CINEFILER

William Bakewell

Born
May 2, 1908
Died
April 15, 1993
William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993), also known as Billy Bakewell, was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Bakewell, educated at Los Angeles Harvard Military School, began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924), and went on to appear 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 the film classic 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) with Winnie Lightner and Lilyan Tashman. In 1933, he contributed to the founding of the Screen Actors Guild, and was member 44 of the original 50. 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, he 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 situation comedy television series, including Guestward, Ho!, Pete and Gladys, Bringing Up Buddy, The Tab Hunter Show, 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. For four decades, Bakewell served on the board of Motion Picture and Television Fund. He died on April 15, 1993 of leukemia at the age of 84.
Known For
Gone with the Wind
(1939)
Mounted Officer
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930)
Albert Kropp
The Strongest Man in the World
(1975)
Professor
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
(1947)
Winters
Zenobia
(1939)
Townsman at Zeke's Recitation
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
(1955)
Maj. Tobias Norton
Full Filmography
Acting
The Last Edition
(1925)
'Ink' Donovan
Old Ironsides
(1926)
Young Philadelphian (uncredited)
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
(1926)
Salesman
The Heart Thief
(1927)
Mother
(1927)
Jerry Ellis
The Shield of Honor
(1927)
Jerry MacDowell
West Point
(1928)
'Tex' McNeil
Annapolis
(1928)
Skippy
The Battle of the Sexes
(1928)
The Son
Harold Teen
(1928)
Percival
The Latest from Paris
(1928)
Bud Dolan
Lady of the Pavements
(1929)
A Pianist
On With the Show!
(1929)
Jimmy
The Iron Mask
(1929)
Louis XIV / Twin Brother
Hot Stuff
(1929)
Mack Moran
Gold Diggers of Broadway
(1929)
Wally Saunders
Show of Shows
(1929)
Performer in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number (uncredited)
Playing Around
(1930)
Jack
Paid
(1930)
Carney
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930)
Albert Kropp
The Bat Whispers
(1930)
Brook
Dance, Fools, Dance
(1931)
Rodney Jordan
Daybreak
(1931)
Otto
A Woman of Experience
(1931)
Count Karl Runyi
Guilty Hands
(1931)
Tommy Osgood
Politics
(1931)
Benny Emerson
The Spirit of Notre Dame
(1931)
Jim Stewart
Reducing
(1931)
Tommy Haverly
Back Street
(1932)
Richard Saxel
While Paris Sleeps
(1932)
Paul Renoir
Cheaters at Play
(1932)
Maurice Perry
Straightaway
(1933)
Billy Dawson
Three-Cornered Moon
(1933)
Douglas Rimplegar
A Man of Sentiment
(1933)
John Russell
Lucky Devils
(1933)
Slugger Jones
The Party's Over
(1934)
Clay
You Can't Buy Everything
(1934)
Don Bell (adult)
Crimson Romance
(1934)
Adolph
Sons of Steel
(1934)
Roland Chadburne
Speed Wings
(1934)
Jerry
Straight Is the Way
(1934)
Dr. Wilkes
Green Eyes
(1934)
Cliff Miller
The Curtain Falls
(1934)
Barry Graham
The Quitter
(1934)
Russell Tilford
Happiness C.O.D.
(1935)
Ken Sherridan
On Probation
(1935)
Bill Coleman
Strangers All
(1935)
Dick Carter
Laddie
(1935)
Robert Pryor
Together We Live
(1935)
Billy
Lady Luck
(1936)
Dave Haines
Sea Spoilers
(1936)
Lieut. Commander Mays
Jungle Menace
(1937)
Tom Banning
Exiled to Shanghai
(1937)
Andrew
Dangerous Holiday
(1937)
Tom Connor
Trapped by G-Men
(1937)
Dick Withers
Mile a Minute Love
(1937)
Bob
Quality Street
(1937)
Lieutenant Spicer
The Duke of West Point
(1938)
Committee Captain
The Higgins Family
(1938)
Eddie Davis
King of the Turf
(1939)
Intern
Gone with the Wind
(1939)
Mounted Officer
Zenobia
(1939)
Townsman at Zeke's Recitation
Hotel Imperial
(1939)
Cadet (uncredited)
Seven Sinners
(1940)
Ensign
Beyond Tomorrow
(1940)
David Chadwick
The Saint Takes Over
(1940)
Shipboard Card Player
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
(1942)
Hugh Pleasant
The Postman Didn't Ring
(1942)
Robert Harwood Jr.
King of the Mounties
(1942)
Cpl. Hall Ross
Dr. Kildare's Victory
(1942)
Mr. Hubbell
The Dawn Express
(1942)
Tom Fielding
I Live on Danger
(1942)
Mac
Hop Harrigan: America's Ace of the Airways
(1946)
Hop Harrigan
Jungle Terror
(1946)
Tom Branning
The Farmer's Daughter
(1947)
Windor
The Fabulous Dorseys
(1947)
Eddie
King of the Bandits
(1947)
Captain Frank Mason
The Trespasser
(1947)
Bruce Coleman
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
(1947)
Winters
Romance on the High Seas
(1948)
Dudley (Travel Agent)
You Gotta Stay Happy
(1948)
Dick Hebert
Night Wind
(1948)
Capt. Kingston
So This Is New York
(1948)
Hotel Clerk
Arthur Takes Over
(1948)
Lawrence White
The Capture
(1950)
Herb Tolin, Bolsa Grande Oil
When the Redskins Rode
(1951)
Appleby
Wells Fargo Gunmaster
(1951)
Charlie Lannon
Come Fill the Cup
(1951)
Hal Ortman
Radar Men from the Moon
(1952)
Ted Richards
So This Is Love
(1953)
Charles, Waiter (uncredited)
Lucky Me
(1954)
Motorist (uncredited)
Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter
(1954)
Major Norton
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
(1955)
Maj. Tobias Norton
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
(1955)
Norton
Not With My Wife, You Don't
(1966)
Brig. Gen. Swift (uncredited)
Call Her Mom
(1972)
Jeremy's Father
Set This Town on Fire
(1973)
Desk Clerk
The Strongest Man in the World
(1975)
Professor
Bruised Celluloid
(1984)
Himself
Data provided by TMDB