Glenn Strange

Biography: A New Mexican of Native American extraction, actor Glenn Strange held down several rough-and-tumble jobs, from deputy sheriff to rodeo rider, before settling on a singing career. He made his radio bow on Los Angeles station KNX (the CBS-owned affiliate) as a member of the Arizona Wranglers singing group. Thanks to his husky physique and plug-ugly features, Strange had no trouble finding work as a stuntman/villain in western films and serials. He also displayed a flair for comedy as the sidekick to singing cowboy Dick Foran in a series of B-sagebrushers of the late '30s. During the war years, Strange became something of a bargain-basement Lon Chaney Jr., playing homicidal halfwits in a handful of horror pictures made at PRC and other low-budget studios. These appearances led to his being cast as the Frankenstein monster in the 1944 Universal programmer House of Frankenstein; he was coached in this role by the "creature" from the original 1931 Frankenstein, Boris Karloff. GivenA New Mexican of Native American extraction, actor Glenn Strange held down several rough-and-tumble jobs, from deputy sheriff to rodeo rider, before settling on a singing career. He made his radio bow on Los Angeles station KNX (the CBS-owned affiliate) as a member of the Arizona Wranglers singing group. Thanks to his husky physique and plug-ugly features, Strange had no trouble finding work as a stuntman/villain in western films and serials. He also displayed a flair for comedy as the sidekick to singing cowboy Dick Foran in a series of B-sagebrushers of the late '30s. During the war years, Strange became something of a bargain-basement Lon Chaney Jr., playing homicidal halfwits in a handful of horror pictures made at PRC and other low-budget studios. These appearances led to his being cast as the Frankenstein monster in the 1944 Universal programmer House of Frankenstein; he was coached in this role by the "creature" from the original 1931 Frankenstein, Boris Karloff. Given very little to do in House of Frankenstein and the 1945 sequel House of Dracula other than stalk around with arms outstretched at fadeout time, Strange brought none of the depth and pathos to the role that distinguished Karloff's appearances. Strange was shown to better advantage in his last appearance as The Monster in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) where he convincingly menaced the eternally frightened Lou Costello and even indulged in a couple of time-honored "scare" routines, while still remaining in character (Some scenes had to be reshot because Strange couldn't stop laughing at Costello's antics; towards the end of shooting, Strange broke his ankle and had to be replaced in a few shots by Lon Chaney Jr., who was costarring in the film as the Wolf Man). Though typecast as heavies in both movies and television -- he played the hissable Butch Cavendish in the Lone Ranger TV pilot -- Strange was well known throughout Hollywood as a genuine nice guy and solid family man. Glenn Strange's last engagement of note was his 11-year run (1962-73) as Sam, the Long Branch bartender on TV's Gunsmoke. Expand

Glenn Strange's Scores

  • TV
Average career score: N/A
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of
0 tv reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 20 Sep 9, 1974 Bartender / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 19 Sep 10, 1973 Bartender / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 18 Sep 11, 1972 Bartender / Sam / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 17 Sep 13, 1971 Bartender / Sam Noonan / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 16 Sep 14, 1970 Bartender / Sam / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 15 Sep 22, 1969 Bartender / Sam Noonan / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 14 Sep 23, 1968 Bartender / Sam Noonan The Bartender / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 13 Sep 11, 1967 Bartender / Sam Noonan The Bartender / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 12 Sep 17, 1966 Bartender / Sam Noonan The Bartender / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 11 Sep 18, 1965 Bartender / Sam Noonan / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 10 Sep 26, 1964 Bartender / Sam Noonan The Bartender / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 9 Sep 28, 1963 Bartender / Sam (Uncredited) / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Petticoat Junction: Season 1 Sep 24, 1963 Hawley tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 8 Sep 15, 1962 Sam (Uncredited) / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 7 Sep 30, 1961 Bartender (Uncredited) / Sam (Uncredited) / Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd The Untouchables: Season 2 Oct 13, 1960 Prison Warden tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 6 Sep 3, 1960 Man / Sam tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 5 Sep 5, 1959 Sam tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 4 Sep 6, 1958 Sam / Sam, The Bartender tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 3 Sep 14, 1957 Sam tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 2 Sep 8, 1956 Bartender / Sam tbd
tbd Gunsmoke: Season 1 Sep 10, 1955 Sam tbd
tbd The Lone Ranger: Season 4 Sep 9, 1954 Stage Driver tbd
tbd The Lone Ranger: Season 3 Sep 11, 1952 Tom Casley tbd
tbd The Lone Ranger: Season 1 Sep 15, 1949 Butch Cavendish tbd