Pendleton was born August 8, 1895, in Davenport, Iowa to Adelaide E. and Nathaniel G. Pendleton. He studied at Columbia University where he began his wrestling career. He was twice Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion in 1914 and 1915. Chosen to compete in the US wrestling team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, Pendleton lost only one match during the competition, and was awarded a silver medal. Returning to the US he became a professional wrestler, and with the celebrity status he had achieved, drifted into films in the late 1920s.
Film career
Pendleton appeared in over 100 films. His early roles were largely uncredited. He was chosen to appear in Horse Feathers (1932) starring the Marx Brothers, as one of the two college football players who kidnap Harpo and Chico, and his career began to develop. His role as circus strongman Eugen Sandow in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) brought him the strongest reviews of his career. Pendleton was most often cast in supporting roles as thugs, gangsters, or policemen and was usually typecast playing characters that depended on their brawn and were "none too bright".
He appeared as a circus strongman again in At the Circus (1939), again with the Marx Brothers. He had recurring roles in two MGM film series of the late 1930s and 1940s: as Joe Wayman, the ambulance driver in the Dr. Kildare series, and its spin-off, the Dr. Gillespie series. He made his final film appearances in Scared to Death with Bela Lugosi, and Buck Privates Come Home (both 1947).
Pendleton died in San Diego, California in 1967 from a heart attack.
Filmography
Actor
1956
Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) as
Otto 'Bitsy' Lamb
- The Big Payoff (1956) - Otto 'Bitsy' Lamb
1947
Buck Privates Come Home as
Sergeant Collins
1946
Scared to Death as
Bill Raymond
1946
Death Valley as
Jim Ward
1943
Swing Fever as
'Killer' Kennedy
1943
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case as
Joe Wayman
1942
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant as
Joe Weyman
1942
Calling Dr. Gillespie as
Joe Wayman
1942
The Mad Doctor of Market Street as
Red Hogan
1942
Jail House Blues as
Sonny McGann
1941
Top Sergeant Mulligan as
Top Sgt. Herman Mulligan
1941
Buck Privates as
Sgt. Michael Collins
1940
Flight Command as
C.P.O. 'Spike' Knowles
1940
Dr. Kildare's Crisis as
Joe Wayman
1940
Dr. Kildare Goes Home as
Wayman
1940
The Golden Fleecing as
'Fatso' Werner
1940
New Moon as
Bondsman (uncredited)
1940
Phantom Raiders as
'Gunboat' Jacklin
1940
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case as
Joe Wayman, Ambulance Driver
1940
The Ghost Comes Home as
Roscoe
1940
Northwest Passage as
'Cap' Huff
1939
The Secret of Dr. Kildare as
Joe Wayman
1939
At the Circus as
Goliath
1939
On Borrowed Time as
Mr. Grimes
1939
Another Thin Man as
Lieutenant Guild
1939
6,000 Enemies as
'Socks' Martin
1939
It's a Wonderful World as
Sergeant Fred Koretz
1939
Calling Dr. Kildare as
Wayman
1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor as
Buddy Buttle
1938
Young Dr. Kildare as
Joe Wayman
1938
The Crowd Roars as
'Pug' Walsh
1938
The Chaser as
'Floppy' Phil
1938
The Shopworn Angel as
'Dice'
1938
Fast Company as
Paul Terison
1938
Arsène Lupin Returns as
Joe Doyle
1938
Swing Your Lady as
Joe Skipapoulos
1937
Life Begins in College as
George Black aka Little Black Cloud
1937
Gangway as
Smiles Hogan
1937
Song of the City as
Benvenuto Romandi
1937
Under Cover of Night as
Sergeant Lucks
1936
Sing Me a Love Song as
Rocky
1936
Two in a Crowd as
Flynn
1936
The Luckiest Girl in the World as
Dugan
1936
Sworn Enemy as
'Steamer' Krupp
1936
Trapped by Television as
Rocky O'Neil
1936
The Great Ziegfeld as
Sandow
1936
The Garden Murder Case as
Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
1935
It's in the Air as
Henry Potke
1935
Here Comes the Band as
'Piccolo Pete'
1935
Calm Yourself as
Knuckles Benedict
1935
Murder in the Fleet as
Spud Burke
1935
Reckless as
Blossom
1935
Baby Face Harrington as
Rocky
1935
Times Square Lady as
Mack
1934
The Gay Bride as
Shoots Magiz
1934
Death on the Diamond as
Harry O'Toole
1934
Straight Is the Way as
Skippy
1934
The Girl from Missouri as
Lifeguard
1934
The Cat's-Paw as
Strozzi
1934
The Defense Rests as
Rocky
1934
The Thin Man as
Lt. John Guild
1934
Manhattan Melodrama as
Spud
1934
Sing and Like It as
T. Fenny Sylvester
1934
Lazy River as
Alfred 'Tiny' Smith
1934
Fugitive Lovers as
Legs Caffey
1933
College Coach as
Ladislaus Petrowski
1933
The Chief as
Big Mike, a Henchman
1933
I'm No Angel as
Harry - Acrobat (uncredited)
1933
Penthouse as
Tony Gazotti
1933
Lady for a Day as
Shakespeare
1933
Baby Face as
Stolvich - Laborer (uncredited)
1933
The Nuisance as
Aloysius P. McCarthy (uncredited)
1933
Infernal Machine as
French Thug (uncredited)
1933
The White Sister as
Corporal Cessano (uncredited)
1933
Child of Manhattan as
Spyrene
1933
Goldie Gets Along as
Motorcycle Officer Cassidy
1933
Parachute Jumper as
Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
1933
Whistling in the Dark as
Joe Salvatore
1932
Flesh as
Wrestler (uncredited)
1932
The Sign of the Cross as
Strabo
1932
Deception as
Bucky O'Neill
1932
The Night Club Lady as
Mike McDougal
1932
Exposure as
Maniac Killer
1932
Horse Feathers as
MacHardie - Darwin Player (uncredited)
1932
By Whose Hand? as
Killer Delmar.
1932
The Tenderfoot as
Joe - Jealous Husband (uncredited)
1932
Attorney for the Defense as
Mugg Malone
1932
State's Attorney as
Tiger - the Boxer (uncredited)
1932
Girl Crazy as
Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
1932
Play Girl as
Dance Hall Plumber (scenes deleted)
1932
The Big Timer as
Kid Melrose (uncredited)
1932
Hell-Fire Austin as
Bouncer
1932
A Fool's Advice as
Kelly - Naughty Boy
1932
The Beast of the City as
Abe Gorman (uncredited)
1931
Taxi as
Truck Driver Bull Martin (uncredited)
1931
The Pottsville Palooka (Short) as
Spike Mulligan
1931
Manhattan Parade as
Lady Godiva's Husband (uncredited)
1931
The Secret Witness as
Gunner - Bodyguard
1931
The Spirit of Notre Dame as
Assistant Coach
1931
Blonde Crazy as
Hank - aka Pete
1931
The Ruling Voice as
Board Member (uncredited)
1931
The Star Witness as
Big Jack
1931
Mr. Lemon of Orange as
Gangster (uncredited)
1931
Fair Warning as
Purvis
1931
The Seas Beneath as
'Butch' Wagner (uncredited)
1930
Crazy House (Short) as
Chef (uncredited)
1930
The Sea Wolf as
Smoke
1930
The Last of the Duanes as
Bossamer (uncredited)
1930
La grande mare as
Pat O'Day
1930
The Big Pond as
Pat O'Day
1929
The Laughing Lady as
James Dugan
1926
Let's Get Married as
Jimmy
1924
Monsieur Beaucaire as
Barber (uncredited)
1924
The Hoosier Schoolmaster as
Bud Means
Writer
1932
Deception
Soundtrack
1938
Swing Your Lady ("Dig Me a Grave in Missouri" (1937), uncredited) / (performer: "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes" - uncredited)
1935
Baby Face Harrington (performer: "Hiking, Hiking, Hiking" - uncredited)
