El Brendel

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El Brendel
Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Years active1913–1959
Spouse
Flo Bert
​
(m. 1925⁠–⁠1964)​

Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel

Fox Film Corporation. His screen name was pronounced "El Bren-DEL".[3]

Early life

He was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania.[1]

He entered vaudeville in 1913 as a German dialect comedian and married his vaudeville partner. Due to anti-German sentiment brought about by the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Brendel developed a new character, one he would portray on stage and in films for the rest of his career: a good-natured, simple Swede, often called "Oley," "Ole," or "Ollie".[citation needed]

During the 1910s and early 1920s, he appeared with his wife, vaudeville star Flo Bert, doing a married-couple routine. It was during this period that he coined his trademark lines, "Yee vizz!" and "Yumpin' yiminy!"[3] He made his first stage appearance in 1921. He appeared in Cinderella on Broadway, Spice of 1922, Passing Show, and New York Whirl.[1]

Career

El Brendel and Yola d'Avril in Hot for Paris (1929)

In 1926, he signed a contract with

U.S. Air Force
.

Brendel left

malaprop-ridden dialogue gave his character new appeal. He was featured in the boisterous "Quirt and Flagg" military comedies with Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen
.

After finishing production of

Gershwin musical Delicious with Gaynor, which introduced the song "New York Rhapsody" and featured Brendel's rendition of "Blah Blah Blah".[4] In 1930 Brendel starred in Just Imagine, a science fiction musical directed by David Butler.[5]

In 1931 Fox starred him in the dual roles of Mr. Lemon and Silent McGee in the comedy Mr. Lemon of Orange. While Mr. Lemon of Orange was publicized by Fox as Brendel's first starring role, that distinction is more accurately given to Just Imagine, which was released five months earlier. Brendel was the most popular comedian in America at the time, according to author Richard Barrios.[3]

Despite the positive public reception of Just Imagine and Mr. Lemon of Orange, it was judged that Brendel could not carry an expensive film. He continued to play leads in B-pictures, but served in more prestigious fare mainly in supporting roles, mostly with his trademark Swedish accent. In 1933, he left Fox and had a brief tenure at Warner Bros. Studios making two-reelers, and for the next few years, was a freelance actor. His former director David Butler cast him in two major features, Little Miss Broadway with Shirley Temple, and If I Had My Way co-starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean.[6]

In 1936, El Brendel made his debut at

Monty Collins. Brendel also starred in feature films for the independent PRC studio. When his PRC and Columbia work ran out in 1945, Brendel went back to vaudeville, returning to the screen only occasionally.[3]

Columbia began re-releasing some of El Brendel's two-reel comedies in 1948. The exposure may have resulted in his being hired for a new feature film, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949), starring Betty Grable.

In 1950, Brendel recorded four numbers for Imperial Records: Frankie And Johnny, Hulda, Pinch Of Snoose and Yumpin' Yiminy (a loose adaptation of the 1918 song Holy Yumpin Yimini).[7][8]

During the 1950s, he shared a brief revival with his wife, Flo Bert, on television variety shows, including

You Asked For It with Art Baker. He also appeared in a few television series such as Cowboy G-Men, My Little Margie, and Perry Mason.[9] His last film was Laffing Time (1959), a featherweight, sitcom-styled comedy. Producer Edward Finney took the leading role, with Gloria Jean as the feminine lead, and Mr. and Mrs. Brendel as neighbors. Brendel also recorded narration for a proposed children's-television project; some of this footage appears in Finney's feature film Tobo the Happy Clown.[10]

El Brendel and Greta Nissen in Women of All Nations (1931)
Wings (1927)

Death

El Brendel died of a

Hollywood, California, on April 9, 1964.[1] He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[11]

Partial filmography

El Brendel films may be viewed at the Internet Archive[12][13] and other video-sharing websites [14] or purchased from online retailers.

Feature films and short subjects in which El Brendel appeared:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "El Brendel, 73, Dies on Coast". The New York Times. United Press International. April 10, 1964. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.
  2. ISBN 978-0-8619-6645-5
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8108-3534-4
    .
  4. YouTube
    Retrieved: October 5, 2013.
  5. ^ "Just Imagine" archive.org Retrieved: October 5, 2013.
  6. YouTube
    Retrieved: December 3, 2013.
  7. ^ "45 Discography for Imperial Records 8000 series: El Brendel singles 8085-8086". Global Dog Productions. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "Holy Yumpin Yiminy". New York: Joe Morris Music Co. 1918 – via Duke University Libraries.
  9. ^ El Brendel on TV archive.org. Retrieved: November 24, 2013.
  10. ISBN 978-0-5956-7454-1
  11. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7
  12. ^ El Brendel archive.org. Retrieved: October 5, 2013.
  13. ^ El Brendel archive.org. Retrieved: October 5, 2013.
  14. ^ El Brendel youtube.com Retrieved: October 5, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to El Brendel.

Streaming audio

Sheet music cover

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