1. El Brendel entered vaudeville in 1913 as a German dialect comedian and married his vaudeville partner.
15 Facts About El Brendel
1. 2.
El Brendel appeared in Cinderella on Broadway, Spice of 1922, Passing Show, and New York Whirl.
3.
El Brendel left Paramount Pictures in 1927 to return to the vaudeville stage before being coaxed back to Hollywood in 1929, signing a contract with Fox Film Corporation.
4.
El Brendel was featured in the boisterous "Quirt and Flagg" military comedies with Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen.
5.
In 1930 El Brendel starred in Just Imagine, a science fiction musical directed by David Butler.
6.
El Brendel was the most popular comedian in America at the time, according to author Richard Barrios.
7.
El Brendel continued to play leads in B-pictures, but served in more prestigious fare mainly in supporting roles, mostly with his trademark Swedish accent.
8.
In 1936, El Brendel made his debut at Columbia Pictures in a pair of two-reel comedies; producer Jules White liked Brendel's act and hired him for a series in 1941.
9.
El Brendel was a popular attraction in short subjects and he was often paired with other well-known comedians, including Shemp Howard, Harry Langdon, Tom Kennedy, and Monty Collins.
10.
El Brendel starred in feature films for the independent PRC studio.
11.
When his PRC and Columbia work ran out in 1945, El Brendel went back to vaudeville, returning to the screen only occasionally.
12.
In 1950, El Brendel recorded four numbers for Imperial Records: Frankie And Johnny, Hulda, Pinch Of Snoose and Yumpin' Yiminy.
13.
El Brendel appeared in a few television series such as Cowboy G-Men, My Little Margie, and Perry Mason.
14.
El Brendel recorded narration for a proposed children's-television project; some of this footage appears in Finney's feature film Tobo the Happy Clown.
15.
El Brendel died of a heart attack at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, California, on April 9,1964.