Ben Alexander (actor)

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Ben Alexander
Alexander in 1959
Born
Nicholas Benton Alexander III

(1911-06-27)June 27, 1911
DiedJuly 5, 1969(1969-07-05) (aged 58)
OccupationActor
Years active1916–1969

Nicholas Benton Alexander III (June 27, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a

Dragnet franchise
.

Life and career

Ben Alexander as a child actor

After a number of silent films, he retired from screen work, but came back for the World War I classic, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), in which Alexander received good notices as an adult actor as "Kemmerich", the tragic amputation victim.[1]

He found a new career as a successful radio announcer in the late 1940s, including a stint on The Martin and Lewis Show. Alexander also acted on radio, playing Philip West in the 1939–40 soap opera Brenthouse on the Blue Network.[2][3]

From October 1950 to January 1951, Alexander hosted Party Time at Club Roma, a nightly late-night television show on NBC described as "part Truth or Consequences-type stunt show and part talent contest".[4]

In 1952,

Felony Squad.[3][5]

On July 5, 1969, Alexander was found dead as the result of a massive heart attack in his Los Angeles home when his wife and children returned from a camping trip.[5]

He was cremated.[6]

For his contributions to the entertainment industry, Ben Alexander was awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, radio, and movies.[1][3]

Other

Alexander and his family in 1961, pictured are his daughter, Lesley, his son, Bradford, and his wife, Lesley.

Alexander owned and operated the Ben Alexander Ford car dealership in the Highland Park neighborhood of northeast Los Angeles, from around 1953 until his death in 1969, along with the Ben Alexander Ford car delership in San Francisco, which was formed in 1959.[7]

In the mid-1950s, Ben Alexander's Dream House Motel was located at 1815 North Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Alexander ran a talent show for young people out of

Oakland, The Ben Alexander Talent Show which was broadcast on Oakland's KTVU TV, a local station in the San Francisco Bay Area
.

Ben Alexander in 1925

In 1960, he was a semi-regular panelist on Ernie Kovacs' offbeat game show Take a Good Look.

Filmography

Television

Writer

  • Dragnet (Co-writer, 6 episodes)

References

  1. ^ a b Williford, Stanley O. (July 6, 1969). "Ben Alexander". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  2. . Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Ben Alexander". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. n.d. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Shreve, Ivan (May 26, 2017). "Happy Birthday, Ben Alexander!". Radio Spirits. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "TV Actor Found Dead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1969. p. 29. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson
  7. ^ "Ben Alexander Ford, Inc. of San Francisco". Business Profiles. Retrieved January 26, 2016.

Further reading

External links