Irving Bacon
Bacon in Meet John Doe (1941)
Born	Irving von Peters (1893-09-06)September 6, 1893 Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Died	February 5, 1965(1965-02-05) (aged 71) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1912–1960
Spouses	Freda Lee Scofield ​ ​ (m. 1921; died 1928)​ Margaret (Peggy) Beaver ​ ​ (m. 1930; div. 1934)​ Bernice Peters ​ ​ (m. 1937)​
Children	3

Irving Bacon (born Irving von Peters;^[1] September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films.^[2]

Early years

Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane.^[3] He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and grew up in San Diego, California.^[4]

Career

Bacon played on the stage for a number of years before getting into films in 1912 in Mack Sennett productions.^[3] The actor returned to the Sennett studio in 1924, and appeared frequently in Sennett's silent and sound comedies as a supporting actor. By 1933 Bacon was so well established as a utility player that he was pressed into service to replace Andy Clyde—wearing Clyde's "old man" costume and makeup—in a Sennett comedy.

Irving Bacon was sometimes cast in films directed by Lloyd Bacon (incorrectly named as his brother in several sources)^{[citation needed]} such as The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). He often played comical "average guys" in scores of feature films; in 1939 alone he appeared in three dozen features. Today's audiences may know him as the soda jerk in the W. C. Fields comedy Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, the wily wagon driver in the Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire musical Holiday Inn, the angry motel guest in the Oscar-winning short Star in the Night, and Glenn Miller's father in The Glenn Miller Story. His most familiar role was as Mr. Beasley, the weary postman in Columbia Pictures' Blondie film series.

During the 1950s, Bacon worked steadily in a number of television sitcoms, most notably I Love Lucy, in which he appeared in two episodes, one of which cast him as Ethel Mertz's father.^[5]

Personal life

Bacon was married to Freda Lee Scoville until her death in 1928, and they had a son and a daughter. In June 1930, Bacon married Margaret Beaver, and they had a son, Frank.;^[4] the couple were divorced in 1934. Bacon finally found happiness in 1937, when he wed Bernice Peters. He died on February 5, 1965, in Hollywood.^[6]

Filmography