Reed Hadley

Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor.

Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley in 1953 Kansas Pacific
Born
Reed Herring

(1911-06-25)June 25, 1911
Petrolia, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 1974(1974-12-11) (aged 63)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationBennett High School
OccupationActor
Years active1938-1971
Spouse(s)Helen Hadley
(m. 19??)
Children1

Early life

Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas,[1] to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York, where he attended and graduated from Bennett High School.

Career

Before moving to Hollywood, he acted in Hamlet on stage in New York City, a last-minute substitute for the scheduled actor who failed to appear to portray Fortinbras.[2]

Radio

In the 1950s, Hadley played Chad Remington on Frontier Town.[3] He also was one of the actors who portrayed cowboy hero Red Ryder on the Red Ryder series during the 1940s.[4]

On September 16, 1950 Hadley was on Tales of the Texas Rangers episode Candy Man.[5]

Television

Hadley starred in two television series, Racket Squad (1950–1953) as Captain Braddock, and The Public Defender (1954–1955) as Bart Matthews, a fictional attorney for the indigent. He also was a guest star on such programs as the religion anthology series, Crossroads, and on Rory Calhoun's CBS western series, The Texan. In 1959, he played fictitious Sheriff Ben Tildy in "The Sheriff of Boot Hill", with Denver Pyle cast as Joe Lufton.[6] He also guest starred in Sea Hunt Season 4/Episode 4;Vital Error. In 1958 he played a crooked businessman/millionaire in an episode of Wagon Train.

Film

Throughout his 35-year career in film, Hadley was cast as both a villain and a hero of the law, in such movies as The Baron of Arizona (1950), The Half-Breed (1952), Highway Dragnet (1954) and Big House, U.S.A. (1955), and narrated a number of documentaries. In films, he starred as Zorro in the 1939 serial Zorro's Fighting Legion.

Hadley was the narrator of several Department of Defense films: Operation Ivy,[7] about the first hydrogen bomb test, Ivy Mike, "Military Participation on Tumbler/Snapper"; "Military Participation on Buster Jangle"; "The B-47" (T.F. 1-4727); and "Operation Upshot–Knothole" all of which were produced by Lookout Mountain studios. The films were originally intended for internal military use, but have been "sanitized" and de-classified, and are now available to the public.

In 1945 he narrated “The Nazi Plan”, a documentary film using captured propaganda and newsreel footage to dramatize the Nazis rise to power and was used by the prosecution in the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg.[8] He served as the narrator on various Hollywood films, including House on 92nd Street (1945), Boomerang (1947),[9] and The Iron Curtain (1948).

Personal life

Hadley and his wife, Helen, had one son, Dale.[10]

Death

On December 11, 1974, Hadley died of a heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 63.[1] He was survived by his wife and son.[10]

Recognition

Hadley has a star at 6553 Hollywood Boulevard in the Television section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.[11]

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

Radio
YearProgramEpisode/source
1942-44Red Ryder
1950 Tales of the Texas Rangers Candy Man
1952Stars in the Air"On Borrowed Time"[16]

See also

He also played the villain Matt Garson in Panhandle alongside Rod Cameron. This film was originally shot in sepia rather than black and white.

References
  1. Mayer, Geoff (2017). Encyclopedia of American Film Serials. McFarland. ISBN 9781476627199. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  2. Soanes, Wood (November 3, 1936). "Curtain Calls". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. p. 18. Retrieved August 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. French, Jack; Siegel, David S. (2013). Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929–1967. McFarland. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9781476612546. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  5. "OTRWesterns with Hadley in it". OTRWesterns.
  6. "The Texan". Classic Television Archive. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  7. "Keeps TV Trip Secret". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. Associated Press. April 3, 1954. p. 28. Retrieved August 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Reed Hadley Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Reed Hadley Dead; Red Ryder on Radio". The New York Times. December 14, 1974. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  11. "Reed Hadley". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  12. "Mysteries Feature State Screen Bill on Wednesday". Santa Ana Register. September 10, 1938. p. 8. Retrieved May 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Theater". News-Journal. May 5, 1938. p. 23. Retrieved May 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Movie Parade". The Mason City Globe-Gazette. March 16, 1939. p. 14. Retrieved May 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Several New Characters". The Amarillo Globe-Times. May 12, 1939. p. 19.
  16. Kirby, Walter (April 6, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 52. Retrieved May 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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