Berry Kroeger

Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American actor who worked across stage, film, television, and radio. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he built a career that spanned several decades and multiple entertainment mediums.

Kroeger established himself in radio before transitioning to the stage. His radio work included serving as an announcer on Suspense, portraying The Falcon in the radio series of the same name, playing Dr. Reed Bannister on Big Sister, narrating Salute to Youth, and appearing regularly as Sam Williams on Young Doctor Malone.

His Broadway career began on December 6, 1943, at the Royale Theatre, where he played Miley in The World's Full of Girls, Nunnally Johnson's adaptation of Thomas Bell's 1943 novel Till I Come Back to You. He continued performing on Broadway through 1956, accumulating credits that included The Tempest (1944), Joan of Lorraine, Therese, Julius Caesar (1950), and Reclining Figure (1954). His final Broadway credit was the 1956 musical Shangri-La, an adaptation of Lost Horizon in which he portrayed the High Lama.

Filmmaker William Wellman discovered Kroeger while he was performing on Broadway, which led to his film debut in The Iron Curtain (1948). That same year he appeared in Act of Violence and Cry of the City, the latter casting him as a crooked lawyer. In 1949 he played a heavy in Joseph H. Lewis's crime film Gun Crazy. His facility for villainous roles extended to later films including Chamber of Horrors (1966), The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971), and a small part as a village elder in Young Frankenstein (1974). His last major film role came in The Demon Seed (1977).

Kroeger was equally active in television, guest starring in seven episodes of Perry Mason and appearing in episodes of The Rifleman, Hawaiian Eye, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Get Smart, where he played a character spoofing actor Sydney Greenstreet. He died on January 4, 1991, of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.