Reed Hadley

Reed Hadley
Born	Reed Herring June 25, 1911 Petrolia, Texas, U.S.A.
Died	December 11, 1974 (aged 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Reed Hadley (June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American movie, television and radio actor.^[1]

Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia, Texas to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie; Reed had one sister, Bess Brenner, and grew up in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Bennett High School in Buffalo and was involved in local theater with the Studio Arena Theater. Hadley was married to Helen and had one son Dale^{[citation needed]}. Before moving to Hollywood he acted in Hamlet on stage in New York City.

Throughout his thirty-five-year career in film, Hadley was cast as both a villain and a hero of the law, in such movies as "Big House, USA", Highway Dragnet, The Baron of Arizona and "The Half-Breed". With his bass voice, he narrated a number of documentaries. He starred in two television shows: Racket Squad (1950-1953) as Captain Braddock, and Public Defender (1953-1954). Hadley worked on the Red Ryder radio show during the 1940s, being the first actor to portray the title character.^[1] In films,among other things, he starred as Zorro in the 1939 serial Zorro's Fighting Legion. He is immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television work.

He was the narrator of several Department of Defense films: "Operation Ivy", about the first hydrogen bomb test, Ivy Mike, "Military Participation on Tumbler/Snapper"; "Military Participation on Buster Jangle"; and "Operation Upshot-Knothole" all of which were produced by Lookout Mountain studios. The films were originally intended for internal military use, but have been "sanitized", edited, and de-classified, and are now available to the public. During the period he narrated these films, Hadley held a Top Secret security clearance.^[2]

Hadley also served as the narrator on various Hollywood films, including House on 92nd Street (1945), Call Northside 777 (1947) and Boomerang (1947).^[3]

Reed Hadley died on December 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack. ^[1] He was aged 63 at the time of his death, and the place of his burial is unknown.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "IMDb.com Reed Hadley biography". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0352914/bio IMDb.com. Retrieved 2008-09-24. 
2. ^ imdb data base
3. ^ videodetective

Reed Hadley is buried at Forest Lawn cemetery Hollywood Hills Calif.

More information

[1] Video Detective filmography.