Al Bridge

Al Bridge was an American character actor a fixture both in Westerns and in the comedies of Preston Sturges Although frequently billed as Alan Bridge he was born Alfred Morton Bridge in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1891 not as Alford Bridge in 1890 as his tombstone erroneously states Following service as a corporal in the US Army infantry in the first World War Bridge joined a theatrical troupe He dabbled in writing and in 1930 sold a script to a short film Her Hired Husband 1930 He followed this with a BWestern script Gods Country and the Man 1931 in which he made his film debut as an actor For the next quarter century he managed the atypical achievement of maintaining a career in both BWesterns and in bigger dramatic and comedy features Ten films for director Preston Sturges represent probably his most familiar contribution to Hollywood history Bridge also appeared frequently on television until his death in 1957 at 66