Brawn won out over brain as well when it came to wrestler athlete Nat Pendleton's professional movie career. For two decades, this massively-built, dark-haired, good-looking lug played a number of kind-hearted lunkheads, goons, henchmen and Joe Palooka-like buffoons. Nathaniel Greene Pendleton was born on August 9, 1895 on a farm close to Davenport...
The Thin Man, The Great Ziegfeld, Northwest Passage, Another Thin Man, Manhattan Melodrama, Buck Privates Come Home, Scared to Death, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful World, Young Dr. Kildare, Lady for a Day, The Sign of the Cross, Sing and Like It, Dr. Kildare's Strange Case, Dr. Kildare Goe...
Star Sign
Leo
#
Fact
1
A voracious reader, he wrote poetry, played the banjo and was an avid chess player.
2
Auditioned for the role of Tarzan for MGM but lost out to Johnny Weissmuller.
3
According to Mike Chapman in his article on Pendleton in Classic Images (May 2015), Nat was a direct descendant of Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene, who won key victories over the British. It also is reported that Pendleton is a distant relative of "Star-Spangled Banner" composer Francis Scott Key.
4
Member of the Delta Epsilon fraternity at Columbia University.
5
Never smoked and seldom drank.
6
Two brothers: Steven Gaylord and Edmund.
7
Inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 (inaugural class).
8
Upon his death, his remains were interred at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory in San Diego, California. His location plot is Corridor A NW, #9 on the inside of the door frame on the left side.
9
He was usually cast as a circus strongman, brutish thug, dump cop or dense buffoon, but he had a college degree and in 1933 wrote the script for Deception (1932), in which he starred--not surprisingly--as a wrestler.
10
On the 1920 census he was living in Manhattan with his Puerto Rican first wife Juanita Alfonzo (age 22) and her brother Ramon Alfonso (age 13). He was working as a sports manager.
11
Wrestled for the United States at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a silver medal, and lost only one match due to a controversial point-decision. After the Games he became a professional wrestler and was a big fan favorite, which led to Hollywood.
12
Two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion (1914-1915) in the 175-lb class while at Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1916.
13
Former Olympic wrestler turned actor.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Schlitz Playhouse
1956
TV Series
Otto 'Bitsy' Lamb
Buck Privates Come Home
1947
Sgt. Collins
Scared to Death
1947
Bill Raymond
Death Valley
1946
Jim Ward
Swing Fever
1943
'Killer' Kennedy
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
1943
Joe Wayman
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
1942
Joe Weyman
Calling Dr. Gillespie
1942
Joe Wayman
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
1942
Red Hogan
Jail House Blues
1942
Sonny McGann
Top Sergeant Mulligan
1941
Top Sgt. Herman Mulligan
Buck Privates
1941
Sgt. Michael Collins
Flight Command
1940
C.P.O. 'Spike' Knowles
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940
Joe Wayman
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940
Wayman
The Golden Fleecing
1940
'Fatso' Werner
New Moon
1940
Bondsman (uncredited)
Phantom Raiders
1940
'Gunboat' Jacklin
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940
Joe Wayman, Ambulance Driver
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Roscoe
Northwest Passage
1940
'Cap' Huff
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939
Joe Wayman
Another Thin Man
1939
Lieutenant Guild
At the Circus
1939
Goliath
On Borrowed Time
1939
Mr. Grimes
6,000 Enemies
1939
'Socks' Martin
It's a Wonderful World
1939
Sergeant Koretz
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939
Wayman
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939
Buddy Buttle
Young Dr. Kildare
1938
Joe Wayman
The Crowd Roars
1938
'Pug' Walsh
The Chaser
1938
'Floppy' Phil
The Shopworn Angel
1938
'Dice'
Fast Company
1938
Paul Terison
Arsène Lupin Returns
1938
Joe Doyle
Swing Your Lady
1938
Joe
Life Begins at College
1937
George Black
Gangway
1937
Smiles Hogan
Song of the City
1937
Benvenuto Romandi
Under Cover of Night
1937
Sergeant Lucks
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
Rocky
Two in a Crowd
1936
Flynn
The Luckiest Girl in the World
1936
Dugan
Sworn Enemy
1936
'Steamer' Krupp
Trapped by Television
1936
Rocky O'Neil
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
Sandow
The Garden Murder Case
1936
Sergeant Heath
It's in the Air
1935
Henry Potke
Here Comes the Band
1935
'Piccolo Pete'
Calm Yourself
1935
Knuckles Benedict
Murder in the Fleet
1935
'Spud' Burke
Reckless
1935
Blossom
Baby Face Harrington
1935
Rocky
Times Square Lady
1935
Mack
The Gay Bride
1934
William T. 'Shoots' Magiz
Death on the Diamond
1934
Hogan
Straight Is the Way
1934
Skippy
The Girl from Missouri
1934
Life Guard
The Cat's-Paw
1934
Strozzi
The Defense Rests
1934
Rocky
The Thin Man
1934
Guild
Manhattan Melodrama
1934
Spud
Sing and Like It
1934
T. Fenny Sylvester
Lazy River
1934
Alfred 'Tiny' Smith
Fugitive Lovers
1934
Legs Caffey
College Coach
1933
Ladislaus Petrowski
The Chief
1933
Big Mike, a Henchman
I'm No Angel
1933
Harry - Acrobat (uncredited)
Penthouse
1933
Tony Gazotti
Lady for a Day
1933
Shakespeare
Baby Face
1933
Stolvich - Laborer (uncredited)
The Nuisance
1933
Aloysius P. McCarthy (uncredited)
The White Sister
1933
Corporal Cessano (uncredited)
Child of Manhattan
1933
Spyrene
Goldie Gets Along
1933
Motorcycle Officer Cassidy
Parachute Jumper
1933
Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
Whistling in the Dark
1933
Joe
Flesh
1932
Wrestler (uncredited)
The Sign of the Cross
1932
Strabo
Deception
1932
Bucky O'Neill
The Night Club Lady
1932
Mike McDougal
Exposure
1932
Maniac Killer
Horse Feathers
1932
MacHardie - Darwin Player (uncredited)
By Whose Hand?
1932
The Killer
The Tenderfoot
1932
Joe - Jealous Husband (uncredited)
Attorney for the Defense
1932
Mugg
State's Attorney
1932
Tiger - the Boxer (uncredited)
Girl Crazy
1932
Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Play-Girl
1932
Dance Hall Plumber (scenes deleted)
The Big Timer
1932
Kid Melrose (uncredited)
Hell-Fire Austin
1932
Bouncer
A Fool's Advice
1932
Kelly - Naughty Boy
The Beast of the City
1932
Abe Gorman (uncredited)
Taxi!
1932
Truck Driver Bull Martin (uncredited)
The Pottsville Palooka
1931
Short
Spike Mulligan
Manhattan Parade
1931
Lady Godiva's Husband (uncredited)
The Secret Witness
1931
Gunner - Bodyguard
Blonde Crazy
1931
Hank - aka Pete
The Ruling Voice
1931
Board Member (uncredited)
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
Assistant Coach
The Star Witness
1931
Big Jack
Mr. Lemon of Orange
1931
Gangster (uncredited)
Fair Warning
1931
Purvis
Seas Beneath
1931
'Butch' Wagner (uncredited)
Crazy House
1930
Short
Chef (uncredited)
The Sea Wolf
1930
Smoke
The Last of the Duanes
1930
Bossamer (uncredited)
La grande mare
1930
Pat O'Day
The Big Pond
1930
Pat O'Day
The Laughing Lady
1929
James Dugan
Let's Get Married
1926
Jimmy
Monsieur Beaucaire
1924
Barber (uncredited)
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
1924
Bud Means
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Swing Your Lady
1938
"Dig Me a Grave in Missouri" 1937, uncredited / performer: "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes" - uncredited