Bernard Punsly(1923-2004)
- Actor
Bernard Punsly auditioned for the 1935 play "Dead End" on a lark - he
had absolutely no show-business experience whatsoever, had never
studied acting and had no desire to be an actor. He said that show
business seemed like it might be fun, so he figured he'd give it a
shot. To his surprise he was picked for he play, and when it turned out
to be a huge hit, was called to Hollywood with the rest of the juvenile
cast for the film version. While Punsly appeared in most of the "Dead
End Kids" films made after the play, he didn't participate in most of
his colleagues' "extra-curricular activities" - while they were out
partying and getting into trouble with the law, Punsly would go home
after a day's filming and read, mainly medical books, as he always
wanted to be a doctor. His lack of film-industry ambition is reflected
in the fact that he appeared in only two films outside of the Dead End
Kids series, one was 'The Big Broadcast of 1938' and the other was 'Junior Army'. And even the, though 'Junior Army' was not a Dead End Kid movie, it still had in its cast fellow Dead Enders Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Bobby Jordan. Punsley left the series in the early-40s to join the army,
where he received his medical training. Upon his discharge he enrolled
in the University of Georgia, eventually attaining his life's dream of
becoming an MD. He returned to California, but not to a film career -
he opened up a medical practice in Torrance. Punsly said that he never
watched his old films - not because he had any regrets about making
them, but because, as he said, he grew out of them.
