William 'Billy' Benedict(1917-1999)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
William Benedict was active in the drama department of his Tulsa,
Oklahoma, high school and, at the height of the Depression (1934),
decided to relocate to California. At first, he wanted to be a dancer,
but when he discovered that dancers were a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood,
he concentrated on acting. He made his film debut in Fox's
Dix dollars d'augmentation (1935) and went onto the Fox
payroll as a "featured player". After leaving Fox, he played some of
his larger parts in serials and in the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys
features in which he was a regular. During his half-century-plus
career, Benedict has had roles in practically every type of movie;
there's only one thing that the ex-hoofer might have enjoyed doing in a
movie, but never had the chance: "Strange as it seems, I've never once
danced in a picture!".
