Ralph Sanford

Born on May 21, 1899 in Springfield, Massachusetts, veteran character actor Ralph Sanford came from a theatrical family. His parents were in the business, although not as actors. An actor and stage manager on the Broadway stage in the early years of his career, Sanford appeared in such productions as "Half a Widow" (1927), "The Constant Sinner" (1931) and "Between Two Worlds" (1934). He began his screen work in 1937 at Vitaphone Pictures working in shorts, as a burly foil to such established two-reeler comics as Shemp Howard, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Fritz Feld. He found steady 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 he was utilized solely in "tough guy" parts. He would play minor roles for other studios as well, usually typed as a two-bit gangster or hassled cop