Nat Pendleton

Nathaniel Greene 'Nat' Pendleton was an American former Olympic wrestler turned actor.

Two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion (1914-1915) in the 175-lb. class at Columbia University, Pendleton graduated Class of 1916. He wrestled for the United States at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, earning a silver medal, losing only one match due to a controversial point decision. After the Games he became a professional wrestler and was a big fan favorite, which led to Hollywood.

In the 1920 census he was living in Manhattan with his first wife Juanita Alfonzo (age 22) and her brother Ramon Alfonso (age 13). He was working as a sports manager.

Pendleton was usually cast as a circus strongman, brutish thug, dumb cop, or dense buffoon, but he had a college degree and in 1933 wrote the script for Deception (1932), in which he starred - not surprisingly - as a wrestler.

Upon his death from a heart attack, his remains were interred at Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory in San Diego, California.

Nat Pendleton was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2006.

The Thin Man

7.5

Horse Feathers

6.9

The Great Ziegfeld

6.2

Baby Face

7.3

Another Thin Man

7.1

At the Circus

6.3

Lady for a Day

7.0

Manhattan Melodrama

7.0

Buck Privates

6.6

Northwest Passage

6.3

I'm No Angel

6.4

It's a Wonderful World

6.4

Blonde Crazy

7.0

The Sign of the Cross

6.2

Taxi!

6.8

Scared to Death

4.2

Buck Privates Come Home

6.3

On Borrowed Time

7.5

The Beast of the City

5.9

The Mad Doctor of Market Street

5.2

Penthouse

6.7

The Cat's-Paw

6.2

Parachute Jumper

6.1

The Shopworn Angel

7.1

Phantom Raiders

6.1

The Star Witness

6.7

Flesh

5.6

The Secret of Dr. Kildare

5.6

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

4.8

Reckless

5.3

The Garden Murder Case

5.5

The Girl from Missouri

6.9

Complicated Women

6.7

Flight Command

5.4

College Coach

4.2

Swing Your Lady

4.2

Fast Company

5.4

The Big Pond

5.8

Calling Dr. Kildare

6.1

Young Dr. Kildare

6.5

The Gay Bride

5.8

Dr. Kildare Goes Home

6.8

Arsène Lupin Returns

5.8

The Defense Rests

7.0

The Ruling Voice

6.0

The World of Abbott and Costello

6.3

The Golden Fleecing

5.3

The Crowd Roars

6.5

6,000 Enemies

6.0

New Moon

6.8

Calling Dr. Gillespie

6.4

Dr. Kildare's Crisis

6.0

Whistling in the Dark

5.6

Fugitive Lovers

6.0

Baby Face Harrington

4.8

Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case

5.5

Death on the Diamond

7.0

Trapped by Television

6.4

The Nuisance

5.0

The Big Timer

3.5

By Whose Hand?

6.0

Child of Manhattan

8.0

Under Cover of Night

5.7

Swing Fever

5.0

Sing and Like It

4.3

Sworn Enemy

5.3

The Night Club Lady

6.2

Manhattan Parade

2.0

Attorney for the Defense

6.0

The Big Parade of Comedy

6.3

The Spirit of Notre Dame

6.3

Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant

5.3

A Fool's Advice

5.5

Straight Is the Way

5.5

Goldie Gets Along

4.0

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor

5.0

Calm Yourself

4.5

Crazy House

4.0

Times Square Lady

6.0

The Secret Witness

3.0

It's in the Air

5.0

Murder in the Fleet

5.0

Death Valley

5.0

The Laughing Lady

6.0

Breakdowns of 1938

5.0

The Ghost Comes Home

5.0

The George Gobel Show

7.0

Exposure

2.0

Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook

10.0

Lazy River

7.0

The Chief

3.0

Hell-Fire Austin

4.0

The Last of the Duanes

3.0

Song of the City

6.0

Gangway

7.0

Here Comes the Band

5.0

The Tenderfoot

6.0

Top Sergeant Mulligan

5.0

The Chaser

6.0

Deception

6.0

The Luckiest Girl in the World

7.5

Jail House Blues

0.0

Life Begins in College

0.0

Sing Me a Love Song

0.0

Two in a Crowd

0.0

Let's Get Married

0.0

Fair Warning

0.0

The Sea Wolf

0.0

The Hoosier Schoolmaster

0.0