Reed Hadley

Reed Hadley

1911-06-25 – 1974-12-11 (age 63) Petrolia, Clay County, Texas, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Reed Hadley (June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American movie, television and radio actor.

Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Bennett High School in Buffalo and was involved in local theater with the Studio Arena Theater. Hadley and his wife, Helen, had one son, Dale. Before moving to Hollywood, he acted in Hamlet on stage in New York City.

Throughout his thirty-five-year career in film, Hadley was cast as both a villain and a hero of the law, in such movies as The Baron of Arizona (1950), The Half-Breed (1952), Highway Dragnet (1954) and Big House, USA (1955). With his bass voice, he narrated a number of documentaries. He starred in two television series, Racket Squad (1950–1953) as Captain Braddock, and The Public Defender (1954–1955) as Bart Matthews, a fictional attorney for the indigent. Hadley also worked on the Red Ryder radio show during the 1940s, being the first actor to portray the title character. In films, among other things, he starred as Zorro in the 1939 serial Zorro's Fighting Legion. He is immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television work.

He was the voice of cowboy hero Red Ryder on radio and the narrator of several Department of Defense films: "Operation Ivy", about the first hydrogen bomb test, Ivy Mike, "Military Participation on Tumbler/Snapper"; "Military Participation on Buster Jangle"; and "Operation Upshot-Knothole" all of which were produced by Lookout Mountain studios. The films were originally intended for internal military use, but have been "sanitized", edited, and de-classified, and are now available to the public. During the period he narrated these films, Hadley held a Top Secret security clearance.

Hadley also served as the narrator on various Hollywood films, including House on 92nd Street (1945), Call Northside 777 (1947) and Boomerang (1947).

He died at age 63 on December 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Reed Hadley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

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Known For

I Married a Witch
Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven

1945

as Dr. Mason

The Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge

1946

as Party Waiter (voice) (uncredited)

Ziegfeld Girl
Ziegfeld Girl

1941

as Geoffrey's Friend in Audience (uncredited)

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Guadalcanal Diary
Guadalcanal Diary

1943

as War Correspondent/ Narrator

He Walked by Night
He Walked by Night

1949

as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Dallas
Dallas

1950

as Wild Bill Hickok

Bachelor Mother
Bachelor Mother

1939

as Polly's First Dance Partner (uncredited)

Adventures of Captain Marvel
Boomerang!
Boomerang!

1947

as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

The Baron of Arizona
The Baron of Arizona

1950

as John Griff

Jungle Goddess
Jungle Goddess

1948

as Radio Newscaster (uncredited)

The Dark Corner
The Dark Corner

1946

as Frank Reeves

The House on 92nd Street
The House on 92nd Street

1945

as Narrator (voice)

Road Agent
Road Agent

1941

as Henchman Shayne

The Bank Dick
The Bank Dick

1940

as Francois

All in a Night's Work
All in a Night's Work

1961

as General Pettiford (uncredited)

Calling Dr. Kildare
Calling Dr. Kildare

1939

as Tom Crandell

Roger Touhy, Gangster
Roger Touhy, Gangster

1944

as FBI Agent Boyden