Wallace Beery

American actor

Also known as: Wallace Fitzgerald Beery

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 11, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Wallace Fitzgerald Beery

Born:: April 1, 1885, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

Died:: April 15, 1949, Los Angeles, California (aged 64)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1932); Academy Award (1933): Actor in a Leading Role

Married To:: Gloria Swanson (1916–1919); Rita Gilman (1924–1939)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Bad Man" (1941); "Dinner at Eight" (1933); "Hell Divers" (1931); "Bavu" (1923); "Viva Villa!" (1934); "Old Hutch" (1936); "Way for a Sailor" (1930); "Thunder Afloat" (1939); "Richard the Lion-Hearted" (1923); "The Night Club" (1925); "In the Name of Love" (1925); "Jackass Mail" (1942); "The Slim Princess" (1915); "Drifting" (1923); "Barnacle Bill" (1941); "The Spanish Dancer" (1923); "The Rosary" (1922); "Chinatown Nights" (1929); "Salute to the Marines" (1943); "Rugged Water" (1925); "A Tale of Two Worlds" (1921); "China Seas" (1935); "Bad Bascomb" (1946); "Billy the Kid" (1930); "The Man from Hell's River" (1922); "Wife Savers" (1928); "The Mighty McGurk" (1947); "So Big" (1924); "The Unpardonable Sin" (1919); "The Mighty Barnum" (1934); "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1921); "Rationing" (1944); "The Round-Up" (1920); "Treasure Island" (1934); "The Janitor's Vacation" (1916); "The Last of the Mohicans" (1920); "I Am the Law" (1922); "The Sea Hawk" (1924); "Ashes of Vengeance" (1923); "The Sagebrush Trail" (1922); "The Life Line" (1919); "Beggars of Life" (1928); "The Bad Man of Brimstone" (1937); "O'Shaughnessy's Boy" (1935); "A Date with Judy" (1948); "Barbary Coast Gent" (1944); "The River of Romance" (1929); "The Big House" (1930); "Sergeant Madden" (1939); "The Bowery" (1933); "The Champ" (1931); "Stormswept" (1923); "Now We're in the Air" (1927); "The Flame of Life" (1923); "The Great Divide" (1925); "Robin Hood" (1922); "Trouble" (1922); "Wild Honey" (1922); "Casey at the Bat" (1927); "Ah Wilderness!" (1935); "20 Mule Team" (1940); "Let Women Alone" (1925); "The Lost World" (1925); "The Drums of Jeopardy" (1923); "Big Jack" (1949); "This Man's Navy" (1945); "The Rookie's Return" (1920); "A Lady's Morals" (1930); "The Red Lily" (1924); "The Mollycoddle" (1920); "Tugboat Annie" (1933); "Patsy" (1921); "813" (1920); "Flesh" (1932); "Only a Shop Girl" (1922); "Patria" (1917); "Stand Up and Fight" (1939); "Another Man's Wife" (1924); "Alias Julius Caesar" (1922); "Wyoming" (1940); "Stablemates" (1938); "Alias a Gentleman" (1948); "Min and Bill" (1930); "The Big Killing" (1928); "The Virgin of Stamboul" (1920); "Behind the Door" (1919); "Volcano" (1926); "The Bugle Sounds" (1942); "Madonna of the Streets" (1924); "West Point of the Air" (1935); "Behind the Front" (1926); "Good Old Soak" (1937); "White Tiger" (1923); "We're in the Navy Now" (1926); "The Man from Dakota" (1940); "Unseen Hands" (1924); "Fireman, Save My Child" (1927); "The Golden Snare" (1921); "Stairs of Sand" (1929); "The Signal Tower" (1924); "The Wanderer" (1925); "Adventure" (1925); "The Devil's Cargo" (1925); "The Pony Express" (1925); "The Eternal Struggle" (1923); "Slave Ship" (1937); "Port of Seven Seas" (1938); "Coming Through" (1925); "Three Ages" (1923); "Soldiers of Fortune" (1919); "Partners in Crime" (1928); "Old Ironsides" (1926); "Hurricane's Gal" (1922); "A Message to Garcia" (1936); "Johanna Enlists" (1918); "Victory" (1919); "The Love Burglar" (1919); "The Last Trail" (1921); "Dynamite Smith" (1924); "Grand Hotel" (1932); "The Secret 6" (1931)

Wallace Beery (born April 1, 1885, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.—died April 15, 1949, Los Angeles, California) was an American actor who played in more than 250 motion pictures between 1913 and 1949.

Beery’s first job in entertainment was as an elephant trainer for the Ringling Brothers Circus. He later joined his brother, the actor Noah Beery, Sr., in New York City, where they both worked in the choruses of theatrical productions. He was given the lead in the play The Yankee Tourist and subsequently worked for several years as a dramatic actor in touring and stock theatrical companies.

In 1913 Beery joined the Essanay Studios in Chicago and began his motion-picture career as a director as well as an actor. He worked as a comedian in the Keystone comedies but in 1917 switched to playing villains for several years. He returned to comedy in the 1930s, playing gruff but lovable characters. His most notable performances were in The Champ (1931), for which he won an Academy Award as best actor, and Tugboat Annie (1933).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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