Bernard Punsly
Encyclopedia
Bernard Punsly was a New York City
-born American
actor
who later left show business
to become a physician
.
in 1935 because he thought it might be fun. The success of the play led to a series of film
appearances for the cast, including Punsly. The first film of the "Dead End Kids
" (or Bowery Boys) series was Dead End, also produced in 1937. Punsly played the parts of "Milt" and later "Ape." He appeared with actors such as Ronald Reagan
, James Cagney
, Pat O'Brien
, John Garfield
, and Humphrey Bogart
.
He continued with similar film parts until he joined the army. Even as an actor, he was known to read medical books in his spare time. After receiving medical training in the army, Punsley entered the Medical College of the University of Georgia
, subsequently obtaining his medical degree
. He returned to the west to set up a medical practice in Torrance, California
, never returning to show business.
He became chief of staff in the South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach, California
. He was married to Lynne and had two children, Bryan and Richard.
On January 20, 2004, age 80, he died of cancer
in Torrance, California.
His last name was often spelled incorrectly in film credits as Punsley.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who later left show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
to become a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
.
Career and personal life
Punsly auditioned for a part in the play Dead EndDead End
Dead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
in 1935 because he thought it might be fun. The success of the play led to a series of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
appearances for the cast, including Punsly. The first film of the "Dead End Kids
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film...
" (or Bowery Boys) series was Dead End, also produced in 1937. Punsly played the parts of "Milt" and later "Ape." He appeared with actors such as Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
, Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien (actor)
Pat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
, John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
, and Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
.
He continued with similar film parts until he joined the army. Even as an actor, he was known to read medical books in his spare time. After receiving medical training in the army, Punsley entered the Medical College of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, subsequently obtaining his medical degree
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
. He returned to the west to set up a medical practice in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, never returning to show business.
He became chief of staff in the South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
. He was married to Lynne and had two children, Bryan and Richard.
On January 20, 2004, age 80, he died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Torrance, California.
His last name was often spelled incorrectly in film credits as Punsley.
Complete filmography
- Dead EndDead EndDead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
(1937) - The Big Broadcast of 1938The Big Broadcast of 1938The Big Broadcast of 1938 is a Paramount Pictures film featuring W.C. Fields and Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of Big Broadcast movies that were variety show anthologies...
(1938), uncredited - Crime SchoolCrime SchoolCrime School is a 1938 Warner Bros. film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart.-Plot:A junkman is attacked by the Dead End Kids Crime School is a 1938 Warner Bros. film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart.-Plot:A junkman...
(1938) - Little Tough GuyLittle Tough GuyLittle Tough Guy is a 1938 Universal Studios film that starred several of the Dead End Kids. Although re-release posters and the DVD release credit them as The Dead End Kids they did not go by that title in the on screen credits. It was in the follow-up films that they began using the team name...
(1938) - Angels with Dirty FacesAngels with Dirty FacesAngels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft...
(1938) - They Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American Warner Bros. drama crime film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the 1933 film The Life of Jimmy Dolan. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia.-Plot:Johnnie...
(1939) - Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen (1939 film)Hell's Kitchen is a 1939 Warner Bros. film starring Ronald Reagan and The Dead End Kids.-Plot:Buck Caesar is a paroled convict who makes a contribution to a reform school on the advice of his nephew, Jim Donahue , a lawyer...
(1939) - The Angels Wash Their FacesThe Angels Wash Their FacesThe Angels Wash Their Faces is a 1939 Warner Bros. film starring Ronald Reagan and The Dead End Kids.-Plot:Gabe Ryan is released from reform school and it taken to a new house by his sister Joy to start a new life where no one knows of his past...
(1939) - On Dress ParadeOn Dress ParadeOn Dress Parade is a 1939 Warner Bros. film that marked the first time The Dead End Kids headlined a film without any other well-known actors.-Plot:...
(1940) - You're Not So ToughYou're Not So ToughYou're Not So Tough is a 1940 Universal Studios film that starred Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.-Plot:The Dead End Kids ride a freight train through California. After the kids get arrested for vacrancy, members Tom and Pig are hired to work on a ranch owned by kindly Mama Posito...
(1940) - Junior G-MenJunior G-MenJunior G-Men was an American boys club and popular culture phenomenon during the late 1930s and early 1940s that began with a radio program and culminated with films featuring the Dead End Kids.-Origins:...
(1940) - Give Us WingsGive Us WingsGive Us Wings is a Universal film starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.-Plot:The Dead End Kids work as airplane mechanics in the National Youth Administration Work Program plant. Feeling that they have enough knowledge of planes, they feel the urge to want to become pilots. The...
(1940) - Hit the RoadHit the RoadHit the Road is a crime comedy film featuring the Dead End Kids. Four juvenile delinquents are released from reform school into the care of a reformed gangster who now runs a ranch with his wife and intends to open a school for wayward boys...
(1941) - Mob Town (1941)
- Sea RaidersSea RaidersSea Raiders is a Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys. This was the child stars' second of three serials, between Junior G-Men and Junior G-Men of the Air . Sea Raiders was the 52nd serial to be released by Universal...
(1941) - Junior G-Men of the AirJunior G-Men of the AirJunior G-Men of the Air is a Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.-Plot:Japanese sabateurs attack America in preparation for an invasion during World War II. They are discovered by "Ace" Holden and The Dead End Kids, who do not trust the police enough to help...
(1942) - Tough as They Come (1942)
- Junior Army (1942), uncredited
- Mug Town (1943)