William Bendix

On television he played Chester Riley in "The Life of Riley." Bendix died in Los Angeles of pneumonia. Johnny Mack Brown died of heart failure in 1974 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Probably his best-known role was as Sir Sagramore opposite Bing Crosby in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), in which he took part in the famous trio, "Busy Doing Nothing". In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, Brown was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. He played in supporting roles in dozens of Hollywood films, usually as a soldier, gangster or detective. He returned more than ten years later to appear in secondary roles in a few western style films. Bendix was born in New York City, and made his film debut in 1942, having worked as a grocer until the Great Depression. When the western genre experienced a sharp drop in box office popularity, Johnny Mack Brown went into retirement in 1953.

William Bendix (January 14, 1906 - December 14, 1964) was an American film actor. Brown also starred in four serials for Universal Studios and was a hero to millions of young children at movie theaters and on their television screens. After a few more films, Brown returned to making exclusively westerns and eventually became one of the screen's top cowboy stars, making 127 western films during his career. He appeared in minor roles until 1930 when he was cast as the star in a western movie titled Billy the Kid directed by King Vidor. His good looks and powerful physique saw him portrayed on Wheaties cereal boxes and in 1927, brought an offer for motion picture screen tests that resulted in a long and successful career in Hollywood.

In that year's Rose Bowl, he scored two of his teams three touchdowns in an upset win over the favored Washington Huskies. Playing the halfback position on his university's Crimson Tide football team, Brown helped his team to become the 1926 NCAA Division I-A national football champions. Born and raised in Dothan, Alabama, Brown was a star of the high school football team, earning a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. Johnny Mack Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an All-American college football player and successful film actor.