“I once worked as a railroad section hand for $1.20 a day, and if I’ve changed since then, I don’t know it.” – Wallace Beery
“When I was an elephant tamer in the circus as a kid, I knew some of the toughest fellows in the circus game, and anytime I want to be really tough, I can think of a few of ’em. It makes the role a cinch to play.” — Wallace Beery
Source: 1931
Photos from The Bowery (1933). With George Raft and Jackie Cooper.
Disclosure: The link below is an affiliate link, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. We don’t make much — enough to buy a coffee here and there so that we can continue posting cool stuff at all hours of the day and night for your enjoyment. We also only try to provide recommended products relevant to the post.
On the set of Treasure Island (1934). With Jackie Cooper and director Victor Fleming.
Beery poses with his daughter, Carol Ann. She had a small role in China Seas (1935).
One of the more bizarre images ever to come out of the MGM photo department. Left to right: John Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Wallace Beery, Pete, Robert Montgomery, Lee Tracy and Clark Gable. The bodies, of course, are the Our Gang kids.
“[Damon] Runyon wrote a column about me complimenting my work, and from that day on my relationship with Wally was strained. He was very unkind to me.
“My late husband had taught me that when people treat you unjustly you should feel sorry for them, and that will take away the sting. So I used to look Wally in the eye and feel sorry for the man. I never knew anyone who liked him.
“He had a peculiar way of working, or it seemed peculiar to me, because he never gave me a cue. Finally I spoke to Leo Carillo about it. Oh, what a beautiful actor he was! He’d made several pictures with Wally.
“I said, Leo, I never get a cue from him, and he said, ‘No, darling, and you never will. Just look at him, and, when he stops talking, say something.’
“After Wally died [in 1949], I had a psychic experience. He came to me in Palm Springs and said, ‘I didn’t mean to be that way.’
“I said, Go away, Wally. It’s too late for you.” — Marjorie Main
Source: Nancy Anderson (1973)
Photo: Jackass Mail (1942)
Wallace Beery‘s former home at 816 N. Alpine Drive in Beverly Hills. Beery lived there in the mid-1930s.
