Glenn Strange

Gunsmoke Strange first appeared on Gunsmoke in 1960 after James Arness asked him, "When are you going to do a Gunsmoke? I like to work with big guys." Karloff later said he was dissatisfied with Strange's performances as the monster, commenting, "Well, he wasn't as lucky as I was. I got the cream of it, being the first. I know I wished him lots of luck... hoping it would do as much for him as it did for me, but..."

Previously to House of Frankenstein, Strange starred as Petro, who is turned into a wolf-monster by George Zucco, in The Mad Monster (1943). Another role in a horror film was in 1944's The Monster Maker. He also appeared as "The Giant" in the mystery film The Black Raven (1943).

Strange reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in House of Dracula (1945). Strange played the monster a third time in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948); as in his first two Frankenstein films, he shared the spotlight with Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man, but this time John Carradine was replaced by Bela Lugosi, in his second screen appearance as Count Dracula. Strange later described working on Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein as one of his most enjoyable movie-making experiences.

Death On September 20, 1973, at age 74, Strange died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California. Singer Eddie Dean, with whom Strange had collaborated on various songs and opening themes for films, sang at Strange's funeral service as a final tribute. Strange is interred at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Selected filmography

Shotgun Pass (1931) – Pee Wee (uncredited) Cavalier of the West (1931) – Trooper (uncredited) The Gay Buckaroo (1931) – Barfly (uncredited) Single-Handed Sanders (1932) – Gang Leader (uncredited) The Texas Tornado (1932) – Rustler (uncredited) Riders of the Desert (1932) – Singing Ranger (uncredited) Cowboy Counsellor (1932) – Stage Driver (uncredited) Five Bad Men (1935) – Radio Buckaroo (uncredited) Cyclone of the Saddle (1935) – Singer / Fiddler / Townsman (uncredited) His Fighting Blood (1935) – Singing Constable (uncredited) Suicide Squad (1935) – Singing Fireman (uncredited) Flash Gordon (1936, Serial) – Robot / Ming's Soldier / Gocko (uncredited) Trailin' West (1936) – Tim – Henchman / Trooper (uncredited) A Tenderfoot Goes West (1936) – Cowhand Butch Song of the Gringo (1936) – Henchman Blackie (uncredited) Guns of the Pecos (1937) – Wedding Groom / Rustler (uncredited) Arizona Days (1937) – Henchman Pete Trouble in Texas (1937) – Middleton Sheriff The Cherokee Strip (1937) – Harry, Fiddle Player and Band Leader (uncredited) The Fighting Texan (1937) – Brand-Changing Henchman (uncredited) Blazing Sixes (1937) – Peewee Jones Mountain Music (1937) – Singing Hillbilly (uncredited) Empty Holsters (1937) – Tex Roberts Riders of the Dawn (1937) – Posse Member (uncredited) The Devil's Saddle Legion (1937) – Peewee God's Country and the Man (1937) – Sheriff Joe (uncredited) Stars Over Arizona (1937) – Bruce Cole (uncredited) Danger Valley (1937) – Marshal Dale (uncredited) The Painted Trail (1938) – Sheriff Ed The Last Stand (1938) – Henchman Joe Whirlwind Horseman (1938) – Bull – Henchman Six Shootin' Sheriff (1938) – Kendal Henchman (uncredited) Black Bandit (1938) – Luke Johnson Guilty Trails (1938) – New Sheriff Prairie Justice (1938) – Hank Haynes – Express Agent Gun Packer (1938) – Sheriff The Phantom Stage (1939) – Sheriff The Night Riders (1939) – Angry Riverboat Gambler (uncredited) Blue Montana Skies (1939) – Bob Causer Across the Plains (1939) – Jeff Masters Oklahoma Terror (1939) – Ross Haddon Overland Mail (1939) – Sheriff Dawson Pioneer Days (1940) – Sheriff Rhythm of the Rio Grande (1940) – Sheriff Hays Covered Wagon Trails (1940) – Henchman Fletcher Pals of the Silver Sage (1940) – Vic Insley The Cowboy from Sundown (1940) – Bret Stockton Land of the Six Guns (1940) – Manny Three Men from Texas (1940) – Ben Stokes The San Francisco Docks (1940) – Mike The Bandit Trail (1941) – gang member (uncredited) The Kid's Last Ride (1941) – Bart Gill, aka Ike Breeden Fugitive Valley (1941) – Gray Billy the Kid Wanted (1941) – Matt Brawley The Driftin' Kid (1941) – Jeff Payson Lone Star Law Men (1941) – Marshal Scott Billy the Kid's Round-Up (1941) – Vic Landreau The Lone Rider and the Bandit (1942) – Luke Miller Overland Stagecoach (1942) – Harlen Kent Western Mail (1942) – Sheriff Big Bill Collins Stagecoach Buckaroo (1942) – Breck Braddock Raiders of the West (1942) – Hank Reynolds Sundown Jim (1942) – Henchman (uncredited) Sunset on the Desert (1942) – Deputy Louie Meade Rolling Down the Great Divide (1942) – Joe Duncan Boot Hill Bandits (1942) – The Maverick Romance on the Range (1942) – Stokes Texas Trouble Shooters (1942) – Roger Denby Overland Stagecoach (1942) – Harlen Kent Billy the Kid Trapped (1942) – Boss Stanton Army Surgeon (1942) – Soldier Having Discussion with Brooklyn (uncredited) Little Joe, the Wrangler (1942) – Jeff Corey The Kid Rides Again (1943) – Henchman Tom Slade Haunted Ranch (1943) – Rance Austin Black Market Rustlers (1943) – Corbin Cattle Stampede (1943) – Stone Bullets and Saddles (1943) – Jack Hammond Western Cyclone (1943) – Dirk Randall The Black Raven (1943) – Andy The Mad Monster (1943) – Petro / wolfman Action in the North Atlantic (1943) - Jake (uncredited) The Monster Maker (1944) – Giant / Steve Valley of Vengeance (1944) – Marshal Barker Harmony Trail (1944) – Marshal Taylor House of Frankenstein (1944) – Frankenstein Monster House of Dracula (1945) – Frankenstein Monster The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) – Lefty Sinbad the Sailor – Chief Galley Overseer (uncredited) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – Frankenstein Monster Comin' Round the Mountain (1951) – Devil Dan Winfield Terror in a Texas Town (1958) - Train Passenger (uncredited)

Television