Ralph Bellamy was born June 17, 1904 in Chicago,
Illinois but his childhood was spent in the quieter town of
Winnetka, Illinois.
After graduating from the infamous New Trier
High School (host to Rock Hudson, Liz Phair, and Ann-Margaret
to name a few others), Bellamy immediately started his Broadway
career, debuting in 1929. His film debut in 1931’s gangster
flick “The Secret Six” occurred the same year he would wed
the second of four wives, Catherine Willard, after his first
marriage to Alice Delbridge failed the previous year (they
had one child). Bellamy would divorce Willard fourteen years
and one adopted child later, in 1945. He would marry his third
wife, Ethel Smith, the same year. His fourth wife, Alice Murphy,
would be his life partner from 1949 until his death in 1991.
After his performance in “The Secret Six”(1931),
Bellamy would spend the next decade or so perfecting the role
dubbed “the other man”, for which much of his notoriety was
earned.
After his Oscar-nominated performance as Cary
Grant’s rival for the courtship of Irene Dunne in 1937’s “The
Awful Truth”, Bellamy would find much success when cast
as the morally-straight but less-than-spontaneous suitor who
would find himself repeatedly rejected onscreen. Bellamy’s
attitude of course was, “"I always tell the producers, if
I can't get the girl at the end of the picture, at least give
me more money." That said, he would go on to star in 1932’s
“Air Mail”, 1933’s “Below the Sea” and 1934’s “Spitfire”.
But Bellamy would also find fame in his heroic
roles via Television series, such as Inspector Trent in “Before
Midnight”(TV; 1933-34). In 1949 he would star in the TV hit “Man Against
Crime” and remain with the series until 1954. He also frequented
“The Survivors”, “The Most Deadly Game”, “The Eleventh Hour”,
and “Christine Cromwell”.
In 1958 he would be recognized for his stage
talent, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor (Dramatic) for
his performance in “Sunrise at Campobello”. A terrific portrayal
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bellamy would reprise the role
for the equally titled feature film in 1960.
In time, Bellamy would begin to take on villainous
roles, starting with 1983’s “Trading Places” in which he portrayed
a ruthless Wall Street conman. In 1987 he would star in “Amazon
Women on the Moon” and cameo for 1988’s “Coming to America”.
With more than 100 feature film credits and
a multi-medium career spanning the decades, Bellamy has become
one of the most notable actors of the twentieth century. In
his latter years he became one of the founding members for
the Screen Actors Guild and received an honorary Oscar in
1986. It seems whether he is parodying himself in “His Girl
Friday”(1940) or writing his autobiography “When the Smoke
hits the Fan”(1979) Bellamy is a talented man who’s made his
mark through the decades.
Ralph Bellamy’s film credits include...
