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Born on May 21, 1899 in Springfield, Massachusetts, veteran character actor Ralph Sanford came from a theatrical family. His parents were in the business, although not as actors.

An actor and stage manager on the Broadway stage in the early years of his career, Sanford appeared in such productions as "Half a Widow" (1927), "The Constant Sinner" (1931) and "Between Two Worlds" (1934). He began his screen work in 1937 at Vitaphone Pictures working in shorts, as a burly foil to such established two-reeler comics as Shemp Howard, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Fritz Feld. He found steady employment in primarily unbilled bits (truck driver, guard, etc.), notably for Paramount. He upgraded to occasional featured parts in such films as Undercover Agent (1939), Wildcat (1942), A Night for Crime (1943) and My Pal Trigger (1946), but for the most part he was utilized solely in "tough guy" parts. He would play minor roles for other studios as well, usually typed as a two-bit gangster or hassled cop. He continued his busy schedule throughout the 1950s with TV work and had a recurring part as Jim "Dog" Kelly on Hugh O'Brian's The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955) series for the 1958-59 season.

The heavyset actor died at the age of 64, succumbing to a heart ailment on June 20, 1963.

He appeared in the first episode of <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0050032/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Leave It to Beaver (1957)</a> and, coincidentally, died on the same day (June 20, 1963) that the series finale <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0827865/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Family Scrapbook (1963)</a> was first broadcast.

Appeared in four Oscar Best Picture nominees: <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0037465/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Wilson (1944)</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0036868/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0041452/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Heiress (1949)</a> and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0049233/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Friendly Persuasion (1956)</a>, with The Best Years of Our Lives winning Best Picture of 1946.

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Ralph Sanford

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