Nat Pendleton

promotional photo for the 1934 film, The Defense Rests

Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899–1987), was a well-known music composer and choir master and organist for the American Church in Paris.

Early life Nat Pendleton was born as Nathaniel Greene Pendleton in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide Elizabeth (née Johnson) Pendleton (1873–1960) and Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (1861–1914), an attorney, who was reportedly a descendant of American Revolutionary general Nathanael Greene. By March 1899, the Pendletons had moved to Cincinnati, and then later to New York. Nat went to Brooklyn's Poly Prep High School. Nat studied at Columbia University, graduating in 1916. Pendleton spoke four languages, received an economics degree, and, in 2006, was inducted into the Columbia wrestling hall of fame. Some controversy continues to surround that outcome. Both Pendleton's Olympic coach, George Pinneo, and his teammate, Fred Meyer, insisted that he won his final match and should have been awarded the gold medal. Pinneo later recalled that loss as the "most unpopular of many unsatisfactory decisions," and Meyer stated, "Pendleton was the winner of that contest, no ifs or buts."

Returning to the US he became a professional wrestler and teamed up with promoter Jack Curley. Curley was aggressively promoting Pendleton and issued a series of haughty challenges, among them boasting that Pendleton could beat Ed "Strangler" Lewis and any other wrestler on the same night. John Pesek was enlisted to face Pendleton, and in a legitimate contest held on January 25, 1923, Pesek defeated and injured Pendleton. Pendleton continued to wrestle professionally into the 1930s.

Stage career Naughty Cinderella (Nov 09, 1925 - Feb 20, 1926) as "K. O." Bill Smith

Film career Pendleton began appearing in Hollywood films in uncredited parts and minor roles by the mid-1920s. Pendleton was cast in at least 94 short films and features, most often being typecast in supporting roles, usually as "befuddled good guys" or as slow-witted thugs, gangsters, and policemen. and Edmund (1899–1987), a well-known music composer and choir master and organist for the American Church in Paris.

On the 1920 census, he was working as a sports manager, living in Manhattan, with his Puerto Rican wife, Juanita Alfonzo (age 22), and Ramon Alfonso (age 13), his wife's brother.

Pendleton died in a San Diego, California hospital in 1967 after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by his second wife, Margaret Evelyn "Barbara" Carse.

Legacy Pendleton is a member of several halls of fame: the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cresco, Iowa, and the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame. He is the subject of a biography by Mike Chapman, which was published in 2015.

Filmography Year Film Role Director Notes 1913 The Battle of Gettysburg Thomas H. Ince Unconfirmed 1924 The Hoosier Schoolmaster Bud Means Oliver L. Sellers 1924 Monsieur Beaucaire Barber Sidney Olcott uncredited 1926 Let's Get Married Jimmy Gregory La Cava 1929 The Laughing Lady James Dugan Victor Schertzinger 1930 The Big Pond Pat O'Day Hobart Henley 1930 La grande mare Pat O'Day Hobart Henley 1930 The Last of the Duanes Bossamer Alfred L. Werker Uncredited 1930 The Sea Wolf Smoke Alfred Santell 1931 Seas Beneath 'Butch' Wagner John Ford uncredited 1931 Fair Warning Purvis Alfred L. Werker 1931 Mr. Lemon of Orange Gangster Uncredited 1931 The Star Witness Big Jack William A. Wellman 1931 The Spirit of Notre Dame Assistant coach Russell Mack 1931 The Ruling Voice Board Member Rowland V. Lee Uncredited 1931 Blonde Crazy aka Pete Roy Del Ruth 1931 The Secret Witness Gunner (Bodyguard) Thornton Freeland 1931 The Star Witness Gunner (Bodyguard) William A. Wellman 1931 Manhattan Parade Lady Godiva's Husband Lloyd Bacon Uncredited 1931 The Pottsville Palooka Spike Mulligan Short 1932 Taxi! Truck Driver Bull Martin Roy Del Ruth uncredited 1932 The Beast of the City Abe Gorman Charles Brabin Uncredited 1932 A Fool's Advice Naughty Boy Ralph Ceder 1932 Hell Fire Austin Bouncer Forrest Sheldon 1932 The Big Timer Kid Melrose Edward Buzzell uncredited 1932 Play Girl Dance Hall Plumber Ray Enright Scenes deleted 1932 Girl Crazy Motorcycle Cop William A. Seiter Uncredited 1932 State's Attorney the Boxer George Archainbaud Uncredited 1932 Attorney for the Defense Mugg Irving Cummings 1932 The Tenderfoot Joe (Jealous Husband) Ray Enright Uncredited 1932 By Whose Hand? Delmar 1932 Horse Feathers Darwin football player MacHardie Norman Z. McLeod Uncredited 1932 Exposure Maniac Killer 1932 The Night Club Lady Mike McDougal Irving Cummings 1932 Deception Bucky O'Neill Lewis Seiler Story by Nat Pendleton; script by Harold Tarshis 1932 The Sign of the Cross Strabo Cecil B. DeMille 1932 Flesh Wrestler John Ford Uncredited 1933 Whistling in the Dark Joe Salvatore Charles Reisner 1933 Parachute Jumper Motorcycle Policeman Alfred E. Green uncredited 1933 Goldie Gets Along Motorcycle Officer Cassidy Malcolm St. Clair 1933 Child of Manhattan Spyrene Edward Buzzell 1933 The White Sister Corporal Cessano Victor Fleming Uncredited 1933 Infernal Machine French Thug Marcel Varnel Uncredited 1933 The Nuisance Aloysius P. McCarthy Jack Conway uncredited 1933 Baby Face Stolvich (Laborer) Alfred E. Green Uncredited 1933 Lady for a Day Shakespeare Frank Capra 1933 Penthouse Tony Gazotti W. S. Van Dyke 1933 I'm No Angel Harry (Acrobat) Wesley Ruggles Uncredited 1933 The Chief Big Mike, a Henchman Charles Reisner 1933 College Coach Ladislaus Petrowski William A. Wellman 1934 Lazy River Legs Caffey George B. Seitz 1934 Fugitive Lovers Alfred 'Tiny' Smith Richard Boleslavsky 1934 Sing and Like It T. Fenny Sylvester William A. Seiter 1934 Manhattan Melodrama Spud George Cukor (uncredited) 1934 The Thin Man Lieutenant John Guild W. S. Van Dyke 1934 The Defense Rests Rocky Lambert Hillyer 1934 The Cat's-Paw Strozzi Sam Taylor 1934 The Girl from Missouri Lifeguard Jack Conway 1934 Straight Is the Way Skippy Paul Sloane 1934 Death on the Diamond Harry O'Toole Edward Sedgwick 1934 The Gay Bride William T. 'Shoots' Magiz Jack Conway 1935 Times Square Lady Mack George B. Seitz 1935 Baby Face Harrington Rocky Raoul Walsh 1935 Reckless Blossom Victor Fleming 1935 Murder in the Fleet 'Spud' Burke Edward Sedgwick 1935 Calm Yourself Knuckles Benedict George B. Seitz 1935 Here Comes the Band 'Piccolo Pete' Paul Sloane 1935 It's in the Air Henry Potke Charles Reisner 1935 The Garden Murder Case Sergeant Heath Edwin L. Marin 1936 The Great Ziegfeld Sandow Robert Z. Leonard 1936 Trapped by Television Rocky O'Neil Del Lord 1936 Sworn Enemy 'Steamer' Krupp Edwin L. Marin 1936 The Luckiest Girl in the World Dugan Edward Buzzell 1936 Two in a Crowd Flynn Alfred E. Green 1936 Sing Me a Love Song Rocky Ray Enright 1937 Under Cover of Night Sergeant Lucks George B. Seitz 1937 Song of the City Benvenuto Romandi Errol Taggart 1937 Gangway Smiles Hogan Sonnie Hale 1937 Life Begins in College George Black aka Little Black Cloud William A. Seiter 1938 Swing Your Lady Joe Skopapolous Ray Enright 1938 Arsène Lupin Returns Joe Doyle George Fitzmaurice 1938 Fast Company Paul Terison Edward Buzzell 1938 The Shopworn Angel 'Dice' H.C. Potter 1938 The Chaser 'Floppy' Phil Edwin L. Marin 1938 The Crowd Roars 'Pug' Walsh Richard Thorpe 1938 Young Dr. Kildare Joe Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1939 Burn 'Em Up O'Connor Buddy Buttle Edward Sedgwick 1939 Calling Dr. Kildare Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1939 It's a Wonderful World Sergeant Fred Koretz W. S. Van Dyke 1939 6,000 Enemies 'Socks' Martin George B. Seitz 1939 On Borrowed Time Mr. Grimes Harold S. Bucquet 1939 At the Circus Goliath the Strongman Edward Buzzell 1939 Another Thin Man Lieutenant John Guild W. S. Van Dyke 1939 The Secret of Dr. Kildare Joe Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1940 Northwest Passage 'Cap' Huff King Vidor 1940 The Ghost Comes Home Roscoe Wilhelm Thiele 1940 Dr. Kildare's Strange Case Joe Wayman, Ambulance Driver Harold S. Bucquet 1940 Phantom Raiders 'Gunboat' Jacklin Jacques Tourneur 1940 New Moon Bondsman W. S. Van Dyke Uncredited 1940 The Golden Fleecing 'Fatso' Werner Leslie Fenton 1940 Dr. Kildare Goes Home Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1940 Dr. Kildare's Crisis Joe Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1940 Flight Command CPO 'Spike' Knowles Frank Borzage 1941 Buck Privates Sgt. Michael Collins Arthur Lubin 1941 Top Sergeant Mulligan Top Sgt. Herman Mulligan Jean Yarbrough 1942 Jail House Blues Sonny McGann Albert S. Rogell 1942 The Mad Doctor of Market Street Red Hogan Joseph H. Lewis 1942 Calling Dr. Gillespie Joe Wayman Harold S. Bucquet 1942 Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant Joe Weyman Willis Goldbeck 1943 Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Joe Wayman Willis Goldbeck 1943 Swing Fever 'Killer' Kennedy Tim Whelan 1946 Death Valley Jim Ward Lew Landers 1947 Scared to Death Bill Raymond Christy Cabanne 1947 Buck Privates Come Home Sergeant Collins Charles Barton 1951-1959 Schlitz Playhouse Otto "Bitsy" Lamb Richard Whorf TV series; final appearance