Lloyd Bridges

A lanky, prolific actor with blond hair, a perennially furrowed brow and more than a touch of grit in his voice, a reliable tough hero, authority figure and villain for half a century, Lloyd Bridges spent an ever-increasing amount of time in in school plays while studying political science at UCLA. Encouraged by esteemed playwright Sidney Howard, he joined a touring company of "The Taming of the Shrew" upon graduation. He soon signed a standard seven-year contract with Columbia and made over 30 film appearances in 1941 and 1942 alone. Bridges wasn't getting anywhere in his series of small roles, though, and began free-lancing in 1945. His first breakthrough came as the friend of a Black WWII vet psychologically damaged both by the war and by bigotry in the striking "Home of the Brave" (1949). A sturdy character player and occasional lead, Bridges did well in "Rocketship X-M", "The White Tower" (both 1950), and "The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951) until his next landmark, his splendid turn as Gary Cooper's callow deputy in "High Noon" (1952).

Often cast as cowboys, heavies or jilted suitors in supporting roles, Bridges played leads in several low-budget entries for Lippert Pictures ("The Limping Man" 1953, "Deadly Game" 1954) and one of Katharine Hepburn's brothers in the stagy but more prestigious "The Rainmaker" (1956), but it took a move to TV to make him a household name. Over the course of four decades Bridges would try his hand at eight TV series, but his most successful and best-remembered was his first, "Sea Hunt" (syndicated, 1957-61), with the star as ex-Navy frogman turned underwater troubleshooter Mike Nelson. Waterlogged fare would continue to surface in his credits in future years ("Around the World Under the Sea" 1966, "Scuba" 1972) while the actor followed up with series including the dramatic anthology "The Lloyd Bridges Show" (CBS, 1962-63), with the star as a journalist sharing stories from his files each week, and "The Loner" (CBS, 1965-66), which capitalized on his fierce squint and leathery persona.

An incredible number of TV-movies and miniseries would keep the now silver-haired Bridges busy in the 1970s and 80s, many of them forgettable, but some ("Haunts of the Very Rich" 1972, ABC's landmark "Roots" 1977) very good indeed. Bridges displayed a game willingness to parody his stolid authority roles and his occasionally hammy (but always succulent) acting style in the outrageous Abrahams-Zucker genre spoofs "Airplane" (1980) and "Airplane II: The Sequel" (1982). He also enjoyed himself immensely in later series like "Paper Dolls" (ABC, 1984), as a power-crazy executive, and TV-movies such as "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean" (CBS, 1990), as the hotelier's feckless husband Harry. Bridges continued in spoof vein as a bumbling admiral in Abrahams's "Top Gun" parody "Hot Shots" (1991) and its sequel "Hot Shots, Part Deux" (1993). He was the father of actors Beau and Jeff Bridges, who appeared on "The Lloyd Bridges Show" and who later acted with their father in credits ranging from "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988) to "Blown Away" (1994) and the series "Harts of the West (CBS, 1993). Before his death, Bridges had completed roles in the comedy spoof "Jane Austen's Mafia" and starred with son Beau in "Meeting Daddy" (both 1998).

• Also Credited As:
  Lloyd Vernet Bridges II
• Born:
  January 15, 1913 in San Leandro, California
• Died:
  March 10, 1998.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Drama teacher, Parcel service worker

Family

• Mother: Harriet Bridges.

Education

• University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, political science

Milestones

• 1913 Won a trophy from President William Howard Taft as the fattest baby in America (approximate date)
• 1935 Encouraged by playwright Sidney Howard, who saw him performing in Howard's play "Yellow Jack" at UCLA, to join touring production of "The Taming of the Shrew" after graduating; when show reached New York Bridges stayed
• 1937 Co-founded Off-Broadway company The Playroom Club (approximate date)
• 1940 Offered film contract by Columbia executive Sidney Buchman who saw him performing in Ossining theater; signed to seven-year contract (date approximate)
• 1941 Film acting debut in "The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance"
• 1944 Ended contract with Columbia; began free-lancing
• 1945 Played first leading role in film, in the Universal serial, "Secret Agent X-9"
• 1948 Played first leading role in a feature, "Secret Service Investigator"
• 1956 Made Broadway debut replacing Franchot Tone in the psychiatry-themed comedy, "Oh Men! Oh Women !" (approximate date)
• 1957 Starred as Mike Nelson on the syndicated TV adventure series, "Sea Hunt"
• 1958 Last film for eight years, "The Goddess"
• 1966 Returned to feature films with "Around the World Under the Sea"
• 1967 Returned to Broadway in the comedy, "Cactus Flower"
• 1968 Starred in first TV-movie, "The People Next Door"
• 1972 Hosted and narrated the syndicated instructional TV special, "Lloyd Bridges' Water World"
• 1977 First TV miniseries, "Roots"
• 1979 First feature film appearance with son Beau Bridges, "The Fifth Musketeer"
• 1984 Played leading role of Grant Harper on the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera, "Paper Dolls"
• 1985 Returned to Broadway in a revival of "Man of La Mancha"
• 1986 Acted with three generations of Bridges in the TV-movie, "Thanksgiving Promise"; telefilm starred Beau Bridges, featured Lloyd and his wife Dorothy in supporting roles, and marked the debut of Beau's son Jordan; Jeff Bridges also made an unbilled cameo appearance
• 1988 First feature film appearance with son Jeff Bridges, "Tucker: The Man and His Dream"
• 1990 Starred as Jonathan "Jo Jo" Turner on the short-lived ABC drama series, "Capital News"
• 1992 Checked into hospital to open a blocked coronary artery; a week after discharge, planned trip to Germany to begin work on a film
• 1993 Played recurring role of Jake Tyrrell on the CBS drama series, "Harts of the West", starring his son Beau Bridges
• 1998 Completed "Jane Austen's Mafia" and "Meeting Daddy" (the latter co-starring Beau Bridges) before his death
• Played starring role of William Colton on the CBS Western series, "The Loner"
• Returned to Broadway to play Iago in a 1950s adaptation of "Othello"
• Starred as Adam Sheppard on the TV anthology drama series, "The Lloyd Bridges Show"; sons Beau and Jeff Bridges occasionally performed on the show
• Starred as Jim Conrad on the short-lived NBC drama series, "San Francisco International Airport"; role was played by Pernell Roberts for the series pilot
• Starred in the title role of the NBC police drama series, "Joe Forrester"
• Taught acting at a private school in Darien, CT and worked at night for United Parcel Service
• Testified as a "friendly witness" at the infamous HUAC hearings which resulted in the blacklists of the late 1940s and 50s
• Worked for a time for the American Foundation for the Blind making recordings of plays, novels and poetry (approximate date)