Bond...Ward Bond

If you like John Wayne, you'll like his old saddle partner Ward Bond. Ward was a man's man. He and The Duke met back when they were teammates on the University of Southern California football team. John brought Ward into the acting business and the two remained friends till the end. John Wayne gave the eulogy at his old friend's funeral back in 1960.

Ward also became friends with John Ford and Frank Capra. Both directors hired him in many of their films. He played 200 characters during his thirty year career. Wikipedia states that Ward Bond "appears in more of the films of the American Film Institutes 1998 list of the 100 Greatest American Movies than any other actor : It Happened One Night (1934), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940) , The Maltese Falcon (1941), It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Searchers (1956). "

Ward was a great character /supporting actor that I wish had more leading rolls. He could play the heavy but I remember him mostly for his good guy rolls (Bert in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE). He's the kind of guy you'd like to have as a neighbor...he's also a man you'd never want to cross.