Acting
Nat Pendleton
Biography
Nathaniel Greene 'Nat' Pendleton was an American former Olympic wrestler turned actor. Two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion (1914-1915) in the 175-lb. class at Columbia University, Pendleton graduated Class of 1916. He wrestled for the United States at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a silver medal, losing only one match due to a controversial point decision. After the Games he became a professional wrestler and was a big fan favorite, which led to Hollywood. In the 1920 census he was living in Manhattan with his first wife Juanita Alfonzo (age 22) and her brother Ramon Alfonso (age 13). He was working as a sports manager. Pendleton was usually cast as a circus strongman, brutish thug, dumb cop, or dense buffoon, but he had a college degree and in 1933 wrote the script for Deception (1932), in which he starred - not surprisingly - as a wrestler. Upon his death from a heart attack, his remains were interred at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory in San Diego, California. Nat Pendleton was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2006.
Movies with Nat Pendleton
Baby Face
1933
Buck Privates
1941
Swing Fever
1943
The Thin Man
1934
Another Thin Man
1939
Lady for a Day
1933
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
Manhattan Melodrama
1934
The Sign of the Cross
1932
It's a Wonderful World
1939
Northwest Passage
1940
Reckless
1935
Fast Company
1938
At the Circus
1939
The Star Witness
1931
The Gay Bride
1934
Fugitive Lovers
1934
Jail House Blues
1942
Scared to Death
1947
College Coach
1933
Flesh
1932
Calling Dr. Gillespie
1942
Buck Privates Come Home
I'm No Angel
1933
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
Two in a Crowd
1936
On Borrowed Time
1939
Death Valley
1946
Crazy House
1930
Horse Feathers
1932
It's in the Air
1935
The Beast of the City
1932
The Shopworn Angel
1938
Taxi!
1932
The Defense Rests
1934
Complicated Women
2003
Parachute Jumper
1933
Manhattan Parade
1931
By Whose Hand?
1932
The Cat's-Paw
1934
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
Dr. Kildare's Crisis
1940
Flight Command
1940
Seas Beneath
1931
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940
Young Dr. Kildare
1938
Sworn Enemy
1936
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
1939
Penthouse
1933
Blonde Crazy
1931
The Chief
1933
Lazy River
1934
New Moon
1940
The Big Timer
1932
Phantom Raiders
1940
The Crowd Roars
1938
The Last of the Duanes
1930
Dr. Kildare Goes Home
1940
The Big Pond
1930
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
Under Cover of Night
1937
Death on the Diamond
1934
The Nuisance
1933
Sing and Like It
1934
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
Murder in the Fleet
1935
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
Calling Dr. Kildare
1939
Arsène Lupin Returns
1938
The Ruling Voice
1931
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Life Begins in College
1937
The Chaser
1938
Calm Yourself
1935
Fair Warning
1931
Child of Manhattan
1933
The Girl from Missouri
1934
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
1943
Whistling in the Dark
1933
Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant
1942
The Golden Fleecing
1940
The Garden Murder Case
1936
Times Square Lady
1935
Swing Your Lady
1938
Burn 'Em Up O'Connor
1939
The Luckiest Girl in the World
1936
Baby Face Harrington
1935
A Fool's Advice
1932
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
1942
Song of the City
1937
The World of Abbott and Costello
1965
The Tenderfoot
1932
The Laughing Lady
1929
Here Comes the Band
1935
6,000 Enemies
1939
Trapped by Television
1936
The Night Club Lady
1932
The Sea Wolf
1930
Gangway
1937
Top Sergeant Mulligan
1941
Goldie Gets Along
1933
Straight Is the Way
1934
The Spirit of Notre Dame
1931
The Secret Witness
1931
Deception
1932
Attorney for the Defense
1932
Hell-Fire Austin
1932
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
1924
Exposure
1932
Let's Get Married
1926