Ben Bard (January 26, 1893 – May 17, 1974) was an American movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville. In 1926, Bard, Pearl, and Sascha Beaumont appeared in a short film made in Lee DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. He had a small role in The Bat Whispers (1930). Later in the decade, he ran a leading Hollywood acting school, Ben Bard Drama. Bard was recruited to be a leading man at Fox Film Corporation. However, he was typecast as a "Suave Heavy"—a smooth-talking, well-dressed fellow with a dark side. An example of this type is his portrayal of "Mr. Brun" in The Seventh Victim (1943). Also in 1943, Bard appeared in two other Val Lewton-produced horror films: The Leopard Man, as Robles, the Police Chief, and The Ghost Ship, as First Officer Bowns. Bard became the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth-Century-Fox in September 1956, eventually resigning in August 1959. He re-opened his school, Ben Bard Drama, in 1960.

Ben Bard Theater

For at least 20 years Bard operated the Ben Bard Theater in Hollywood. The theater had two primary functions — presenting plays and training new actors. In 1952 it presented a new show every week, put on by 150 students and seven directors. Actors who participated in the theater included Turhan Bey, Jack Carson, Alan Ladd, Kathy Lewis, and Gig Young. Talent scouts regularly attended productions to recruit new talent. Facilities at the theater included classrooms, a dance auditorium, a miniature theater, study halls, and offices.

Marriages

Death

Bard died in Los Angeles in 1974, aged 81. His resting place is with Ruth Roland in an unmarked grave in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Selected filmography