Headley reed

Reid Hadley, birth name of Reed Burt Herring, was born on June 25, 1911 in Petrolia , Texas . Often moving from place to place because of the work of his father, the driller, Hadley managed to study at schools in Columbian , Ohio , and in Buffalo , New York , where he first became interested in dramatic art. After leaving school, Hadley entered the University of Buffalo , intending to do law, but because of financial difficulties, he was forced to leave school after the first year, devoting all his attention and energy to acting. In the afternoon, Hadley worked as a floor polisher in a local department store, and in the evenings he worked in the studio of the Buffalo City Theater ^[1] . In the 1930s, he began working on the radio, where his most famous work was the role of the hero Red Ryder in the western television series ^{[2] [3]} .

In 1936, Hadley (also known as Herring) came to New York , where he began to play the roles of Bernardo and Fortinbras in the hit Broadway production of the tragedy “Hamlet” (1936–37) with John Gilgud in the title role ^{[1] [4]} . When the show closed, Hadley used his deep, well-set voice to get work on the radio. He began to play major roles in radio shows such as The Silver Theater, Cavalcade of America, and Big City. At the same time, Hadley continued his theatrical career, working in the theaters of Mount Kisco and Rochester in New York, as well as Madison in Connecticut , where he played in the performances "Death goes on vacation", "Petrified Forest", "Spring Dance" and others ^{[1 ]} .

Since the late 1930s, Hadley began working in the cinema, making his debut in Hollywood in the sports detective " The Mystery of the Hollywood Stadium " (1938) ^[5] . In the same year, he starred in the melodrama “ Refugee ” (1938), in the western with Bill Elliot “The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock ” (1938) and the crime melodrama “ Calling Doctor Kildare ” (1939) by Lionel Barrymore and Lew Ayres ^[6] .

In 1939, Hadley played the title role in the adventure movie series Republic Pictures Studio “The Fighting Legion of Zorro ” (1939), which consisted of 12 episodes with a total duration of 3 hours 32 minutes. A year later, he had a small role as a Hollywood idol in the crime comedy Bank Detective (1940) with W. K. Fields , and he also played in the melodrama I Take This Woman (1940) with Spencer Tracy and Hadie Lamarr ^{[5] [ 2] [6]} . This was followed by the popular musical The Siegfeld’s Girl (1941) with Judy Garland and Lana Turner and the classic sentimental melodrama Forward, the Traveler (1942) with Bett Davis ^[5] .

In 1943, Hadley signed a contract with the 20th Century Fox film company ^[2] , where, thanks to his outstanding voice, he became very popular as an offscreen narrator on the big screen. His voice-over sounds in particular in such films as The Guadalcanal Diary (1943), Buffalo Bill (1944) and The Last Bomb (1945) ^[5] . As cinema historian Karen Hannsberry notes, “the actor’s voiceover has also become an integral part of many noir films,” including “ House on 92nd Street ” (1945), “ Madeleine Street 13 ” (1946), “ Treasury Agents ” (1947 ), “ He Wandered at Night ” (1948), “ Going the Criminal Way ” (1948), “ Canon City ” (1948), and “ The Killer that Intimidated New York ” (1950). In each of these films, Hadley “gave out his familiar official tone that suited so well to documentary-style noir films” ^[5] .

At the same time, he continued to appear on the screen in such films as the musical comedy “ Rainbow Island ” (1944) with Dorothy Lamour , the gangster biopic “ Roger Tui, the Gangster ” (1944) and the military action movie “ On One Wing and Prayer ” (1944) with Don Amici , as well as the musical “The Diamond Horseshoe ” (1945) with Betty Gable ^[6] . In front of the camera, Hadley also played in such noir films as “ God be her judge ” (1945), where he was a doctor, “ Dark Corner ” (1946), where he appeared as a police lieutenant, “ Shock ” (1946), where he was a prosecutor, and Brasher's Doubloon (1947), where he was again a doctor. His most meaningful role from these films was in the film “Dark Corner”. Some critics drew attention to his work, among them James O'Farrell of the Los Angeles Examiner , who wrote: “Reid Hadley, playing the inevitable“ staff officer, ”offers a sincere reading of his role, giving it fire and a little originality” ^[5] .

In the second half of the 1940s, he played in several westerns, the most notable of which were Protrusion (1948), I Shot Jesse James (1949) with Preston Foster, and Patron (1949). In the first half of the 1950s, Hadley continued to play mainly in Westerns, including such notable paintings as “The Arizona Baron ” (1950) with Vincent Price and “ Dallas ” (1950) with Gary Cooper , “ Little Big Horn ” (1951), “ Kansas Pacific ” (1953) with Sterling Hayden and “The Woman Almost Lynched ” (1953) ^{[6] [7]} .

After 1956, Hadley played only seven films, and in two of them he was an off-screen narrator - “ Skirmish at the Comanche Stream ” (1964) and “ Fairytale Basterds from Chicago ” (1969) ^[5] . In 1969, Hadley played a small role in the gangster drama Roger Corman's " Massacre on Valentine's Day " (1967). As film critic Hal Erickson remarked, “taking into account that Hadley’s main wealth was his deep convincing voice, it is ironic that he got the role without words in this film” ^{[5] [2] [3]} . Hadley last appeared in a movie in the sci-fi sci-fi movie “ Blood Brain ” (1972), playing a deceased Arab leader whose brain is transplanted into another person’s body. As noted by Hannsberry, "it is unlikely that this role was an adequate completion of his worthy career" ^{[5] [6]} .

With the beginning of the 1950s, Hadley began to work mainly on television ^[5] . In 1951-53, he was an off-screen narrator and starring in 98 episodes of the criminal television series Detachment Against Fraud (1950-53). In this series, Hadley played the role of Captain John Braddock, who leads the department to expose various types of fraud, and in the final of each series gives the audience advice on how to avoid such fraud ^{[5] [8] [2]} . As one critic noted, the lucrative Hadley as captain Braddock “never took on the heavy dirty work and never caressed his beloved” ^[3] .

In the years 1954-55, Hadley played a similar role in episode 71 of the series Public Defender , which aired for 39 weeks. In this series, Hadley appeared in the image of a firm and stubborn lawyer Bart Matthews, who protects those who are not able to pay for lawyer services ^{[2] [8] [5]} .

In addition, Hadley was the guest star of many TV shows, including The Caravan of the Wagon (1958), Restless Weapon (1958-59, 2 episodes), Bat Masterson (1958), Rawhide (1959), “ Perry Mason "(1964) and" Green Open spaces "(1969) ^[5] .

As one of the film critics wrote, Hadley possessed a “boyish, disarming, alluring smile” and a “sexy, strong masculine start”, however, according to Hannsberry, “he was known not only for his beauty, but also for his outstanding voice” ^[1] .

Tall (193 cm) and thin Hadley ^{[2] [3],} thanks to his rich bass, initially achieved success on the radio, where in the 1940s he played the role of Red Ryder ^[8] . According to Erickson, “although his name and face may not be familiar, moviegoers of the 1940s instantly recognized Hadley’s voice” ^[2] .

According to Erickson, Hadley played both heroes and bandits in the movie ^[2] . Among other roles, he played as an actor and / or narrator in such films as “ House on 92nd Street ” (1945), “ Dark Corner ” (1946), “ If I'm Lucky ” (1946), “ Captain from Castile ”(1947),“ Going the criminal way ”(1947),“ Big House of the USA ”(1955) and“ Massacre on Valentine's Day ”(1967) ^[8] .

In the 1950s, Hadley was the star of two TV shows - The Fraud Detachment Unit (1951-53) and The Public Defender (1954-55) ^{[8] [3]} . As the New York Times notes, “Hadley is probably best known for playing Captain John Braddock in the Anti-Fraud Squad,” ^[8] and the Los Angeles Times adds that “it is through television that Hadley’s face became recognizable ” ^[3] .

In 1941, Hadley married Helen Ellen Jill, with whom he lived until his death. The couple had a son, Dale ^{[8] [5]} .

Reid Hadley died of a heart attack on December 11, 1974 in Los Angeles at the age of 63. ^{[8] [3] [5] [6]}

• Karen Burroughs Hannsberry. Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir . - Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003. - ISBN 978-0-7864-3739-9 .

• Reid Hadley at IMDb
• Reid Hadley at AllMovie
• Reid Hadley at Turner Classic Movies