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Irving Bacon
Bacon in Meet John Doe (1941)
Born	Irving Ernest Bacon (1893-09-06)September 6, 1893 Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Died	February 5, 1965(1965-02-05) (aged 71) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1912–1960
Spouses	Freda Lee Scofield ​ ​(m. 1921; died 1928)​ Margaret (Peggy) Beaver ​ ​(m. 1930; div. 1934)​ Alice Bernice Peters ​ ​(m. 1937)​
Children	3

Irving Ernest Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films.

Early years

Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar West Bacon (who was a teenager) and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California. His parents divorced in 1900. His father remarried, to Lena Ann Davis in Spokane later that year.

Career

Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions. The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933, Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde—wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup—in a Sennett comedy.

Bacon often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he appeared in three dozen features. Today's audiences may know him as the soda jerk in the W. C. Fields comedy Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, the wily wagon driver in the Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire musical Holiday Inn, the angry motel guest in the Oscar-winning short Star in the Night, and Glenn Miller's father in The Glenn Miller Story. His most familiar role was as Mr. Beasley, the weary postman in Columbia Pictures' Blondie film series. During the 1950s, Bacon worked steadily in a number of television sitcoms, most notably I Love Lucy, in which he appeared in two episodes, one of which cast him as Ethel Mertz's father.

Personal life

He worked as a "Carburetor and Magneto Machinist for the San Diego Battery and Ignition Company according to his 1917 WWI draft Registration Card."

Bacon was married to Freda Lee Scoville until her death in 1928; they had a son and a daughter. In June 1930, Bacon married Margaret Beaver; they had a son, Frank. They were divorced in 1934. In 1937, he wed, lastly, Alice Bernice Peters. He died on February 5, 1965, aged 71, in Hollywood.

Filmography

References

1. Gordon, Dr. Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. Dorrance Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781480944992. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
2. "Irving Bacon profile". Explore.bfi.org.uk. February 5, 1965. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
3. ^ Kellogg, Byrd Weyler (August 23, 1942). "Second Generation in Movie Cast Here". The Press Democrat. California, Santa Rosa. p. 14. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Walker, Brent E. (2013). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland. p. 486. ISBN 9780786477111. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
5. "Irving Bacon biography/filmography". Matinee Classics. February 5, 1965. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
   - "I Love Lucy: The Marriage License". Lucyfan.com. Lucyfan Enterprises. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
   - "Irving Bacon". Classic Images. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
6. Biography, uncommoncharacter.com. Accessed June 14, 2024.
7. Gordon, Roger L. (January 23, 2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. ISBN 9781480944992.

External links

• Irving Bacon at IMDb 
• Irving Bacon at the TCM Movie Database
• Irving Bacon at AllMovie

• 1893 births
• 1965 deaths
• American male film actors
• American male silent film actors
• American male television actors
• Male actors from St. Joseph, Missouri
• 20th-century American male actors
• American male stage actors