Ben Welden


Ben Welden was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows.

Early years

Welden was born in Toledo, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Career

Welden's film debut occurred in the British production The Man from Chicago. After freelancing for several years, he signed with Warner Bros. in 1937.
Short, balding and somewhat rotund, Welden often literally played a "heavy", frequently in a somewhat comical or slightly dim-witted way, offsetting the sinister nature of his character's actions. Among his roles in this vein was as a goon in The Big Sleep, and as a smart-mouth tavern owner in The Roaring Twenties.
Fans of Adventures of Superman remember him well. He appeared in eight episodes, always as a different character and yet really the same character, in a way. His best-known Superman episode might be "Flight to the North", in which he tries to outwit a country-bumpkin type. In 1966, he acted in episodes 47 and 48 of Batman featuring Vincent Price as Special Guest Villain "Egghead". He also played a supporting role in the Three Stooges short, "Three Dark Horses."
He appeared in six episodes of The Lone Ranger. He continued to work in television until 1966.

Personal life

After retiring from the screen, Welden owned a confection company called Nutcorn, located in Beverly Hills.

Death

Welden died at age 96 on October 17, 1997, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.

Filmography