spoilers (1923) (with Milton Sills and Anna Q. Nilsson) as Alex McNamara
Tipped Off (1923) as Chang Wo
Hollywood (1923, Cameo) as himself
The Destroying Angel (1923) as Curtis Drummond
To the Last Man (1923) as Colter
His Last Race (1923) as Packy Sloane
When Law Comes to Hades (1923)
Desire (1923) as Hop Lee
Stephen Steps Out (1923) as Muley Pasha
The Call of the Canyon (1923) as Haze Ruff
The Heritage of the Desert (1924) as Holderness
The Fighting Coward (1924) as Capt. Blackie
Wanderer of the Wasteland (1924) as Dismukes
Welcome Stranger (1924) as Icabod Whitson
Lily of the Dust (1924) (with Pola Negri and Ben Lyon) as Col. Mertzbach
The Female (1924) (with Betty Compson and Warner Baxter) as Barend de Beer
North of 36 (1924) (with Jack Holt and Lois Wilson) as Slim Rudabaugh
The Spaniard (1925) as Gómez
East of Suez (1925) as British Consul
Folly of Youth (1925) as Lee Haynes
Contraband (1925) (with Lois Wilson) as Deputy Jenney
The Thundering Herd (1925) (with Jack Holt, Charles Ogle and Tim McCoy) as Randall Jett
Old Shoes (1925) as The Stepfather
The Light of Western Stars (1925) as Brand
Wild Horse Mesa (1925) as Bud McPherson
The Coming of Amos (1925) as Ramón Garcia
The Vanishing American (1925) (with Richard Dix) as Booker
Lord Jim (1925) (with Raymond Hatton) as Captain Brown
The Enchanted Hill (1926) as Jake Dort
The Crown of Lies (1926) as Count Mirko
Padlocked (1926) as Henry Gilbert
Beau Geste (1926) (with Ronald Colman, William Powell, and Victor McLaglen) as Sgt. Lejaune
Paradise (1926) as Quex
Evening Clothes (1927) as Lazarre
The Rough Riders (1927) (with George Bancroft and Mary Astor) as Hell's Bells
The Love Mart (1927) (with Boris Karloff) as Capt. Remy
The Dove (1927) as Don José María y Sandoval
Beau Sabreur (1928) as Sheikh El Hammel
Two Lovers (1928) as The Duke of Azar
Hellship Bronson (1928) as Capt. Ira Bronson
The Godless Girl (1928) as The Brute
The Passion Song (1928) as John Van Ryn
Noah's Ark (1928) as Nickoloff / King Nephiliu
Dreary House (1928)
Love in the Desert (1929) as Abdullah
Linda (1929) as Armstrong Decker
False Fathers (1929) as Parson
Careers (1929) as The President
The Four Feathers (1929) as Slave Trader
The Isle of Lost Ships (1929) as Captain Peter Forbes
Two O'Clock in the Morning (1929)
The Show of Shows (1929) (with John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Myrna Loy and Loretta Young) as Performer in "The Pirate" Number / Soldier (segment "Rifle Execution")
Glorifying the American Girl (1929) as himself (uncredited)
Isle of Escape (1930) as Shane
Under a Texas Moon (1930) as Jed Parker
Murder Will Out (1930) as Lt. Concon
Show Girl in Hollywood (1930) as himself at Premiere (uncredited)
Song of the Flame (1930) as Konstantin
Golden Dawn (1930) as Shep Keyes
Oh, Sailor Behave! (1930) as Romanian General
The Way of All Men (1930) as Stratton
Big Boy (1930) as Bagby
Bright Lights (1930) as Miguel Parada
The Love Trader (1930) as Captain Morton
Renegades (1930) as Thurman Machwurth
A Soldier's Plaything (1930) as Capt. Plover
Tol'able David (1930) as Luke
The Millionaire (1931) as Peterson
Honeymoon Lane (1931) as Tom Baggott
The Homicide Squad (1931) as Captain Buckley
Shanghaied Love (1931) as Captain 'Black Yankee' angus Swope
Riders of the Purple Sage (1931) (with George O'Brien and Marguerite Churchill) as Judge Dyer
In Line of Duty (1931) as Jean Duchene
The Drifter (1932) (with William Farnum) as John McNary
The Stoker (1932) as Santini
Stranger in Town (1932) as J.B. Hilliker
Cornered (1932) as Laughing Red Slavens
No Living Witness (1932) as Clyde Corbin
Out of Singapore (1932) as 1st Mate Woolf Barstow
The Big Stampede (1932) (with John Wayne) as Sam Crew
The Devil Horse (1932, Serial) as Canfield
The Kid from Spain (1932) as Alonzo Gomez
Long Loop Laramie (1932)
She Done Him Wrong (1933) (with Mae West and Cary Grant) as Gus Jordan
The Thundering Herd (1933) (with Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe and Harry Carey) as Randall Jett
The Flaming Signal (1933) as Otto Von Krantz
Sunset Pass (1933) (with Randolph Scott and Harry Carey) as Marshal Blake
The Woman I Stole (1933) as Gen. Rayon
Easy Millions (1933) with Richard "Skeets" Gallagher
Fighting with Kit Carson (1933, Serial) as Cyrus Kraft
Laughing at Life (1933) as Hauseman
Man of the Forest (1933) (with Randolph Scott, Harry Carey and Buster Crabbe) as Clint Beasley
To the Last Man (1933) (with Randolph Scott, Esther Ralston and Buster Crabbe) as Jed Colby
Caravan (1934) as Innkeeper
Madame Spy (1934) as General Philipow
David Harum (1934) as General Woolsey
Mystery Liner (1934) as Capt. John Holling
Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934) as Baron Moxford
Happy Landing (1934) as Capt. Terris
The Trail Beyond (1934) (with John Wayne and Noah Beery Jr.) as George Newson
Kentucky Kernels (1934) as Colonel Wakefield
Sweet Adeline (1934) as Sultan in the Show (uncredited)
King of the Damned (1935) as Mooche
The Crimson Circle (1936) as Felix Marl
The Avenging Hand (1936) as Lee Barwell
Someone at the Door (1936) as Harry Capel
The Prisoner of Corbal (1936) as The Sergeant
Strangers on a Honeymoon (1936) as Redbeard
I Live Again (1936) as Morton Meredith
The Frog (1937) as Joshua Broad
Our Fighting Navy (1937) as The Presidente of Bianco
Zorro Rides Again (1937) as J. A. Marsden
The Bad Man of Brimstone (1937) (with Wallace Beery) as Ambrose Crocker
The Girl of the Golden West (1938) as The General
Panamint's Bad Man (1938) as King Gorman
Mexicali Rose (1939) as Pedro Valdez
Mutiny on the Blackhawk (1939) as Captain of the 'Blackhawk'
Pioneers of the West (1940) as Judge Platt
Grandpa Goes to Town (1940) as Sam
Adventures of Red Ryder (1940, Serial) (with Don 'Red' Barry) as Ace Hanlon
The Tulsa Kid (1940) as Montana Smith
A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) as Uncle Sherm
A Missouri Outlaw (1941) as Sheriff Ben Dixon
The Devil's Trail (1942) as Bull McQuade
Isle of Missing Men (1942) as Capt. Sanchez (uncredited)
Overland Mail (1942, Serial with Lon Chaney Jr. and Noah Beery Jr.) as Frank Chadwick
Outlaws of Pine Ridge (1942) as Honest John Hollister
Pardon My Gun (1942) as Judge W. B. Hackett (uncredited)
Tennessee Johnson (1942) (with Van Heflin) as Sheriff Cass
Carson City Cyclone (1943) as Judge Phalen
Clancy Street Boys (1943) as Pete Monahan
Salute to the Marines (1943, in color with Wallace Beery) as Adjutant
Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) as Judge
Million Dollar Kid (1944) as Captain Mathews
Block Busters (1944) as Judge
Barbary Coast Gent (1944 with Wallace Beery and Chill Wills) as Pete Hanibal
Gentle Annie (1944) as Hansen
This Man's Navy (1945 with Wallace Beery) as Joe Hodum
Sing Me a Song of Texas (1945) (with Tom Tyler) as Charley Bronson
References
External links
1937 film interview with Noah Beery
Literature on Noah Beery
1882 births
1946 deaths
Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri
People from Clay County, Missouri
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
American male stage actors
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Male Western (genre) film actors