Glenn Strange facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Glenn Strange
Strange in Western Mail (1942)
Born	George Glenn Strange (1899-08-16)August 16, 1899 Weed, New Mexico Territory, U.S.
Died	September 20, 1973(1973-09-20) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, rancher
Years active	1930–1973
Spouse(s)	Flora Hooper Strange (m. 1920; div. 19??) Minnie Thompson ​ ​ (m. 1937)​
Children	4
Relatives	Rex Allen (cousin)

Paul Malvern and Strange during House of Frankenstein (1944)

Strange as Frankenstein's monster in House of Dracula (1945)

Onslow Stevens and Strange in House of Dracula (1945)

Strange in The Mad Monster (1942)

George Glenn Strange (born August 16, 1899 – died September 20, 1973) was an American actor. He was best known for acting in many Western films. He was also famous for playing Frankenstein's monster in three movies made by Universal in the 1940s. Later, he played Sam Noonan, the bartender, on the TV show Gunsmoke.

Early Life and Music

Glenn Strange was born in Weed, New Mexico Territory, in 1899. New Mexico became a state 13 years later.

He grew up in a town called Cross Cut in West Texas. His father was a bartender and later a rancher. Glenn learned to play the fiddle and guitar by listening. By the time he was 12, he was already performing at cowboy dances. In 1928, he started performing on the radio in El Paso, Texas. He was a young rancher, but in 1930, he moved to Hollywood. He joined a radio singing group called the Arizona Wranglers. Glenn joined them after performing at a rodeo in Prescott, Arizona.

Acting Career

Glenn Strange got his first movie role in 1932. He appeared in hundreds of films during his life. In 1932, he had a small part in a 12-part movie series called The Hurricane Express, which starred John Wayne.

He often played small roles in the popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. He was usually cast as a member of an outlaw gang or sometimes as a local sheriff. In 1943, he played a bad guy in the Hopalong Cassidy movie False Colors. Starting in 1949, he played Butch Cavendish in the long-running TV show The Lone Ranger.

Strange also appeared in other Western TV shows. He was in The Adventures of Kit Carson and The Cisco Kid. In 1952, he played Chief Black Cloud in an episode of The Range Rider. He also appeared in Stories of the Century and Judge Roy Bean. In 1958, he had a role in an episode of The Restless Gun. He also played rancher Pat Cafferty in Frontier Doctor. Strange appeared in six episodes of The Rifleman as a stagecoach driver or guard.

He was in five episodes of the Western show The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He also appeared in three episodes of Annie Oakley. In 1959, he was in Mackenzie's Raiders. Strange also appeared twice on the Western aviation adventure series Sky King.

He first appeared on Gunsmoke in 1959. He played several different characters before he was chosen to play the bartender Sam Noonan. He played Sam from 1961 until 1973.

Playing Frankenstein's Monster

Strange (left) and Boris Karloff in the 1944 horror film, House of Frankenstein

Strange as Frankenstein's monster, with Boris Karloff, in House of Frankenstein

Strange (center) as monster in House of Dracula

In 1942, Glenn Strange appeared in a movie called The Mad Monster. In 1944, while he was getting ready for another movie, a make-up artist named Jack Pierce noticed something. He saw that Strange's face and his height (6 feet 5 inches) would be perfect for playing Frankenstein's monster.

So, Strange was cast as the monster in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein. The famous actor Boris Karloff had played the monster before in Frankenstein (1931). Karloff even helped Strange learn how to play the role.

Strange played the monster two more times. He was the monster in House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). In Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Lon Chaney, Jr. played the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi played Count Dracula. Strange also appeared as the monster in a TV skit and for a fun publicity stunt.

During the 1950s and 1960s, when monster toys and games were popular, Glenn Strange's image was often used for the Frankenstein monster. This was usually from his appearance in the Abbott and Costello movie.

Personal Life

Glenn Strange was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds. He had two wives during his life. His first wife was Flora Hooper, and they had two daughters, Wynema and Juanita. From 1937 until his death in 1973, he was married to Minnie Thompson. They had one child, Janine Laraine Strange. Glenn Strange had Irish and Cherokee family roots. He was also a very distant relative of Pocahontas.

Death

Glenn Strange passed away on September 20, 1973, in Los Angeles, California. He was 74 years old. His friend, singer Eddie Dean, sang at his funeral. Strange is buried at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. Two years after Strange's death, his Gunsmoke co-star Buck Taylor named his third son Cooper Glenn Taylor, in honor of Strange.

Selected Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Glenn Strange para niños