El Brendel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Brendel (b. March 25, 1890, - d. April 9, 1964) was a vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect schtick as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in Fox Pictures' 1930 sci-fi musical, Just Imagine. His screen name was pronounced ("El Bren-DEL.")
Born in Philadelphia, PA to German immigrants, Elmer Goodfellow Brendle was anything but Swedish. The character he portrayed on stage and in films, often called "Oley", "Ole", or "Ollie", developed from his entering vaudeville around 1910, where he developed the character. During the 1910s and early 1920s, he appeared with his wife, vaudeville star Flo Bert, doing a married-couple routine. It was during this period that he coined his trademark lines, "Yee vizz!" and "Yumpin' yiminy!"
In 1926, he signed a contract at Fox Studios and appeared in almost every major production there for the next few years, most memorably as the Swedish comic relief in the first Academy Award winning best picture, Wings with Clara Bow and Buddy Rogers.
Four years later, Brendel's star had risen at the studio, largely in part due to the advent of sound. The "simple Swede" character now had a voice, and his malaprop-ridden dialogue gave his character new appeal. After finishing production of Sunny Side Up with Janet Gaynor, Brendel continued star comic parts in The New Movietone Follies of 1930, The Big Trail with John Wayne, Gershwin musical Delicious with Gaynor (featuring the introduction of "New York Rhapsody"), and Just Imagine, directed by David Butler. Brendel was the most popular comedian in America at the time, according to author Richard Barrios.
Despite the good public reception of Just Imagine, it was judged that Brendel could not carry an expensive film. He contined to play leads in B-pictures, but served in more prestigious fare mainly in supporting roles, mostly with his trademark Swedish accent. In 1933, he left Fox and had a brief tenure at Warner Bros. Studios, and for the next few years, was a freelance actor. In 1936, he made his debut at Columbia Pictures in a pair of two-reel comedies; producer Jules White liked Brendel's act and hired him for a series in 1941. Brendel was a popular attraction in short subjects, and was often paired with other well-known comedians, including Shemp Howard and Harry Langdon. Brendel also starred in feature films for the independent PRC studio.
When his PRC and Columbia work ran out in 1945, Brendel went back to vaudeville, returning to the screen only occasionally. During the 1950s, he shared a brief revival with his wife on television variety shows, including You Asked For It with Art Baker. His last film was Laffing Time (1959), a featherweight, sitcom-styled comedy featuring producer Edward Finney, singing star Gloria Jean, and Brendel's wife Flo Bert. Brendel also recorded narration for a proposed children's-television project; some of this footage appears in Finney's feature film Tobo the Happy Clown.
El Brendel died on April 9, 1964 in Hollywood, California from a heart attack. He is interred next to his wife, Flo, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
