fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Rex Bell (born George Francis Beldam; October 16, 1903 – July 4, 1962) was an American actor and politician. Bell primarily appeared in Western films during his career. He also appeared in the 1930 movie True to the Navy, starring Clara Bow; Bell and Bow married the following year.

Rex Bell
Bell in 1931
21st Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
In office January 1, 1955 – July 4, 1962
Governor	Charles H. Russell Grant Sawyer
Preceded by	Clifford A. Jones
Succeeded by	Maude Frazier
Personal details
Born	George Francis Beldam (1903-10-16)October 16, 1903 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 4, 1962(1962-07-04) (aged 58) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Clara Bow ​ (m. 1931)​
Children	2
Profession	Actor, politician

Bell later became involved in politics with the Nevada Republican Party and was the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1955 until his death in 1962.

Early years

Bell was born George Francis Beldam in Chicago on October 16, 1903.[1]

Film career

Bell made his film debut in Wild West Romance in 1928,[2] and went on to act in a number of films, mostly Westerns, in which he had the lead role. Fox Film executives were reported to be grooming Bell to be a successor to Tom Mix.[3] He left the movie industry in 1936, although he had generally small roles in a few later films.

In 1931,[4] Bell and his wife, actress Clara Bow, founded the Walking Box Ranch,[5] at Searchlight, Nevada.[6]

His final film appearance was an uncredited but very prominent role as a loquacious old cowboy in a bar and attending a rodeo in John Huston's The Misfits (1961) starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.[1]

Political career

In 1944, Bell ran for the United States House of Representatives on the Republican ticket against Democrat Berkeley Bunker. The Nevada State Journal commented on November 1: "He has made friends where ever he appeared, but consensus is that the time is too short to overcome a handicap of not being so well known as his opponent".[7] The election was held November 7, and Bell got 19,096 votes while Bunker received 36,648.[8]

Bell was the leader of the Nevada Republican Party and in 1948 was an alternate to the Republican National Convention. He was also active in the Nevada Chamber of Commerce and Boy Scouts.[9]

The ties Bell forged during those years helped him win the Lieutenant Governor's office in 1954. That election year, Charles H. Russell, the incumbent Republican governor, also won. In 1958, Democrat Grant Sawyer unseated Russell, but Bell won re-election as Lieutenant Governor (Bell and his Nevada state political position are mentioned in John D. MacDonald's 1960 novel The Only Girl in the Game). Bell died after giving a campaign speech on July 4th, 1962, while running for governor, still in office, of a heart attack in 1962, at the El Rancho Vegas in Las Vegas.

Other activities

Television

Bell was host of the program Cowboys and Injuns in 1950. It began on a station in Los Angeles[2] and went on to be broadcast on ABC. The show focused on legends that were derived from folklore of cowboys and Native Americans in the United States.[10]

Business

Bell operated Rexco, Incorporated, which manufactured and distributed novelty gift items. He and his brother also had two clothing stores in Nevada.[2]

Personal life

Bell married actress Clara Bow in 1931.[5] They had two sons, Tony Beldam, who changed his name to Rex Anthony Bell Jr., and George Beldam Jr.[11][12] Rex Bell Jr. appeared in two Western films—Stage to Thunder Rock (1964), in the role of "Shotgun Rex", and Young Fury (1965), and later served as district attorney of Clark County from 1987 to 1995.[13]

Bell died of a heart attack on July 4, 1962, a few hours after attending a political rally and picnic in Las Vegas.[14]

The Rex Bell Elementary School in Las Vegas was named in honor of Bell.[15]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1928	Wild West Romance	Phil O'Malley
1928	The Cowboy Kid	Jim Barrett
1928	Girl-Shy Cowboy	Joe Benson
1928	Taking a Chance	Joe Courtney
1929	Joy Street	Eddie
1929	Pleasure Crazed	Peters (chauffeur)
1929	Salute	Cadet	Uncredited
1929	Happy Days	Rex Bell
1929	They Had to See Paris	Clark McCurdy
1930	Harmony at Home	Dick Grant
1930	Courage	Lynn Willard
1930	True to the Navy	Eddie
1930	Lightnin'	Larry - Betty's Husband
1931	Battling with Buffalo Bill	Dave Archer	Serial
1931	Forgotten Women	Jimmy Burke
1931	Law of the Sea	Cole Andrews
1932	The Arm of the Law	Robin Dale
1932	Broadway to Cheyenne	Breezy Kildare
1932	The Man From Arizona	Kent Rogers
1932	Lucky Larrigan	Craig Larrigan - posing as Tex aka Lucky
1932	Crashin' Broadway	Tad Wallace
1933	Diamond Trail	Speed Morgan - posing as Frisco Eddie
1933	Fighting Texans	Randy Graves
1933	The Fugitive	Joe Kean
1933	Rainbow Ranch	Ed Randall
1933	Hollywood on Parade No. A-8	Himself	Short
1934	The Tonto Kid	Skeets Slawson aka The Tonto Kid
1934	Gunfire	Jerry Dunbar
1935	Fighting Pioneers	Lieutenant Bentley
1935	Border Vengeance	Announced Rodeo Guest Star	Uncredited
1935	Saddle Aces	Steve Brandt
1936	Too Much Beef	Johnny Argyle alias Tucson Smith
1936	West of Nevada	Jim Carden, posing as Jim Lloyd
1936	Men of the Plains	Jim Dean - aka Tom Porter
1936	Idaho Kid	Todd Hollister aka Idaho
1936	Law and Lead	Jimmy Sawyer
1936	Stormy Trails	Tom Storm
1942	Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die	Virgil Earp
1942	Dawn on the Great Divide	Jack Carson
1952	Lone Star	Minor Role	Uncredited
1952	Sky Full of Moon	Himself	Uncredited
1961	The Misfits	Old Cowboy	Uncredited, (final film role)

References

External links

• Rex Bell at Find a Grave
• Rex Bell at IMDb
• Rex Bell at AllMovie

Political offices
Preceded by Clifford A. Jones	Lieutenant Governor of Nevada 1955 – 1962	Succeeded by Maude Frazier

На других языках

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[de] Rex Bell

Rex Bell (eigentlich George Francis Beldam, * 16. Oktober 1903 in Chicago, Illinois; † 4. Juli 1962 in Las Vegas, Nevada) war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler und Politiker.

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- [en] Rex Bell

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