Buddy Messinger Explained
| Buddy Messinger |
| Birth Name: | Melvin Joseph Messinger |
| Birth Date: | 26 October 1907 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Spouse: | Marjorie Montgomery
(m.1932—1965; his death) |
| Relatives: | Gertrude Messinger (sister) |
Buddy Messinger (born Melvin Joseph Messinger; 26 October 1907 – 25 October 1965) was an American actor who was cast in substantial roles in dozens of films during the silent film era. He began his career as a jovial chubby child actor. With the advent of sound films he was relegated mostly to bit parts.[1] [2]
His sister Gertrude Messinger was also a child actor. They appeared in several Fox fairytale movies for children. She transitioned to speaking roles in B-movies during the 1930s continuing her career into the 1950s.
He featured in a series of "Edgar" films including Edgar's Sunday Courtship, Edgar Camps Out, and Edgar's Little Saw in 1920 and 1921.
He appeared in a series of comedy films for Century Film Corporation. He starred in a 22-minute haunted house comedy for Universal called What an Eye in 1924 with Hilliard Karr.[3]
In the 1950s and 1960s he also worked as an assistant director.[4]
He married Marjorie Montgomery in 1932.
Selected filmography
- Gloriana (1916) - Minor Role
- Jack and the Beanstalk (1917) - Minor Role
- Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917) - Omar - Al-talib's Evil Spirit
- The Babes in the Woods (1917)
- Treasure Island (1918) - Captain Smolett
- Six Shooter Andy (1918)[5] - Susan's Brother (uncredited)
- Fan Fan (1918) - Head Collector
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1918) - Kasim Bara
- The Hoodlum (1919) - Dish Lowry
- Jinx (1919) - Orphan
- Luck of the Irish (1920)
- Edgar's Sunday Courtship (1920, Short) - Freddy Littlefield
- The Old Nest (1921) - Jim at 10
- Shadows (1922) - 'Mr. Bad Boy'
- When Love Comes (1922) - Coleridge Twin
- The Flirt (1922) - Hedrick Madison
- A Front Page Story (1922) - Tommy
- Boyhood Days (1923, Short)
- The Abysmal Brute (1923) - Buddy Sangster
- All Over Twist (1923)
- Trifling with Honkr (1923) - Jimmy Hunt
- Penrod and Sam (1923)[6] - Rodney Bitts
- Don't Get Fresh (1923, Short)
- The Whispered Name (1924) - The Office Boy
- Young Ideas (1924)[5] - Bob Lowden
- What an Eye (1924, a haunted house comedy for Universal Pictures)[3] - Buddy - the Office Boy
- Don't Fall (1924, Short) - Buddy
- Jack and the Beanstalk (1924)
- Taming the East (1925, Short)
- Monkeys Prefer Blondes (1926, Short)
- Sorority Mixup (1927, Short)
- Swell Clothes (1927, Short) - Billy Fox
- Two Arabian Sites (1927, Short)
- Undressed (1928) - Bobby Arnold
- The Godless Girl (1928) - Student (uncredited)
- A Lady of Chance (1928) - Hank Crandall
- Hot Stuff (1929) - Tuffy
- Cheer Up and Smile (1930)[7] - Donald
- The Age of Consent (1932) - Junior - A Student (uncredited)
- Bondage (1933) - (uncredited)
- Stage Mother (1933)[8] - Fellow in Third Row (uncredited)
- Wild Boys of the Road (1933) - Boy (uncredited)
- College Coach (1933) - Newsboy (uncredited)
- This Side of Heaven (1934) - Fraternity Brother (uncredited)
- The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) - Fraternity Boy (uncredited)
- Let 'Em Have It (1935) - Bellboy (uncredited)
- The Public Menace (1935) - Office Boy (uncredited)
- Thanks a Million (1935) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- Ah, Wilderness! (1935) - George Danforth (uncredited)
- Modern Times (1936) - Cigar Counterman (uncredited)
- The Three Wise Guys (1936) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- Three of a Kind (1936) - Bellhop (uncredited)
- Kelly the Second (1936) - Flynn Handler (uncredited)
- Our Relations (1936) - Pirate's Club Customer (uncredited)
- The Devil Is a Sissy (1936) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- Libeled Lady (1936) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- College Holiday (1936) - Dancer (uncredited)
- A Star Is Born (1937) - Boy Delivering Fan Mail (uncredited)
- Wings Over Honolulu (1937) - Boy (uncredited)
- Midnight Madonna (1937) - Messenger
- Super-Sleuth (1937) - Suspect #2 (uncredited)
- Blonde Trouble (1937) - Friend of Fred (uncredited)
- Atlantic Flight (1937) - Reporter in Control Room (uncredited)
- Test Pilot (1938) - Field Mechanic (uncredited)
- Hold That Kiss (1938) - Theatre Usher (uncredited)
- Yellow Jack (1938) - Saluting Patient (uncredited)
- The Shopworn Angel (1938) - Third Boy in Montage Yelling 'It's War!' (uncredited)
- Too Hot to Handle (1938) - Cycle Messenger (uncredited)
- The Shining Hour (1938) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- Four Girls in White (1939) - Messenger (uncredited)
- Idiot's Delight (1939) - Usher (uncredited)
- Fast and Loose (1939) - Clerk (uncredited)
- The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939, Serial) - Rance (uncredited)
- Sergeant Madden (1939) - Hospital Clerk (uncredited)
- Fast and Furious (1939) - First Elevator Boy (uncredited)
- The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939) - Newspaper Reporter (uncredited)
- Turnabout (1940) - Elevator Boy (uncredited)
- Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) - Elevator Boy (uncredited)
- Hullabaloo (1940) - Third Page (uncredited)
- Love Thy Neighbor (1940) - Elevator Boy (uncredited)
- Keeping Company (1940) - Basketball Ticket Boy (uncredited)
- Citizen Kane (1941) - Man at Boat Dock (uncredited)
- The Big Store (1941) - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- Hold Back the Dawn (1941) - Hospital Elevator Operator (uncredited)
- The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941) - Reporter (uncredited)
- Brooklyn Orchid (1942) - Bellhop with Flowers (uncredited)
- The Affairs of Martha (1942) - Butcher Boy (uncredited)
- The Gay Sisters (1942) - Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943) - Fred - Soda Jerk (uncredited)
- The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) - U.S. Sailor (uncredited)
- Crime by Night (1944) - Bellboy (uncredited)
- Devil's Doorway (1950) - Barfly (uncredited) (final film role)
Notes and References
- Web site: Forgotten Actors: Buddy Messinger. Ian. T. December 21, 2016.
- Web site: Buddy Messinger. www.lordheath.com.
- Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 282. .
- Web site: Buddy Messinger. https://web.archive.org/web/20191006142356/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2baafcecc7. dead. October 6, 2019. BFI.
- Web site: Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: The Lives, Careers, and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. Michael G.. Ankerich. 5 December 2010. BearManor Media. Google Books.
- Web site: The Educational Screen. October 10, 1923. Educational Screen. Google Books.
- Book: The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. Kenneth White. Munden. American Film. Institute. October 10, 1997. University of California Press. 9780520209695. Google Books.
- Web site: ThreeStooges.net : Cast Member : Buddy Messinger. www.threestooges.net.
