Fred Santley

Fred Santley (November 20, 1887 – May 14, 1953), also known variously as Freddie Santley, Fredric Santley, Frederick Santley, Frederic Santley, and Fredric M. Santley, was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras, as well as an actor on the Broadway stage. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 20, 1887, as Frederic Mansfield, the son of Laurene Santley, and the stepson of stage actor Eugene Santley.^[1] He was the brother of filmmaker and stage actor Joseph Santley,^[2] both of whom adopted the surname of their stepfather as their stage name. He would make his acting debut in a 1907 short, Pony Express, and would continue to make shorts throughout the 1910s and 1920s. In addition, he would appear in numerous plays during this period, including more than a dozen Broadway productions.^[3]

He would make his feature film debut with a small role in 1930's Leathernecking, a musical comedy starring Irene Dunne.^[4] He would appear in over 90 more feature films during his almost 25-year career.^[5] Some of the more notable films he appeared in were: Anything Goes (1936), starring Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman;^[6] the 1937 Tyrone Power vehicle, Alexander's Ragtime Band;^[7] the Michael Curtiz film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1943), starring James Cagney;^[8] 1946's Night and Day, the Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, and Monty Woolley;^[9] Vincente Minelli's Father of the Bride (1950), starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor;^[10] and the 1951 comedy, Angels in the Outfield.^[11] His final appearance would be in the big budget musical, The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953), which would be released after his death. Santley would die on May 14, 1953, in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

(Per AFI database)^[5]

References