Today is the birthday of Swedish wrestler and schlock horror movie star Tor Johnson (1903-1971). While best known for his association with Ed Wood, a quick glance at his IMDB entry reveals that Johnson was in a lot of top notch Hollywood pictures–his name was just (way) further down in the billing.
Best of all, here he is with Groucho as a contestant on “You Bet Your Life” – -he’d already been appearing in movies for about 20 years at this point:
To find out more show business past and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
For more on silent and slapstick comedy don’t miss my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc
(Travalanche) 