William Bakewell
Known for Acting · 137 credits
- Born
- 1908-05-02
- Died
- 1993-04-15
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Also known as
- Billy Bakewell · William Bakewell Jr. · Bill Bakewell
Biography
William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993), also known as Billy Bakewell, was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Bakewell, educated at Los Angeles Harvard Military School, began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924), and went on to appear in some 170 films and television shows. He had supporting roles at the end of the silent era and reached the peak of his career around 1930. He is perhaps best remembered for playing German soldier Albert Kropp in the film classic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and Rodney Jordan, Joan Crawford's brother, in Dance, Fools, Dance (1931). He also co-starred in Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) with Winnie Lightner and Lilyan Tashman. In 1933, he contributed to the founding of the Screen Actors Guild, and was member 44 of the original 50. He never achieved stardom after the Depression years, although he became familiar in dozens of films, including his short appearance as a mounted soldier in Gone with the Wind (1939) whom Scarlett O'Hara asks when the Yankee soldiers are coming to Atlanta.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army with the rank of second lieutenant. He was stationed at the 73rd Evacuation Hospital and at the Radio Section of the Special Service Division as the Post Intelligence Officer. He also worked under the department that handled distribution of recorded programs to overseas station circuits.
He starred in the Columbia Pictures serial Hop Harrigan (1946), where he played a top Air Corps pilot. He also portrayed Major Tobias Norton and a Keelboat Race Master of Ceremonies in the phenomenally popular Disney series Davy Crockett (1954-1955).
In the 1960s, he guest starred in numerous situation comedy television series, including Guestward, Ho!, Pete and Gladys, Bringing Up Buddy, The Tab Hunter Show, Mister Ed, Leave It to Beaver, The Jack Benny Program, Petticoat Junction , and Hazel. He also was cast in episodes of Peter Gunn, Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, The Roaring 20s, The Virginian, Arrest and Trial, and 87th Precinct He played the Virginia statesman George Wythe in the episode "George Mason" in the 1965 NBC documentary series, Profiles in Courage. He made his last film in 1975.
Known For
TV Shows (32)
Love, American Style
1969
as Elroy
Maverick
1957
The Virginian
1962
as Sam Branch / Nate Eastman
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Ralph Craig / Actor / Herbert
Leave It to Beaver
1957
Green Acres
1965
I Dream of Jeannie
1965
as Colonel Harris
Run for Your Life
1965
as County Attorney Lassiter
Peter Gunn
1958
That Girl
1966
Highway Patrol
1955
Hazel
1961
Sea Hunt
1958
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Mister Ed
1961
M Squad
1957
as Detective
It Takes a Thief
1968
as Hotel Clerk
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Major Dort / Robert Cooper / Michael Dailey
87th Precinct
1961
Pete and Gladys
1960
Nanny and the Professor
1970
as Carnival Host / Norm
The Roaring 20's
1960
Boston Blackie
1951
as Ron Taylor
Profiles in Courage
1964
as Wythe
Official Detective
1957
as Sam Graves
Casey Jones
1957
as Ben Slater
Harbor Command
1957
as Officer Maxwell
Guestward, Ho!
1960
Bringing Up Buddy
1960
I'm the Law
1953
The Great Gildersleeve
1955
Movies (105)
Gone with the Wind
1939
as Mounted Officer
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930
as Albert Kropp
Quality Street
1937
as Lieutenant Spicer
Lucky Devils
1933
as Slugger Jones
The Strongest Man in the World
1975
as Professor
Night Wind
1948
as Capt. Kingston
Zenobia
1939
as Townsman at Zeke's Recitation
Strangers All
1935
as Dick Carter
The Capture
1950
as Herb Tolin, Bolsa Grande Oil
Crimson Romance
1934
as Adolph
Daybreak
1931
as Otto
Straightaway
1933
as Billy Dawson
West Point
1928
as 'Tex' McNeil
Sons of Steel
1934
as Roland Chadburne
Radar Men from the Moon
1952
as Ted Richards
Lady Luck
1936
as Dave Haines
Jungle Menace
1937
as Tom Banning
Seven Sinners
1940
as Ensign
On Probation
1935
as Bill Coleman
Mother
1927
as Jerry Ellis
The Farmer's Daughter
1947
as Windor
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
1955
as Norton
The Show of Shows
1929
as Performer in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number (uncredited)
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
1955
as Maj. Tobias Norton
Lucky Me
1954
as Motorist (uncredited)
The Saint Takes Over
1940
as Shipboard Card Player
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1947
as Winters
Back Street
1932
as Richard Saxel
Romance on the High Seas
1948
as Dudley (Travel Agent)
Beyond Tomorrow
1940
as David Chadwick
Playing Around
1930
as Jack
The Iron Mask
1929
as Louis XIV / Twin Brother
So This Is Love
1953
as Charles, Waiter (uncredited)
Trapped by G-Men
1937
as Dick Withers
So This Is New York
1948
as Hotel Clerk
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
1956
as Official at Keel Boat Race (uncredited)
Paid
1930
as Carney
Arthur Takes Over
1948
as Lawrence White
Not With My Wife, You Don't!
1966
as Brig. Gen. Swift (uncredited)
Jungle Terror
1946
as Tom Branning
Dance, Fools, Dance
1931
as Rodney Jordan
Hotel Imperial
1939
as Cadet (uncredited)
Guilty Hands
1931
as Tommy Osgood
You Gotta Stay Happy
1948
as Dick Hebert
The Duke of West Point
1938
as Committee Captain
King of the Mounties
1942
as Cpl. Hall Ross
Sea Spoilers
1936
as Lieut. Commander Mays
Old Ironsides
1926
as Young Philadelphian (uncredited)
The Fabulous Dorseys
1947
as Eddie
Bruised Celluloid
1984
as Himself
On With the Show!
1929
as Jimmy
Yanks Ahoy
1943
as Ens. Crosby (uncredited)
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe
1942
as Hugh Pleasant
The Party's Over
1934
as Clay
Come Fill the Cup
1951
as Hal Ortman
Three Cornered Moon
1933
as Douglas Rimplegar
The Bat Whispers
1930
as Brook
Dangerous Holiday
1937
as Tom Connor
Green Eyes
1934
as Cliff Miller
The Quitter
1934
as Russell Tilford
King of the Bandits
1947
as Captain Frank Mason
The Curtain Falls
1934
as Barry Graham
I Live on Danger
1942
as Mac
Politics
1931
as Benny Emerson
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
as Jim Stewart
Exiled to Shanghai
1937
as Andrew
Speed Wings
1934
as Jerry
Hop Harrigan: America's Ace of the Airways
1946
as Hop Harrigan
Set This Town on Fire
1973
as Desk Clerk
The Dawn Express
1942
as Tom Fielding
A Woman of Experience
1931
as Count Karl Runyi
Mile a Minute Love
1937
as Bob
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl
1926
as Salesman
Messenger of Peace
1947
as Pastor Willie von Adel
Lady of the Pavements
1929
as A Pianist
King of the Turf
1939
as Intern
The Higgins Family
1938
as Eddie Davis
Annapolis
1928
as Skippy
Harold Teen
1928
as Percival
Cheaters at Play
1932
as Maurice Perry
Dr. Kildare's Victory
1942
as Mr. Hubbell
Reducing
1931
as Tommy Haverly
Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter
1954
as Major Norton
Together We Live
1935
as Billy
A Man of Sentiment
1933
as John Russell
While Paris Sleeps
1932
as Paul Renoir
Straight Is the Way
1934
as Dr. Wilkes
Laddie
1935
as Robert Pryor
Call Her Mom
1972
as Jeremy's Father
Happiness C.O.D.
1935
as Ken Sherridan
Wells Fargo Gunmaster
1951
as Charlie Lannon
The Shield of Honor
1927
as Jerry MacDowell
Hot Stuff
1929
as Mack Moran
The Trespasser
1947
as Bruce Coleman
The Latest from Paris
1928
as Bud Dolan
When the Redskins Rode
1951
as Appleby
The Last Edition
1925
as 'Ink' Donovan
The Heart Thief
1927
Gold Diggers of Broadway
1929
as Wally Saunders
You Can't Buy Everything
1934
as Don Bell (adult)
Whispering Wires
1926
The Postman Didn't Ring
1942
as Robert Harwood Jr.
The Battle of the Sexes
1928
as The Son
The Devil's Trademark
1928
as Tom Benton
Down Liberty Road
1957
as Waldo (Uncredited)
About William Bakewell
William Bakewell (May 2, 1908 – April 15, 1993), also known as Billy Bakewell, was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Bakewell, educated at Los Angeles Harvard Military School, began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924), and went on to appear in some 170 films and television shows. He had supporting roles at the end of the silent era and reached the peak of his career around 1930. He is perhaps best remembered for playi… With 137 credits spanning from 1925 to 1984, William Bakewell has appeared in 105 films and 32 TV shows.
Fans searching for William Bakewell movies, William Bakewell filmography, or the latest projects starring William Bakewell can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular William Bakewell Movies
- Gone with the Wind (1939) — as Mounted Officer
- All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) — as Albert Kropp
- Quality Street (1937) — as Lieutenant Spicer
- Lucky Devils (1933) — as Slugger Jones
- The Strongest Man in the World (1975) — as Professor
Where to Watch William Bakewell Films
Most William Bakewell movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring William Bakewell, check our movies catalogue and browse page.