Famous during the early part of his career for playing the second lead -- the man who didn't get the girl, Ralph Bellamy developed into an outstanding character actor, reaching the pinnacle of his film career in Sunrise at Campobello (1960) by recreating his Tony-winning performance from the Broadway stage as Franklin D. Roosevelt. His skill at playing the "other man" was so sharp that Bellamy won an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for The Awful Truth (1937), in which Irene Dunne uses him to arouse the jealousy of ex-husband Cary Grant. As popular and well-liked off the screen as on, Bellamy enjoyed a 62-year career and won a special Oscar® in 1987 for "his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting."

Bellamy (1904-1991) was born in Chicago and began his stage career while fresh from high school by acting in stock companies and repertory theaters. While still in his twenties he owned his own theatrical troupe and had made his debut on Broadway (Town Boy, 1929) and in movies (The Secret Six, 1931). He turned in excellent supporting performances in such films as Picture Snatcher (1933), in which he plays the boozy editor of tabloid photographer James Cagney. Also in the early '30s Bellamy starred as "Inspector Trent" in a series of low-budget mysteries beginning with Before Midnight (1933).

While perfecting his character as the slightly dull boyfriend who couldn't compete with the dashing leading man -- Fred Astaire in Carefree (1938), Cary Grant again in His Girl Friday (1940) and Dennis Morgan in Affectionately Yours (1941) -- Bellamy played detective Ellery Queen in a series of 1940s films. By the mid-'40s he had grown tired of "Ralph Bellamy roles" and returned to Broadway in such plays as State of the Union (1945) and Detective Story (1949). He also worked extensively in television, appearing in numerous anthologies as well as his own long-running series, Man Against Crime (1949-54).

Highlights from his post-Campobello career included the roles of an oil baron whose wife is kidnapped in the Western The Professionals (1966) and the evil doctor who menaces Mia Farrow in the thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968). Returning to television, he won Emmy nominations for playing Adlai Stevenson in The Missiles of October (1974) and for reprising his role as FDR in the mini-series The Winds of War (1983).

Bellamy made a big splash alongside Don Ameche in Trading Places (1983), in which the two veterans play wealthy, conniving brothers in a prince-and-pauper story involving Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. Bellamy continued to be active in television and had his final movie role in Pretty Woman (1990).

Married four times and the father of two children, Bellamy was a founder of the Screen Actors Guild and served as President of Actors' Equity from 1952-1964.

* Films in Bold will Air on TCM in August

by Roger Fristoe