Reed Hadley (June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls in northern Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York and graduated from Bennett High School there. He was involved in the local Studio Arena Theater. Hadley and his wife, Helen, had one son, Dale. Before moving to Hollywood, he acted in Hamlet on stage in New York City.Throughout his thirty-five-year career in film, Hadley was cast as both a villain and a hero of the law, in such movies as The Baron of Arizona (1950), The Half-Breed (1952), Highway Dragnet (1954) and Big House, USA (1955), and narrated a number of documentaries. He starred in two television series, Racket Squad (1950–1953) as Captain Braddock, and The Public Defender (1954–1955) as Bart Matthews, a fictional attorney for the indigent.Hadley was the voice of cowboy hero Red Ryder on the radio show during the 1940s. In films, he starred as Zorro in the 1939 serial Zorro's Fighting Legion.He is immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television work, which included guest starring roles on such programs as the religion anthology series, Crossroads, and on Rory Calhoun's CBS western series, The Texan. In 1959, he played fictitious Sheriff Ben Tildy in "The Sheriff of Boot Hill", with Denver Pyle cast as Joe Lufton.Hadley was the narrator of several Department of Defense films: "Operation Ivy", about the first hydrogen bomb test, Ivy Mike, "Military Participation on Tumbler/Snapper"; "Military Participation on Buster Jangle"; and "Operation Upshot-Knothole" all of which were produced by Lookout Mountain studios. The films were originally intended for internal military use, but have been "sanitized" and de-classified, and are now available to the public.Hadley also served as the narrator on various Hollywood films, including House on 92nd Street (1945) and Boomerang (1947).He died at age 63 on December 11, 1974 of a heart attack.
Narrator of the 2 hour documentary film The Nazi Plan (1945) directed by George Stevens.
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He is the only actor to portray the original Zorro in a movie serial.
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Survived by his wife Helen, and a son Dale.
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Memorable as the very, very tall "Francois", the movie star in evening clothes, who stands next to the very very small "Miss Plupp" (Heather Wilde) on the sunny streets of Lompoc, in a scene directed by the town drunk, "Egbert Souse" (W.C. Fields), in the classic comedy, The Bank Dick (1940).
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Was once a member of the L.A. Tennis Club, and often played in tournaments for charity..
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First actor to play "Red Ryder" on radio.
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At one time, Hadley held a Top Secret security clearance, because of work in narrating nuclear weapon training films.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story
1971
TV Short
Narrator
Brain of Blood
1971
Amir
The Fabulous Bastard from Chicago
1969
Narrator (voice)
Green Acres
1969
TV Series
Pilot
Custer
1967
TV Series
War Eagle
Hondo
1967
TV Series
Morgan Slade
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
1967
Hymie Weiss
Young Dillinger
1965
Federal Agent Parker
Perry Mason
1964
TV Series
Medical Examiner
Moro Witch Doctor
1964
Robert Collins
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
1963
Narrator (uncredited)
All in a Night's Work
1961
General Pettiford (uncredited)
Sea Hunt
1961
TV Series
Fred Darrow
Tightrope
1960
TV Series
Raymond Braddock
The Texan
1959-1960
TV Series
Wild Jack Tobin / Sheriff Ben Tildy
The Restless Gun
1958-1959
TV Series
Mayor Love / Colonel Bromley
Rawhide
1959
TV Series
Clement
The Red Skelton Hour
1958
TV Series
District Attorney / Prof. L. M. Treadway
Bat Masterson
1958
TV Series
Raoul Cummings
Wagon Train
1958
TV Series
Mort Galvin
Navy Log
1957
TV Series
Capt. Jerauld Wright
Crossroads
1956
TV Series
God Is in the Streets
1956
Short
Big House, U.S.A.
1955
Special FBI Agent James Madden
David Hartman: Counterspy
1955
TV Movie
David Harding
Public Defender
1954-1955
TV Series
Bart Matthews
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet
1954
TV Series
Capt. Braddock
Highway Dragnet
1954
Det. Lt. Joe White Eagle
Hazard House
1954
Short
Television Host
Racket Squad
1951-1953
TV Series
Capt. John Braddock
Captain Braddock
Capt. Braddock
...
Woman They Almost Lynched
1953
Bitterroot Bill Maris
Kansas Pacific
1953
Bill Quantrill
Cavalcade of America
1952
TV Series
Son of Ali Baba
1952
Bit (unconfirmed)
The Half-Breed
1952
Frank Crawford
The Wild Blue Yonder
1951
Commanding Officer (uncredited)
Little Big Horn
1951
Sgt. Maj. Peter Grierson
Insurance Investigator
1951
Chuck Malone
Dallas
1950
Wild Bill Hickok
The Killer That Stalked New York
1950
Narrator (uncredited)
The Return of Jesse James
1950
Frank James
A Modern Marriage
1950
Dr. Donald Andrews
Motor Patrol
1950
Detective Robert Flynn
The Baron of Arizona
1950
Griff
Riders of the Range
1950
Clint Burrows
Red Desert
1949
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Apache Chief
1949
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Grand Canyon
1949
Mitch Bennett
Rimfire
1949
The Abilene Kid
I Shot Jesse James
1949
Jesse James
Last of the Wild Horses
1948
Riley Morgan
He Walked by Night
1948
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Walk a Crooked Mile
1948
Narrator (voice)
Jungle Goddess
1948
Radio Newscaster (uncredited)
The Return of Wildfire
1948
Marty Quinn
A Southern Yankee
1948
Fred Munsey
Canon City
1948
Narrator (voice)
The Iron Curtain
1948
Narrator (uncredited)
Man from Texas
1948
Marshal Gregg
Panhandle
1948
Matt Garson
Captain from Castile
1947
Juan Escudero (uncredited)
T-Men
1947
Narrator (uncredited)
The Fabulous Texan
1947
Jessup
Louisiana
1947
The Brasher Doubloon
1947
Dr. Moss (uncredited)
Boomerang!
1947
Off-Screen Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Razor's Edge
1946
Party Waiter (voice, uncredited)
If I'm Lucky
1946
Jed Conklin, Magonnagle's Campaign Manager
It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog
1946
Mike Valentine
The Dark Corner
1946
Police Lt. Frank Reeves
Shock
1946
District Attorney O'Neill
13 Rue Madeleine
1946
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Doll Face
1945
Flo Hartman
Leave Her to Heaven
1945
Dr. Mason
The House on 92nd Street
1945
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
A Bell for Adano
1945
Cmdr. Robertson
Captain Eddie
1945
News Announcer (uncredited)
Don Juan Quilligan
1945
Announcer of Pearl Harbor Attack (uncredited)
The Caribbean Mystery
1945
Dr. Rene Marcel
Diamond Horseshoe
1945
Intern (uncredited)
Circumstantial Evidence
1945
Prosecutor
In the Meantime, Darling
1944
Maj. Phillips
Rainbow Island
1944
High Priest Kahuna
Wing and a Prayer
1944
Cmdr. O'Donnell
Wilson
1944
White House Usher (uncredited)
Home in Indiana
1944
Narrator in Opening Scene (uncredited)
Roger Touhy, Gangster
1944
FBI Agent Boyden
The Eve of St. Mark
1944
Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited)
Pin Up Girl
1944
Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited)
Buffalo Bill
1944
Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Four Jills in a Jeep
1944
Fighter Pilot Dispatcher on Loudspeaker (uncredited)
Happy Land
1943
Off-Screen Narrator
Guadalcanal Diary
1943
War correspondent / Narrator
Wintertime
1943
Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited)
I Married a Witch
1942
Young Man (uncredited)
Now, Voyager
1942
Henry Montague (uncredited)
Lady in a Jam
1942
Man (uncredited)
Mystery of Marie Roget
1942
Naval Officer
Juke Box Jenny
1942
Brother Wicks
Jail House Blues
1942
Boston
The Bugle Sounds
1942
Court-Martial Judge (uncredited)
Arizona Terrors
1942
Jack Halliday aka Don Pedro de Berendo
Road Agent
1941
Henchman Shayne
Look Who's Laughing
1941
Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Appointment for Love
1941
Ferguson (uncredited)
Sea Raiders
1941
Carl Tonjes
Unfinished Business
1941
Party Guest (uncredited)
Whistling in the Dark
1941
Beau Smith
I'll Wait for You
1941
Tony Berolli
Ziegfeld Girl
1941
Geoffrey's Friend in Audience (uncredited)
The Flame of New Orleans
1941
Party Guest (uncredited)
Sky Raiders
1941
Henchman Caddens
Adventures of Captain Marvel
1941
Rahman Bar [Ch. 1,11-12]
Flight Command
1940
Admiral's Aide (uncredited)
The Bank Dick
1940
Francois
Meet the Wildcat
1940
Basso--Henchman
Ski Patrol
1940
Ivan Dubroski
Jack Pot
1940
Short
Arthur Jackson (uncredited)
I Take This Woman
1940
Bob Hampton
Zorro's Fighting Legion
1939
Don Diego Vega
Zorro
The Man from Montreal
1939
Ross Montgomery aka L. R. Rawlins
Bachelor Mother
1939
Polly's First Dance Partner (uncredited)
Stronger Than Desire
1939
Flagg's Party Guest (uncredited)
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939
Tom Crandell
Sergeant Madden
1939
Lawyer (uncredited)
Orphans of the Street
1938
Miller
Sunset Murder Case
1938
Oliver Helton
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938
Jim Blakely
Female Fugitive
1938
Bruce Dunning
Hollywood Stadium Mystery
1938
Ralph Mortimer
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Dr. Teller's Very Large Bomb
2006
TV Movie documentary
Host / Narrator, 'Operation Ivy'
Operation Ivy
1952
Documentary
Host / Narrator
The Last Bomb
1945
Short documentary
Narrator
The Nazi Plan
1945
Documentary
Narrator (uncredited)
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
America's Clown: An Intimate Biography of Red Skelton