Benny Bartlett

Bennie Bartlett was not only an actor but also an accomplished musician. In fact, he was such a child prodigy on the piano that, at eight years of age, he appeared in an RKO musical, Millions in the Air (1935), playing the piano. The next year he appeared in a short for Paramount, performing a composition he had written (at the age of nine!). The studio signed him to a contract soon afterwards. Bartlett began appearing with many of Paramount’s biggest stars, and became such a hot property that he was often loaned out to other studios. By the early 1940s, though, he had reached the awkward age where he couldn’t play juveniles anymore but wasn’t quite ready for adult roles. The problem was solved when he joined the military during the war. After his enlistment was over he resumed his acting career, and was cast as a member of the gang in the Bowery Boys comedies. He exited the series in 1955, and shortly afterwards left the film business entirely.