Nat Pendleton
Acting
Born August 7, 1895 · Davenport, Iowa, USA
Nathaniel 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.
Films (110)
Complicated Women
2003
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
The World of Abbott and Costello
1965
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
Buck Privates Come Home
1947
Scared to Death
1947
Death Valley
1946
Swing Fever
1943
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
1943
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
1942
Calling Dr. Gillespie
1942
Jail House Blues
1942
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
1942
Top Sergeant Mulligan
1941
Buck Privates
1941
Flight Command
1940
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940
The Golden Fleecing
1940
New Moon
1940
Phantom Raiders
1940
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Northwest Passage
1940
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939
Another Thin Man
1939
At the Circus
1939
On Borrowed Time
1939
6,000 Enemies
1939
It's a Wonderful World
1939
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
Young Dr. Kildare
1938
The Crowd Roars
1938
The Chaser
1938
The Shopworn Angel
1938
Fast Company
1938
Arsène Lupin Returns
1938
Swing Your Lady
1938
Life Begins in College
1937
Gangway
1937
Song of the City
1937
Under Cover of Night
1937
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
Two in a Crowd
1936
The Luckiest Girl in the World
1936
Sworn Enemy
1936
Trapped by Television
1936
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
The Garden Murder Case
1936
It's in the Air
1935
Here Comes the Band
1935
Calm Yourself
1935
Murder in the Fleet
1935
Reckless
1935
Baby Face Harrington
1935
Times Square Lady
1935
The Gay Bride
1934
Death on the Diamond
1934
Straight Is the Way
1934
The Cat's-Paw
1934
The Girl from Missouri
1934
The Defense Rests
1934
The Thin Man
1934
Manhattan Melodrama
1934
Sing and Like It
1934
Lazy River
1934
Fugitive Lovers
1934
College Coach
1933
The Chief
1933
I'm No Angel
1933
Lady for a Day
1933
Penthouse
1933
Baby Face
1933
The Nuisance
1933
Child of Manhattan
1933
Parachute Jumper
1933
Goldie Gets Along
1933
Whistling in the Dark
1933
The Sign of the Cross
1932
Flesh
1932
Deception
1932
The Night Club Lady
1932
Exposure
1932
Horse Feathers
1932
By Whose Hand?
1932
The Tenderfoot
1932
Attorney for the Defense
1932
The Big Timer
1932
Hell-Fire Austin
1932
A Fool's Advice
1932
The Beast of the City
1932
Taxi!
1932
Manhattan Parade
1931
The Secret Witness
1931
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
Blonde Crazy
1931
The Ruling Voice
1931
The Star Witness
1931
Fair Warning
1931
Seas Beneath
1931
Crazy House
1930
The Sea Wolf
1930
The Last of the Duanes
1930
The Big Pond
1930
The Laughing Lady
1929
Let's Get Married
1926
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
1924