Noah Beery

Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. (1882-1946) was a respected American character actor, adept at playing the cruel villain but sometimes portraying the hero. He was the older brother of another famous actor, Oscar winner Wallace Beery. His son, Noah Jr., also became a highly regarded character actor, especially on television.


Italian postcard by B.F.F. (Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze Ed.), no. 771. Photo: SAJ Films Paramount, Rome. Noah Beery in The Spaniard (Raoul Walsh, 1925), released in Italy (as in France) as Matador.


Spanish postcard by Spanish postcard by Ediciones Adolfo Zerkowitz, no., no. C-26. Photo: Paramount.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5182. Photo: Paramount-Film.

A moustachioed scoundrel or wicked libertine

Noah Nicholas Beery was born in 1882 on a farm in Clay County, Missouri, not far from Smithville. (IMDb mistakenly writes Kansas City, Missouri, USA). He was the son of Noah Webster Beery and Frances Margaret Fitzgerald Beery. His brothers were William C. Beery and Wallace Beery, who both later also became actors. The Beery family left the farm in the 1890s and moved to nearby Kansas City, Missouri, where the father was employed as a police officer.

Noah's deep, rich voice in his early teens led several actors at the Gillis Theatre in Kansas City to encourage him to take singing lessons and consider a career as a performer. A summer of singing at Kansas City's Electric Park amusement park led to his leaving for New York City at age 16. Beery was three years older than his brother, Wallace, who also became an actor as quickly as he could. Noah started his career in vaudeville as a singer. Soon, though, he turned to acting in melodramas of the period, often under the direction of William A. Brady. For a dozen years, he worked mainly in the theatre.

In 1913, Noah Beery joined his brother Wallace in Hollywood and made his film debut at the Kalem company in The Influence of a Child (Edmund Lawrence, 1913). Soon, he became famous for his numerous roles as a moustachioed scoundrel or wicked libertine during the silent film era.

Among his most famous performances are Sergeant Pedro Gonzales in The Mark of Zorro (Fred Niblo, 1920), alongside Douglas Fairbanks Sr., the British consul in the exotic adventure In the Shadow of the Pagodas (Raoul Walsh, 1925), and the brutal Sergeant Lejaune in Beau Geste (Herbert Brenon, 1926), starring Ronald Colman and Ralph Forbes.

Noah Beery acted opposite his brother, Wallace Beery, in Stormswept (Robert Thornby, 1923). The tagline on the poster proclaimed "Wallace and Noah Beery, the Two Greatest Character Actors on the American Screen."


Italian postcard by Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 778. Photo: S.R.I. Films Paramount, Roma. Pola Negri and Noah Beery in Lily of the Dust (Dimitri Buchowetzki, 1924).


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 368.

Technicolour musicals, Westerns and serials

Noah Beery successfully made the transition to sound films. He worked regularly in Technicolour musicals, such as the box office hit The Show of Shows (John C. Adolfi, 1929). He reached his peak in popularity in 1930, recording a phonograph record for Brunswick Records with songs from two of his films.

He is probably best remembered as Gus Jordan, the flamboyant saloon owner and lover of Mae West as Lady Lou in the comedy She Done Him Wrong (Lowell Sherman, 1933), also with Cary Grant.

Yet, his star declined in the 1930s, while his brother, Wallace Beery, gained an Oscar and became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. Noah appeared in secondary parts in Westerns and serials, such as Zorro Rides Again (John English, William Witney, 1937), often in villainous roles.

When his son, Noah Beery Jr., born in 1913, also became a film star, Beery was referred to as Noah Beery Sr. Father and son appeared together in The Trail Beyond (Robert N. Bradbury, 1934) with John Wayne, in which Noah Jr. played Wayne's sidekick throughout the picture. Noah Beery Sr. appeared in nearly 200 films during his career and, in 1945, returned to New York City to star in the Mike Todd Broadway production of 'Up in Central Park'.

Noah Beery Sr. died in 1946 after a heart attack at the home of his brother, Wallace, in Beverly Hills. It was Wallace's birthday, and in addition to celebrating the event, the brothers were rehearsing the radio drama 'Barnacle Bill', which they were scheduled to perform later in the evening. The show went on; another actor was brought on to play Noah's role. Noah was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills. He was married twice. His first marriage to Beatrice Maudie Heath ended after two years in a divorce in 1909. Since 1910, he had been married to stage actress Marguerite Walker Lindsey. After his father died in 1946, their son Noah dropped the junior suffix. He became best known as James Garner's character's father, Rocky, in the 1970s television series The Rockford Files.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 253.


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 301. Wallace Beery.


British postcard from the 'Greetings from' series. Photo: Republic. Noah Beery Jr. in The Savage Horde (Joseph Kane, 1950).

Sources: Jim Beaver (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch, Italian and English) and IMDb.