Lyle Bettger
Gender: Male
Born: 13th February 1915
Died: 24th September 2003
Nationality: United States of America
TV programs: The Court of Last Resort, The Grand Jury, Hawaii Five-O
Movies: Carnival Story, No Man of Her Own, The Lone Ranger, The Sea Chase, Destry, Union Station, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Greatest Show on Earth, Johnny Reno, Hurricane Smith, Dear Brat, Town Tamer, Impasse, Denver and Rio Grande, The Great Sioux Uprising, The Vanquished
Lyle S. Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was a character actor known most for his Hollywood roles from the 1950s, typically portraying villains. He is perhaps most recognisable as the wrathfully jealous elephant handler Klaus from the Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lyle was the son of Frank Bettger, who was an infielder for the St Louis Cardinals. An enthusiastic fan of cinema, Lyle left school in his late teens with the ambition of becoming an actor.
Bettger graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His theatrical debut was in Brother Rat at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City in 1936. After a period languishing in small-time theatre he landed the lead role in the Broadway production of The Flying Gerardos in 1940. When Paramount sent a talent scout to see the show, Bettger was signed on a three-year contract.
Bettger's movie career began when he was cast as the lead in the film noir No Man of Her Own (1950). He soon became a regular on the set of Westerns such as Denver and Rio Grande (1952), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953), Drums Across the River (1954), The Lone Ranger (1956)
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Internet Movie Database