William Bakewell

Highest Rated: 100% Old Ironsides (1926)

Lowest Rated: 64% The Bat Whispers (1930)

Birthday: May 2, 1908

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

American actor William Bakewell had a long career in television and film that began in the silent era, but he achieved his greatest fame early. He debuted as a teenager, his first credit coming in the 1925 melodrama "The Last Edition." He starred in the 1927 romance "West Point" with a young Joan Crawford, and appeared with the actress again in the 1931 crime drama "Dance, Fools, Dance." He had a role in the musical "Gold Diggers of Broadway" in 1929, but it was his role in a film a year later that may be his most enduring legacy. Bakewell played the young soldier Albert in "All Quiet on the Western Front," a grittily realistic World War I drama that was considered groundbreaking. As the '30s wore on, his starring parts became supporting roles or small parts such as one in "Gone with the Wind." He played in "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" in 1947, as well as having a starring role in the film serial "Hop Harrigan," before appearing with more frequency on TV. He had a role as Major Norton in the very popular Davy Crockett episodes of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" in the mid '50s and had guest roles on sitcoms like "Hazel" and "Petticoat Junction" in the '60s. Bakewell continued making occasional appearances in films, with his last role coming in the 1975 family comedy "The Strongest Man in the World." He also helped found the Screen Actors Guild in 1933.