John Tyrrell(1900-1949)
- Actor
John Tyrrell entered show business at the age of 16 as half of the
vaudeville dance team of Tyrrell and Mack. The act became very
successful, and for the next ten years they played engagements all over
the country and secured billing as featured players in the famous revue
"George White's Scandals." As vaudeville began to wane, however,
Tyrrell saw the handwriting on the wall and began studying acting,
sensing that his future would be in motion pictures. He spent two years
with a stock theater company in Connecticut perfecting his craft, then
journeyed to Hollywood. He was soon placed under a long-term contract
to Columbia Pictures, and appeared in many of the studio's prestige
pictures in supporting parts. He was a staple in the studio's comedy
shorts, and often appeared with such comics as El Brendel, Andy Clyde and
The Three Stooges, specializing in playing con artists, swindlers and other shady
types.
