Lloyd Bridges

LLOYD BRIDGES

Lloyd Vernett Bridges, Jr. was born January 15, 1913 in San Leandro, California, USA.

Lloyd Bridges began at the Actor's Lab in the mid-1930s, then appeared on Broadway, where he made his debut in Othello in 1939. Signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, he played many cameo roles in the 1940s, including Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and then in the TV series Secret Agent X-9 (1945).

For five more years he played supporting roles, such as the younger brother in "Canyon Passage" (1946), the young outlaw in "Colt.45" (1950). Occasionally played leading roles in supporting films, such as the role of the pilot in "Spaceship X-M" (1950), before his acclaimed role as a spineless deputy sheriff in "Exactly at Noon" (1952) put him out of fashion. He starred in Westerns, playing the role of Gar in "City of Wicked" (1953) and a certain Gip in "Wichita" (1955).

In the 1950s, Bridges was put on the "gray list" because he confessed to flirting with Communism at a meeting of the Un-American Activities Investigation Committee. Producer Ivan Thors brought him back to the screen as diver-for-hire Mike Nelson in the television series Sea Hunt (1958-1961), Sea Hunt).

In the 1960s and 1970s Bridges played in TV movies, his best work being "Silent Night, Lonely Night" (1969), the strange and memorable "The Trouble of the Overly Rich" (1972) and the role of Aramis in "The Fifth Musketeer" (1979). His career changed dramatically after the release of "Airplane!" (1980), in which he spoofed roles he had played before. Following the film's success, Bridges' other major work was "Important People!" (1991), also a comedy. He is the father of actors Bo Bridges and Jeff Bridges, and the grandfather of Jordan Bridges.

He died on March 10, 1998, in Los Angeles, California, USA.