Ralph Byrd
| Ralph Byrd | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
22 April 1909 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | 18 August 1952 (aged 43) Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) |
| Years active | 1935–1952 |
| Known for | Dick Tracy |
| Spouse(s) | Virginia Carroll (1936–1952) (his death) (1 child) |
| Children | Carroll Byrd Evangeline |
Ralph Byrd (22 April 1909 – 18 August 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, movies and television.
Byrd was born in Dayton, Ohio. Before he began acting in films, he sang and danced in theatrical productions.
He served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War I.
He married actress and model Virginia Carroll in 1936. The couple remained together until Byrd's death in 1952.
Byrd was a good, all-purpose actor with a gift for delivering dialogue in a natural, ingratiating way. His screen characters could be breezy and affable, or tough and authoritative as the role required. He debuted on film in Chinatown Squad (1935).
Once established in Republic Pictures' Dick Tracy serials (beginning in 1937), he was usually cast in action features (as a truck driver, lumberjack, cowboy, etc.), despite not having the usual brawny frame that went with these roles. He had a strong, resolute jaw, however, which gave him a heroic presence.
Byrd also starred in three other serials: Blake of Scotland Yard (1937), S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937), and The Vigilante (1947).
Republic cast Byrd as Chester Gould's comic-strip detective Dick Tracy in the 1937 serial of the same name. The film was so successful that it spawned three sequels (unheard of in serials): Dick Tracy Returns, Dick Tracy's G-Men (featuring a young Jennifer Jones, under her real name of Phylis Isley), and Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (reissued in 1952 as Dick Tracy vs. Phantom Empire).
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