Nat Pendleton
Nathaniel Greene 'Nat' Pendleton was an American former Olympic wrestler turned actor.
Two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion (1914-1915) in the 175-lb. class at Columbia University, Pendleton graduated Class of 1916. He wrestled for the United States at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a silver medal, losing only one match due to a controversial point decision. After the Games he became a professional wrestler and was a big fan favorite, which led to Hollywood.
In the 1920 census he was living in Manhattan with his first wife Juanita Alfonzo (age 22) and her brother Ramon Alfonso (age 13). He was working as a sports manager.
Pendleton was usually cast as a circus strongman, brutish thug, dumb cop, or dense buffoon, but he had a college degree and in 1933 wrote the script for Deception (1932), in which he starred - not surprisingly - as a wrestler.
Upon his death from a heart attack, his remains were interred at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory in San Diego, California.
Nat Pendleton was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2006.
Acting
Movie
The Thin Man
as Inspector Guild
1934
Movie
Horse Feathers
as MacHardie (uncredited)
1932
Movie
Baby Face
as Stolvich - Laborer (uncredited)
1933
Movie
The Great Ziegfeld
as Sandow
1936
Movie
Another Thin Man
as Lieutenant Guild
1939
Movie
At the Circus
as Goliath
1939
Movie
Lady for a Day
as Shakespeare
1933
Movie
Manhattan Melodrama
as Spud
1934
Movie
Buck Privates
as Sgt. Michael Collins
1941
Movie
I'm No Angel
as Harry (uncredited)
1933
Movie
Northwest Passage
as 'Cap' Huff
1940
Movie
The Sign of the Cross
as Strabo
1932
Movie
It's a Wonderful World
as Sergeant Fred Koretz
1939
Movie
Blonde Crazy
as Hank aka Pete
1931
Movie
Taxi!
as Bull Martin (uncredited)
1932
Movie
Scared to Death
as Bill 'Bull' Raymond
1947
Movie
Buck Privates Come Home
as Sgt. Michael Collins
1947
Movie
On Borrowed Time
as Mr. Grimes
1939
Movie
The Beast of the City
as Abe Gorman (uncredited)
1932
Movie
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
as Red Hogan
1942
Movie
Parachute Jumper
as Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
1933
Movie
Penthouse
as Tony Gazotti
1933
Movie
The Cat's-Paw
as Strozzi
1934
Movie
The Shopworn Angel
as 'Dice'
1938
