LLOYD NOLAN

'Lloyd Benedict Nolan' (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Selected films

External links

Biography

Early life

Nolan was born in San Francisco, California to Margaret and James Nolan. He began his career on stage and was subsequently lured to Hollywood, where he played mainly doctors, detectives, and police officers in many movie roles.

Career

Although many critics hailed his acting ability and it was generally acknowledged that he never gave a bad performance, Nolan was relegated to "B" movies -- programmers -- for the most part. Yet even so, he costarred with such actresses as Mae West, Dorothy McGuire, and the former Metropolitan Opera soprano, Gladys Swarthout. Under contract to Paramount and 20th Century Fox studios, he assayed starring roles in the late 30s and early-to-mid 40s and appeared as the lead character of the "Michael Shayne" detective series.
The majority of his films comprised light entertainment with an emphasis on action. However, his conscientious, nuanced, and sober acting was appreciated by those who deigned not only to seek out his movies but also to discern his talent.
His most famous films in which he starred or was prominently featured include the following: "Atlantic Adventure," costarring Nancy Carroll; "Ebb Tide"; "Wells Fargo"; "Every Day's A Holiday," starring Mae West; "Bataan"; and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," with Dorothy McGuire and James Dunn.
Nolan subsequently contributed many solid and key character parts in numerous other films. And later in his career, he returned to the stage and appeared on TV to great acclaim in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial," as well as in the pioneering TV series, ''Julia'', starring Diahann Carroll.
Nolan died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California, aged 83.

Selected films

★ ''She Couldn't Take It'' (1935)

★ ''15 Maiden Lane'' (1936)

★ ''Wells Fargo'' (1937)

★ ''The House Across the Bay'' (1940)

★ ''A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' (1945)

★ ''The House on 92nd Street'' (1945) as Agent George A. Briggs

★ ''Two Smart People'' (1946)

★ ''Lady in the Lake'' (1947)

★ ''The Street with No Name'' (1948) as Insp. George A. Briggs

★ ''Island in the Sky'' (1953)

★ ''The Last Hunt'' (1956)

★ ''Peyton Place'' (1957) as Dr. Swain

★ ''Ice Station Zebra'' (1968)

★ ''Airport'' (1970)

★ ''Earthquake'' (1974)

★ ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986)

External links

★

★ Find-A-Grave profile for Lloyd Nolan