Misplaced Pages

Berry Kroeger
Kroeger as the narrator for The Big Story, 1947.
Born	(1912-10-16)October 16, 1912 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 4, 1991(1991-01-04) (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1932–1991
Spouse	Mary Agnes (?-1991) (his death)

Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor.

Career

Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on Suspense and as an actor, playing for a time The Falcon in the radio series Also on radio, he portrayed Dr. Reed Bannister on Big Sister, narrated Salute to Youth, and was a regular as Sam Williams on Young Doctor Malone.

Kroeger made his Broadway debut on December 6, 1943, at the Royale Theatre as Miley in Nunnally Johnson's The World's Full of Girls, which was adapted from Thomas Bell's 1943 novel Till I Come Back to You. He went on to appear in Reclining Figure (1954), Julius Caesar (1950), and The Tempest (1944). He portrayed the High Lama in the 1956 musical adaptation of Lost Horizon titled Shangri-La.

Kroeger was discovered by filmmaker William Wellman while performing on Broadway and began appearing in films with his role in The Iron Curtain (1948). He specialized in playing slimy bad guys in films like Act of Violence (1948), The Iron Curtain (1948), a crooked lawyer in Cry of the City (1948) and a heavy in Joseph H. Lewis' crime film, Gun Crazy (1949).

His flair for decadent leering and evil scowls often led to his being cast in "schlock fare", like Chamber of Horrors (1966) and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971). He appeared in a small role as a village elder in Young Frankenstein (1974). He also appeared in dozens of television programs. He guest starred on seven episodes of Perry Mason as well as in episodes of The Rifleman, Hawaiian Eye, Get Smart (as a character spoofing actor Sydney Greenstreet) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. His last major film role was in 1977's The Demon Seed (1977).

Death

Kroeger died on January 4, 1991, of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Filmography

References

1. Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. pg. 13.
2. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
3. Cox, Jim (2015). The Great Radio Soap Operas. McFarland & Company. p. 278.
4. B F. (December 18, 1943). "Legitimate: BROADWAY OPENINGS - THE ROYALE". Billboard. Vol. 55, no. 51. p. 27-28.
5. "("Berry Kroeger" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
6. Adams, Val (March 15, 1956). STAGE REHEARSAL TO BE SEEN ON TV; 'Wide Wide World' Will Visit Session of 'Shangri-La,' a New Musical, on April 15. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
7. ^ "Berry Kroeger". Variety. January 13, 1991. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
8. Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (2014). Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. McFarland & Company.
9. ^ Warren, Bill (2017). Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition. McFarland & Company.
10. Landesman, Fred (2015). The John Wayne Filmography. McFarland & Company. p. 44.
11. Fraser, C. Gerald (January 12, 1991). "Berry Kroeger, 78, An Actor in Radio, Theater and Films". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.

Turner Classic Movies

External links

• Berry Kroeger at IMDb
• Berry Kroeger at the Internet Broadway Database

• 1912 births
• 1991 deaths
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male radio actors
• American male television actors
• Male actors from San Antonio
• Deaths from kidney failure in California
• 20th-century American male actors