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Nat Pendleton
Known for: ActingNathaniel Greene 'Nat' Pendleton was an American former Olympic wrestler turned actor. Two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion (1914-1915) in the 175-lb. class at Columbia University, Pendleton graduated Class of 1916. He wrestled for the United States at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a silver medal, losing only one match due to a controversial point decision. After the Games he became a professional wrestler and was a big fan favorite, which led to Hollywood. In the 1920 census he was living in Manhattan with his first wife Juanita Alfonzo (age 22) and her brother Ramon Alfonso (age 13). He was working as a sports manager. Pendleton was usually cast as a circus strongman, brutish thug, dumb cop, or dense buffoon, but he had a college degree and in 1933 wrote the script for Deception (1932), in which he starred - not surprisingly - as a wrestler. Upon his death from a heart attack, his remains were interred at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory in San Diego, California. Nat Pendleton was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2006.
Filmography 43
Baby Face
The Thin Man
The Great Ziegfeld
It's a Wonderful World
The Sign of the Cross
At the Circus
Lady for a Day
Taxi!
Buck Privates
I'm No Angel
Manhattan Melodrama
The Crowd Roars
Buck Privates Come Home
Northwest Passage
Another Thin Man
The Beast of the City
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
Calling Dr. Kildare
Horse Feathers
On Borrowed Time
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Flight Command
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Penthouse
The Cat's-Paw
The Garden Murder Case
as Sergeant Ernest Heath
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
as Joe Weyman
The Girl from Missouri
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
as Joe Weyman
The Shopworn Angel
The Spirit of Notre Dame
Blonde Crazy
Scared to Death
Reckless
Young Dr. Kildare
as Joe Wayman
The Gay Bride
The Big Pond
The Golden Fleecing
A Fool's Advice
Death Valley