Beery, Wallace (1885-1949)

 Actor. In the movies from 1913 until his death, Beery began, astonishingly, as a female imperso nator.  He  mined  into light comedy, and then into features, where until sound he was often the heavy for which his physique and face fitted him. .Sound made him a star, and sympathetic. His Pat Garrett in Vidor's Bill)' the Kid was his first Western hero. Many others followed gnarled old-timers with dubious pasts, and underneath the tough exterior often sentimental to a fault. Apart from Viva V'lla! the films were mainly routine fare: he never had the luck to work with the great Western directors.