The success of the film seemed to be the beginning of Bridges' climb to stardom. Eventually, the roles and the projects improved the World War II drama "A Walk in the Sun" (1945) preceded Andre De Toth's Western drama "Ramrod," with Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake, before Bridges landed his breakthrough role in "Home of the Brave" (1949) as the sole Caucasian friend to African-American soldier James Edwards. His first lead came in the 1945 serial adaptation of the popular comic strip "Secret Agent X-9" by Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond. Coast Guard, he returned to Hollywood as a freelancer. Unsatisfied with the selection of roles being offered to him, Bridges ended his contract with Columbia in 1944. With his craggy features and drawling delivery, he was a go-to for second and third-string muscle in Westerns, gangster and war pictures like 1943's Humphrey Bogart picture, "Sahara." He was signed to a seven-year contract and earned his first screen credit in 1941's "The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance." A staggering amount of films in every genre followed, though few provided him with much of an opportunity to show his abilities. An executive from Columbia Pictures discovered him in 1940 while performing in Ossining, NY. ![]() Bridges supported himself in a variety of jobs, including acting teacher and recording plays and novels for the American Foundation for the Blind while treading the boards in New York. In 1935, shortly after graduating from UCLA, he joined a touring production of "The Taming of the Shrew" and followed it across country before settling in New York City. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sidney Howard, who later penned the Oscar-winning script for "Gone with the Wind" (1939), encouraged Bridges to follow his interest in acting, which he took to heart. Active in sports and scholastic pursuits at Petaluma High School, he pursued a degree in political science at UCLA but found himself devoting more time to school theater productions. was the son of a local hotelier and movie theater owner. His tenacity, talent and charisma made him a favorite of multiple generations of viewers.īorn in San Leandro, CA on Jan. The father of actors Jeff and Beau Bridges and grandfather to Jordan Bridges, he experienced a career upswing in the 1980s thanks to "Airplane!" and worked tirelessly in dramas, comedies and everything in between until his death in 1998. Along the way, he became a television star thanks to "Sea Hunt" (syndicated, 1958-1961) and starred in numerous television series and movies. A popular and talented leading man for five decades, Lloyd Bridges began his career playing gritty men of action in films like "Home of the Brave" (1949) and "High Noon" (1952) and finished it as a madcap player in such slapstick films as "Airplane!" and "Hot Shots!" (1991).
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