Ralph Byrd
Ralph Byrd was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, feature films, and television.
Early life and career
The son of George and Edna May Byrd, Ralph Byrd was born in Dayton, Ohio. Before he began acting in films, he sang and danced in theatrical productions. He debuted in movies with a bit part in Red-Headed Woman in.
Once established in Republic Pictures' Dick Tracy serials, he was usually cast in action features.
Byrd also starred in three other serials: Blake of Scotland Yard, S.O.S. Coast Guard, and The Vigilante.
Byrd worked regularly at both major and minor studios, from highest-budget Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to lowest-budget Producers Releasing Corporation. PRC could seldom afford star names but did sign Byrd for comedian Harry Langdon's comeback feature Misbehaving Husbands, directed by William Beaudine. PRC and Beaudine then starred Byrd as a light comedian in two 1942 features, Duke of the Navy and Broadway Big Shot. Byrd's screen career was interrupted temporarily by military service.
Byrd co-starred with fellow action star George Reeves in two features for producer Robert L. Lippert: Jungle Goddess and Thunder in the Pines.
Dick Tracy
Republic cast Byrd as Chester Gould's comic-strip detective Dick Tracy in the 1937 serial of the same title. The film was so successful that it spawned three sequels : Dick Tracy Returns, Dick Tracy's G-Men, and Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc..
RKO Radio Pictures made a feature film, Dick Tracy, in 1945, with character actor Morgan Conway in the title role. After two films, exhibitors complained. To them, Ralph Byrd was Dick Tracy, and only Ralph Byrd would do. RKO capitulated, and hired Byrd to finish the series. Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome were both released in 1947.
Byrd portrayed Tracy for one season on the Dick Tracy TV series, which premiered on the ABC network in September 1950. The 48 half-hour episodes were filmed on a breakneck schedule and a low budget, with Byrd having to do some of the strenuous stunts himself. The exertion may have contributed to a heart condition, which caused his untimely death at age 43.
Personal life
He married actress and model Virginia Carroll in 1936. The couple remained together until Byrd's death in 1952.
He served in the United States Army during World War II, having been inducted into the service in San Pedro, California, in 1944.
He died of a heart attack on August 18, 1952, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale).
Selected filmography
Red-Headed Woman as Driver with Mustache Chinatown Squad as Desk Sergeant The Adventures of Rex and Rinty as Forest Ranger Jerry Morton The Affair of Susan as Mechanic Hell-Ship Morgan as DaleBorder Caballero as Tex WeaverPride of the Marines as Male Nurse The Last Outlaw as Pilot The Final Hour as Department of Justice Guard Two-Fisted Gentleman as CharleySwing Time as Hotel Clerk Alibi for Murder as Cop A Tenderfoot Goes West as SteveWhite Legion as NCO Clerk We Who Are About to Die as Police Lab Technician Find the Witness as TexBlake of Scotland Yard as Dr. Jerry SheehanThey Wanted to Marry as Roger Coleman Sea Devils as Court-Martial Seaman Dick Tracy as Dick TracyMotor Madness as C.P.O. Mike BurnsCriminals of the Air as WilliamsonThey Gave Him a Gun as Wounded Soldier San Quentin as Cop on Phone A Fight to the Finish as Jimmy S.O.S. Coast Guard as Lt. Terry KentThe Firefly as French Lieutenant The Trigger Trio as Larry SmithPaid to Dance as Nickels BrownBorn to Be Wild as Steve HackettArmy Girl as Capt. Bob MarvinDick Tracy Returns as Dick TracyDown in 'Arkansaw' as John ParkerFighting Thoroughbreds as Ben MarshallS.O.S. Tidal Wave as Jeff ShannonMickey the Kid as Dr. Ben CameronDick Tracy's G-Men as Dick TracyThe Captain Is a Lady as Randy - Seaman The Golden Fleecing as Larry KellyThe Howards of Virginia as James HowardDulcy as Businessman in Meeting Drums of the Desert as Paul DumontNorth West Mounted Police as Constable AckroydThe Mark of Zorro as Student / Officer Dark Streets of Cairo as Dennis MartinThe Son of Monte Cristo as William GluckMisbehaving Husbands as Bob GrantPlay Girl as Miami Doctor The Penalty as BrockPower Dive as Jackson - DraftsmanDesperate Cargo as Tony BronsonDr. Kildare's Wedding Day as Policeman Navy Blues as Lieutenant A Yank in the R.A.F. as Al BennettDick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. as Dick TracyDuke of the Navy as Breezy DukeBroadway Big Shot as Jimmy O'BrienRudyard Kipling's Jungle Book as DurgaMoontide as Rev. WilsonTen Gentlemen from West Point as MaloneyCareful, Soft Shoulder as Elliott SalmonManila Calling as CorbettTime to Kill as Lou Venter, bodyguardMargin for Error as Pete - Dice-Playing Soldier The Meanest Man in the World as Reporter They Came to Blow Up America as BurkhardtGuadalcanal Diary as Ned RowmanDecember 7th: The Movie as Reporter Four Jills in a Jeep as Sergeant in Mess Hall Tampico as Quartermaster O'Brien Stallion Road as Richmond MallardDick Tracy's Dilemma as Dick TracyThe Vigilante as Greg Sanders, the VigilanteDick Tracy Meets Gruesome as Dick TracyThe Argyle Secrets as Police Lt. Samuel SamsonStage Struck as Police Sgt. Tom RameyCanon City as Officer GrayJungle Goddess as Bob SimpsonThunder in the Pines as "Boomer" BensonRadar Secret Service as StaticUnion Station as Priest The Redhead and the Cowboy as Capt. AndrewsLightning Strikes Twice as Jack Ross, Hair Tonic Salesman on Bus Double Crossbones as Will - Debtor Close to My Heart as Charlie My Favorite Spy as Official Bugles in the Afternoon as First officer