Vernon Dent

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Vernon Bruce Dent (born February 16th, 1895, in San Jose, CA; died November 5th, 1963, in Hollywood, CA) was a comic actor who co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures. He was frequently cast as the irascible foil to the Three Stooges' comic antics.

In the early 1920s Dent was a fixture at the Mack Sennett studio, working with comedians Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde, and especially Harry Langdon. Dent alternately played breezy pals and blustery authority figures opposite Langdon's timid character.

Sennett voided all contracts when it came time to retool his studio for sound, and Dent moved to Educational Pictures in 1929. Dent's supporting performances were frequently funnier than the sometimes uninspired antics of the nominal stars. When Educational hired Harry Langdon for a series of two-reelers in 1932, Vernon Dent resumed his place as Langdon's co-star.

Dent joined Columbia Pictures' short-subject department in 1936 and went on to work with practically every star on the payroll, including fellow Sennett alumni Harry Langdon, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, and Eddie Quillan; The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, El Brendel, Vera Vague, Hugh Herbert, Schilling and Lane, Harry von Zell, and Bert Wheeler. Dent appeared very occasionally in feature films, including Million Dollar Legs, Chip Off the Old Block, and Kill the Umpire, but was much more visible in two-reel comedies.

Dent went blind in the early 1950s but, amazingly, he continued to act in Columbia shorts (in a stationary or seated position) through 1954. He participated in the nationally televised This Is Your Life tribute to Mack Sennett.

[edit] Books

• The Columbia Comedy Shorts by Ted Okuda with Edward Watz, [1]. (Includes complete history and filmography of the Columbia shorts; Vernon Dent's wife is quoted several times about his personal and professional life)