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William Benedict

William Benedict

Birthday: 1917-04-16 | Place of Birth: Haskell, Oklahoma, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999) was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Born in Haskell, Oklahoma, he took part in school theatricals, and on leaving school he made his way to Hollywood. His first film was $10 Raise (1935) starring Edward Everett Horton, which launched Benedict on a busy career. The blond-haired Benedict almost always played juvenile roles, such as newsboys, messengers, office boys, and farmhands. In 1939, when Universal Pictures began its Little Tough Guys series to compete with the popular Dead End Kids features, Billy Benedict was recruited into the cast. These films led him into the similar East Side Kids movies (usually playing a member of the East Side gang, but occasionally in villainous roles). The East Side Kids became The Bowery Boys in 1946, and Benedict stayed with the series (as "Whitey") through the end of 1951. Other films included My Little Chickadee (1940) starring W. C. Fields and Mae West, The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster (1955), The Sting (1973) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975). Benedict never shook his juvenile image completely, and continued to play messengers and news vendors well into his sixties. He also worked often in television commercials.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1951
Ghost Chasers

as    Whitey

1949
Angels in Disguise

as    Whitey

1948
Smuggler's Cove

as    Whitey

1948
Angels' Alley

as    Whitey

1948
Trouble Makers

as    Whitey (as Billy Benedict)

1947
Hard Boiled Mahoney

as    Whitey

1946
Do You Love Me

as    Singing Western Union Boy (uncredited)

1946
Bowery Bombshell

as    Whitey

1946
Live Wires

as    Whitey (as Billy Benedict)

1945
Story of G.I. Joe

as    Pvt. Whitey (uncredited)

1944
Follow the Leader

as    Spider O'Brien

1944
The Whistler

as    The Deafmute (Uncredited)

1943
Whispering Footsteps

as    Jerry Murphy

1943
Adventures of the Flying Cadets

as    Zombie Parker

1942
Perils of Nyoka

as    Red Davis

1940
Legion of the Lawless

as    Eddie

1939
Pack Up Your Troubles

as    Office Boy

1939
Hollywood Hobbies

as    Tour Guide

1938
King of the Newsboys

as    Squimpy

1937
They Wanted to Marry

as    Freckles

1937
Tim Tyler's Luck

as    Spud

1935
College Scandal

as    'Penny' Parker