William Bendix
William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, known for his portrayals of rough, blue-collar characters. He gained significant recognition for his role in Wake Island, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Bendix is also remembered for playing Chester A. Riley, the earnest and clumsy aircraft plant worker, in both the radio and television versions of The Life of Riley. Additionally, he portrayed baseball legend Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story. Bendix frequently co-starred with Alan Ladd, appearing in ten films together; both actors died in 1964. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 14, 1906 (New York City (most populous city in the United States)), Died December 14, 1964 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | L 4746 | 12/27/1947 | Busy doing nothing | Bing Crosby | speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bendix, William," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/303820.
Bendix, William. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/303820.
"Bendix, William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: William Bendix
Discogs: William Bendix
IMDb: William Bendix
Britannica: William Bendix
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Bendix, William, 1906-1964 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n78080685
Wikidata: William Bendix - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2005629
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/27254778
MusicBrainz: William Bendix - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9c7141bb-a1db-478e-895b-d3009fb76da0
ISNI: 0000 0000 8106 2967 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000081062967
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1911879 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1911879
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.