Ralph Byrd
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| Ralph Byrd | |
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| Born | 22 April 1909 Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Died | 18 August 1952 (aged 43) Tarzana, California, United States |
| Years active | 1935–1953 |
| Spouse | Virginia Carroll (1936 - 1952) |
Ralph Byrd (22 April 1909 – 18 August 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, movies and television.[1]
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[edit] Early life and career
Byrd was a good, all-purpose actor with a gift for delivering dialogue in a natural, ingratiating way. Once established in Republic Pictures' Dick Tracy serials (beginning in 1937), he was usually cast in action features (as a truck driver, lumberjack, cowboy, etc.), despite not having the usual brawny frame that went with these roles. He had a strong, resolute jaw, however, which gave him a heroic presence.
Byrd married actress and model Virginia Carroll in 1936.[2] The couple remained together until Byrd's death in 1952.[2]
[edit] Dick Tracy
Republic cast Byrd as Chester Gould's comic-strip detective Dick Tracy in the 1937 serial of the same name. The film was so successful that it spawned three sequels (unheard of in serials): Dick Tracy Returns, Dick Tracy's G-Men (featuring a young Jennifer Jones, under her real name of Phylis Isley), and Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (reissued in 1952 as Dick Tracy vs. Phantom Empire).
RKO Radio Pictures made a feature film, Dick Tracy, in 1945, but not with Ralph Byrd (see the Wikipedia entry for Morgan Conway). After two films, exhibitors complained. To them, Ralph Byrd was Dick Tracy, and only Ralph Byrd would do. RKO accepted this and hired Byrd to finish the series. Dick Tracy's Dilemma and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (with Boris Karloff as Gruesome) were both released in 1947.
[edit] Later life and death
Ralph Byrd's screen characters could be breezy and affable, or tough and authoritative as the role required.
He is perhaps best remembered for role of the comic strip hero, Detective Dick Tracy, which he played in four serials, two feature films, and a short-lived television series.
Ralph Byrd died of a heart attack in Tarzana, California on August 18, 1952. He was 43 years, 3 months and 27 days old.[3]
[edit] Selected filmography
- Dark Streets of Cairo (1940)
- Manila Calling (1942)
- Stallion Road (1947)
[edit] References
- ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Nework and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. pp. 305. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
- ^ a b "Passings: Virginia Carroll, Character actress and leading lady". Los Angeles Times. 2009-07-30. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings30-2009jul30,0,6400846.story. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ http://ctva.biz/US/Crime/DickTracy.htm
[edit] External links
- Ralph Byrd at the Internet Movie Database
- Ralph Byrd at AllRovi
- Ralph Byrd Article at Todd Gault's Serial Experience
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