El Brendel

Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, notable for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the science fiction musical Just Imagine, produced by Fox Film Corporation. His screen name was pronounced "El Bren-DEL".

Early life He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania. In 1930 Brendel starred in Just Imagine, a science fiction musical directed by David Butler.

In 1931 Fox starred him in the dual roles of Mr. Lemon and Silent McGee in the comedy Mr. Lemon of Orange. While Mr. Lemon of Orange was publicized by Fox as Brendel's first starring role, that distinction is more accurately given to Just Imagine, which was released five months earlier. Brendel was the most popular comedian in America at the time, according to author Richard Barrios.

In 1936, El Brendel made his debut at Columbia Pictures in a pair of two-reel comedies; producer Jules White liked Brendel's act and hired him for a series in 1941. Brendel was a popular attraction in short subjects (Columbia billed him as "America's Swede-Heart!") and he was often paired with other well-known comedians, including Shemp Howard, Harry Langdon, Tom Kennedy, and Monty Collins. Brendel also starred in feature films for the independent PRC studio. When his PRC and Columbia work ran out in 1945, Brendel went back to vaudeville, returning to the screen only occasionally.

During the 1950s, he shared a brief revival with his wife, Flo Bert, on television variety shows, including You Asked For It with Art Baker. He also appeared in a few television series such as Cowboy G-Men, My Little Margie, and Perry Mason. His last film was Laffing Time (1959), a featherweight, sitcom-styled comedy. Producer Edward Finney took the leading role, with Gloria Jean as the feminine lead, and Mr. and Mrs. Brendel as neighbors. Brendel also recorded narration for a proposed children's-television project; some of this footage appears in Finney's feature film Tobo the Happy Clown.

Death El Brendel died of a heart attack at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, California, on April 9, 1964. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Partial filmography

El Brendel films may be viewed at the Internet Archive and other video-sharing websites or purchased from online retailers.

Feature films and short subjects in which El Brendel appeared: You Never Know Women (1926) – Toberchik The Campus Flirt (1926) – Knute Knudson Man of the Forest (1926) – Horace Pipp Too Many Crooks (1927) – Botts Arizona Bound (1927) – 'Oley Smoke' Oleson Wings (1927) – Herman Schwimpf Rolled Stockings (1927) – Rudolph Ten Modern Commandments (1927) – 'Speeding' Shapiro The Cock-Eyed World (1929) – 'Yump' Olson Happy Days (1929) – Minstrel Show Performer #2 Frozen Justice (1929) – Swede Hot for Paris (1929) – Axel Olson Sunny Side Up (1929) – Eric Swenson The Golden Calf (1930) – Knute Olson New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930) – Alex Svenson The Big Trail (1930) – Gus Just Imagine (1930) – Single O Mr. Lemon of Orange (1931) – Oscar Lemon / Silent McGee Six Cylinder Love (1931) – Janitor Women of All Nations (1931) – Olsen The Spider (1931) – Ole West of Broadway (1931) – Axel 'Swede' Axelson Delicious (1931) – Chris Jansen Disorderly Conduct (1932) – Olsen Handle with Care (1932) – Carl Lundstrom Born to Fight (1932) – Swiebach Olsen's Big Moment (1933) – Knute Olsen Hot Pepper (1933) – Olsen The Last Trail (1933) – Newt Olsen My Lips Betray (1933) – Oswald Stigmat, Chauffeur The Meanest Gal in Town (1934) – Chris Peterson What, No Men! (1935, Short) – Gus Olsen – Gas Company Representative Career Woman (1936) – Chris Erleson God's Country and the Woman (1937) – Ole Olson The Holy Terror (1937) – 'Bugs' Svenson Blonde Trouble (1937) – Window Washer Happy Landing (1938) – Yonnie Little Miss Broadway (1938) – Ole Valley of the Giants (1938) – 'Fats' Risky Business (1939) – Axel Code of the Streets (1939) – Mickhail 'Micky' Bjorgulfsen The House of Fear (1939) – Jeff Call a Messenger (1939) – 'Baldy' If I Had My Way (1940) – Axel Swenson Captain Caution (1940) – Slushy Gallant Sons (1940) – Olaf Larsen Yumpin Yiminy! (1941) – Ole Brendel Phoney Cronies (1942, Short) – Oley Machine Gun Mama (1944) – Ollie Swenson I'm from Arkansas (1944) – Oly Pistol Packin' Nitwits (1945, Short) – Professor Brendel The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949) – Mr. Jorgensen Paris Model (1953) – Papa Jensen The She-Creature (1956) – Olaf Laffing Time (1959) – Efrem "Blobbsy" Blobbs