Ralph Sanford

• Date of Birth:

  20 June 1899 Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

Born in 1899 in Springfield, Massachusetts, character actor Ralph Sanford's parents were both non-pros in the business. An actor and stage manager on the Broadway stage in the early years, he appeared in such productions as "Half a Widow" (1927) and "The Constant Sinner" (1931) and "Between Two Worlds" (1934). Sanford then committed to his first screen work at Vitaphone Pictures with early comedy shorts, often as a burly foil to such established two-reeler comics as She... more

Born in 1899 in Springfield, Massachusetts, character actor Ralph Sanford's parents were both non-pros in the business. An actor and stage manager on the Broadway stage in the early years, he appeared in such productions as "Half a Widow" (1927) and "The Constant Sinner" (1931) and "Between Two Worlds" (1934). Sanford then committed to his first screen work at Vitaphone Pictures with early comedy shorts, often as a burly foil to such established two-reeler comics as Shemp Howard, Fatty Arbuckle and Fritz Feld. In Hollywood from 1937, he found plentiful employment in primarily unbilled bits (truck driver, guard, etc.) notably for Paramount. He upgraded to occasional featured parts in such films as Undercover Agent (1939), Wildcat (1942) A Night for Crime (1943), and My Pal Trigger (1946), but for the most part was utilized solely for 'tough guy' atmosphere. He would play minor roles for other studios as well, usually typed as a two-bit gangster or hassled cop. He continued his busy schedule throughout the 1950s with TV work and played a recurring part of Jim "Dog" Kelly on Hugh O'Brien's "Wyatt Earp" series for the 1958-1959 season. An imposing fellow large in girth, Sanford died from a heart ailment in 1963.