El Brendel
Biography
El Brendel was an American vaudeville comedian who became a movie star known for his good-natured Swedish immigrant character. Born in Philadelphia, he attended the University of Pennsylvania and began in vaudeville in 1913 doing a German dialect turn; after anti-German feeling following the Lusitania sinking, he created the simple Swede he played for the rest of his career. He signed with Famous Players in 1926 and appeared in eight films there, including the comic relief in Wings (1927), which received the Academy's first Outstanding Production award. After a return to the stage, he joined Fox in 1929, where sound gave his malaprop dialogue new appeal. He starred in Just Imagine (1930), a science fiction musical, and appeared in The Big Trail (1930) with John Wayne, New Movietone Follies of 1930 and Delicious. Later he worked in B-pictures, two-reel comedies and television, his last film being Laffing Time (1959).
74years old at death
- Born Philadelphia
- Died Hollywood
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Also credited as Elmer Goodfellow Brendel
Movie Career
- Films
- 3
- Career span
- 3 years1927 to 1930
Every film, newest first
- 1930Just ImagineIMDb rating 5.3
- 1930The Big TrailIMDb rating 7.2
- 1927WingsIMDb rating 7.5
Genres
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A first
Fox gave Brendel the parts of Mr. Lemon and Silent McGee in the 1931 comedy Mr. Lemon of Orange, and advertised it as his first starring role. Just Imagine, out five months before, deserves that honor instead.
Big break
Brendel left Paramount Pictures in 1927 for the vaudeville stage, then was coaxed back to Hollywood in 1929 with a Fox Film Corporation contract. At the studio his star rose fast because sound gave his "simple Swede" character a voice.
Beyond film
In 1950, Brendel cut four tracks for Imperial Records, among them Yumpin' Yiminy, a loose version of the 1918 song Holy Yumpin Yimini.
About the name
Columbia billed Brendel as "America's Swede-Heart!" during his run of short subjects, where he was often paired with comedians such as Shemp Howard and Harry Langdon.
El Brendel movies on Netflix
Worked with
El Brendel shares two films with George Irving, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
George Irving's page
John Wayne's page
Ward Bond's page
Gary Cooper's page
Mischa Auer's page
Frank Albertson's page
All films by Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast
All films by William A. Wellman
Louis R. LoefflerDirector, 1 film, 1930
All films by Louis R. Loeffler
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.