Eddie Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films Hail the Conquering Hero and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek both from 1944, both of which have been preserved by the National Film Registry.
12 Facts About Eddie Bracken
2.
Edward Vincent Bracken was born in Astoria, Queens, New York on February 7,1915, the son of Joseph L and Catherine Bracken.
3.
Eddie Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940 film adaptation.
4.
Eddie Bracken had performed in a short film series called The Kiddie Troupers prior to that, but that film was his big break.
5.
In 1936, Eddie Bracken enjoyed success on Broadway with his starring run in the Joseph Viertel play So Proudly We Hail.
6.
Eddie Bracken made numerous radio broadcasts and had his own program, The Eddie Bracken Show.
7.
Eddie Bracken's extensive television roles between 1952 and 2000 include an episode of The Golden Girls as Rose Nylund's ex-childhood boyfriend from St Olaf, as well as an episode of Tales from the Darkside playing a stubborn old man who refuses to believe that he has died.
8.
Eddie Bracken played a cameo in Patrick Read Johnson's 1994 film, Baby's Day Out, as one of the veterans in the old soldier's home.
9.
Eddie Bracken acted in films with two actors who later became US Presidents: Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
10.
Eddie Bracken co-starred in The Girl from Jones Beach with Reagan in 1949, and Trump played minor parts in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992.
11.
On November 14,2002, Eddie Bracken died in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, of complications from surgery for a crushed disk in his neck at the age of 87.
12.
Eddie Bracken met Connie when they performed together in a road company of the Broadway play What a Life in 1938.