# George Beranger > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/George_Beranger > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/George_Beranger.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beranger > Source revision: 1356942878 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Australian actor (1893–1973) George Beranger Beranger in D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) Born George Augustus Beringer (1893-03-27)27 March 1893 Enmore, New South Wales, Australia Died 8 March 1973(1973-03-08) (aged 79) Laguna Beach, California Occupations Actor, film director, film writer Years active 1913–1950 **George Beranger** (27 March 1893 – 8 March 1973), was an Australian-born [silent film](/source/Silent_film) actor, director and film writer in New York and [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States).[1] He is also sometimes credited under the pseudonym **George Andre de Beranger**[2] and multiple variations of the same. ## Early life Beranger was born George Augustus Beringer[1] in [Enmore, New South Wales](/source/Enmore%2C_New_South_Wales), Australia, the youngest of five sons of Caroline Mondientz and Adam Beringer, a German engine fitter. His mother committed suicide when he was three years old and he left home at the age of 14.[3] He studied acting at the College of Elocution and Dramatic Art founded by Scottish actor [Walter Bentley](/source/Walter_Bentley_(actor)).[3] ## Career Beranger began playing Shakespearean roles at the age of sixteen with the Walter Bentley Players. He then emigrated from Australia to [California, United States](/source/California%2C_United_States) in 1912[1] and worked in the silent film industry in Hollywood. According to a researcher, he "reinvented himself in Hollywood, claiming French parentage, birth on a French ocean liner off the coast of Australia and a Paris education."[3] Beranger worked under the name George Andre de Beranger and multiple variations of the same pseudonym. By the 1920s, Beranger had become a star, appearing in the movies of [Ernst Lubitsch](/source/Ernst_Lubitsch) and [D. W. Griffith](/source/D._W._Griffith).[3] He also directed sixteen films between 1914 and 1924. Beranger owned a large Spanish-style home in Laguna Beach, rented a room at the Hollywood Athletic Club and owned an apartment in [Paris, France](/source/Paris%2C_France).[3] Beranger eventually appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1950. Beranger's career declined following the 1930s [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) and the advent of sound film. He supplemented his income as a draftsman for the Los Angeles City Council. He sold his large properties and moved into a modest cottage beside his house in Laguna Beach.[3] Beranger's silent roles had often been sophisticates or dandy types, and in early sound films he was often relegated to non-speaking walk-ons or bit parts as hairdressers, concierges, florists and the like. However, in the mid and late 1940s, he played interesting speaking bit parts in three [20th Century-Fox](/source/20th_century_Fox) (his main studio) film noirs: *[The Spider](/source/The_Spider_(1945_film))* (a B noir in which he has several lines as a nosy apartment manager), *[Nightmare Alley](/source/Nightmare_Alley_(1947_film))* (an all-time classic noir, playing the geek in the first act and singing the Irish drinking song "[The Boston Burglar](/source/The_Boston_Burglar)") and *[Road House](/source/Road_House_(1948_film))* (for which he received a rare screen credit, in spite of having only two lines of dialogue as [Richard Widmark](/source/Richard_Widmark)'s bespectacled fishing buddy, "Lefty").[4] Beranger entered into a "[lavender marriage](/source/Lavender_marriage)" with a neighbouring woman who was a widow, but they never shared the same house and he continued to have sexual relationships with men unabated.[5] Beranger retired in 1952 and lived his later years in seclusion.[6] He was found dead of natural causes in his home on 8 March 1973.[7] ## Selected filmography - *[The Well](/source/The_Well_(1913_film))* (1913 short) as The Accomplice - *[The Switch Tower](/source/The_Switch_Tower)* (1913 short) as A Tramp - *[When Love Forgives](/source/When_Love_Forgives)* (1913 short) as The Bartender[8] - *[Almost a Wild Man](/source/Almost_a_Wild_Man)* (1913) as In Audience (uncredited) - *[Home, Sweet Home](/source/Home%2C_Sweet_Home_(1914_film))* (1914) as The Accordion Player - *[The Birth of a Nation](/source/The_Birth_of_a_Nation)* (1915) as Wade Cameron – Second Son - *[The Absentee](/source/The_Absentee_(1915_film))* (1915) as Tom Burke / Ambition - *[Let Katie Do It](/source/Let_Katie_Do_It)* (1916) as Witness to Accident (uncredited) - *[The Good Bad-Man](/source/The_Good_Bad-Man)* (1916) as Thomas Stuart - *[Flirting with Fate](/source/Flirting_with_Fate_(1916_film))* (1916) as Automatic Joe - *[The Half-Breed](/source/The_Half-Breed_(1916_film))* (1916) as Jack Brace - *Pillars of Society* (1916) as Johan Tonnesen - *[Intolerance](/source/Intolerance_(film))* (1916) as High Priest of Bel - *[Manhattan Madness](/source/Manhattan_Madness_(1916_film))* (1916) as The Butler - *[Mixed Blood](/source/Mixed_Blood_(1916_film))* (1916) as Carlos - *[Those Without Sin](/source/Those_Without_Sin)* (1917) as Chester Wallace - *[A Love Sublime](/source/A_Love_Sublime)* (1917) as Her Husband - *[A Daughter of the Poor](/source/A_Daughter_of_the_Poor)* (1917) as Rudolph Creig - *[Time Locks and Diamonds](/source/Time_Locks_and_Diamonds)* (1917) as Ramon Mendoza - *[The Spotted Lily](/source/The_Spotted_Lily)* (1917) as Captain Franz - *[Sandy](/source/Sandy_(1918_film))* (1918) as Carter Nelson - *[Broken Blossoms](/source/Broken_Blossoms)* (1919) as The Spying One - *[A Manhattan Knight](/source/A_Manhattan_Knight)* (1920, director) - *[Burn 'Em Up Barnes](/source/Burn_'Em_Up_Barnes_(1921_film))* (1921, director) - *[Sinister Street](/source/Sinister_Street_(film))* (1922, director) - *[Was She Guilty?](/source/Was_She_Guilty%3F)* (1922, director) - *[The Leopardess](/source/The_Leopardess)* (1923) as Pepe - *[The Bright Shawl](/source/The_Bright_Shawl)* (1923) as Andre Escobar - *[Ashes of Vengeance](/source/Ashes_of_Vengeance)* (1923) as Charles IX - *[Dulcy](/source/Dulcy_(1923_film))* (1923) as Vincent Leach - *[The Extra Girl](/source/The_Extra_Girl)* (1923) as Actor in Wardrobe Line - *[Tiger Rose](/source/Tiger_Rose_(1923_film))* (1923) as Pierre - *The Man Life Passed By* (1923) as Leo Friend - *[Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo](/source/Poisoned_Paradise%3A_The_Forbidden_Story_of_Monte_Carlo)* (1924) as Krantz - *[Beau Brummel](/source/Beau_Brummel_(1924_film))* (1924) as Lord Byron - *[His Hour](/source/His_Hour)* (1924) as English Nobleman - *[Beauty and the Bad Man](/source/Beauty_and_the_Bad_Man)* (1925) as L.I.B. Bell - *[Confessions of a Queen](/source/Confessions_of_a_Queen)* (1925) as Lewin - *[Are Parents People?](/source/Are_Parents_People%3F)* (1925) as Maurice Mansfield - *[The Man in Blue](/source/The_Man_in_Blue_(1925_film))* (1925) as Carlo Guido - *[Grounds for Divorce](/source/Grounds_for_Divorce_(1925_film))* (1925) as Guido - *A Woman's Faith* (1925) as Leandre Turcott - *[The Big Parade](/source/The_Big_Parade)* (1925) as Patriotic Letter Reader (uncredited) - *[The Grand Duchess and the Waiter](/source/The_Grand_Duchess_and_the_Waiter)* (1926) as The Grand Duke Paul - *[Miss Brewster's Millions](/source/Miss_Brewster's_Millions)* (1926) as Mr. Brent - *[The Bat](/source/The_Bat_(1926_film))* (1926) as Gideon Bell - *[So This Is Paris](/source/So_This_Is_Paris_(1926_film))* (1926) as Maurice Lalle - *[Fig Leaves](/source/Fig_Leaves)* (1926) as Josef André - *[The Eagle of the Sea](/source/The_Eagle_of_the_Sea)* (1926) as John Jarvis - *[The Lady of the Harem](/source/The_Lady_of_the_Harem)* (1926) as Selim - *[The Popular Sin](/source/The_Popular_Sin)* (1926) as Alphonse Martin - *[Paradise for Two](/source/Paradise_for_Two_(1927_film))* (1927) as Maurice - *[Altars of Desire](/source/Altars_of_Desire)* (1927) as Count André D'Orville - *[The Small Bachelor](/source/The_Small_Bachelor_(film))* (1927) as Finch - *[If I Were Single](/source/If_I_Were_Single)* (1927) as Claude - *[Powder My Back](/source/Powder_My_Back)* (1928) as Claude - *[Five and Ten Cent Annie](/source/Five_and_Ten_Cent_Annie)* (1928) as Orchestra Leader - *[Beware of Bachelors](/source/Beware_of_Bachelors)* (1928) as Claude de Brie - *[Stark Mad](/source/Stark_Mad)* (1929) as Simpson – Guide - *[Strange Cargo](/source/Strange_Cargo_(1929_film))* (1929) as First Stranger - *[Glad Rag Doll](/source/Glad_Rag_Doll_(film))* (1929) as Barry (an actor) - *[Darkened Rooms](/source/Darkened_Rooms)* (1929) as Madame Silvara's Customer (uncredited) - *[Lilies of the Field](/source/Lilies_of_the_Field_(1930_film))* (1930) as Barber - *[The Boudoir Diplomat](/source/The_Boudoir_Diplomat)* (1930) as Potz - *[Three Girls Lost](/source/Three_Girls_Lost)* (1931) as Andre - *[Annabelle's Affairs](/source/Annabelle's_Affairs)* (1931) as Archie - *[The Age for Love](/source/The_Age_for_Love)* (1931) as The Poet - *[Surrender](/source/Surrender_(1931_film))* (1931) as Fichet - *[Ladies of the Jury](/source/Ladies_of_the_Jury)* (1932) as Alonzo Beal - *[Love Is a Racket](/source/Love_Is_a_Racket)* (1932) as Manager of Elizabeth Morgan's (uncredited) - *[Ex-Lady](/source/Ex-Lady)* (1933) as Dinner Guest / Pianist (uncredited) - *[Mama Loves Papa](/source/Mama_Loves_Papa_(1933_film))* (1933) as Basil Pew - *[Coming Out Party](/source/Coming_Out_Party)* (1934) as Waiter at Aladdin's Lamp (uncredited) - *[Jimmy the Gent](/source/Jimmy_the_Gent_(film))* (1934) as Steamship Ticket Clerk (uncredited) - *[Hollywood Party](/source/Hollywood_Party_(1934_film))* (1934) as Durante's Barber (uncredited) - *[Kiss and Make-Up](/source/Kiss_and_Make-Up)* (1934) as Jean - Dr Lamar's Butler - *[Young and Beautiful](/source/Young_and_Beautiful_(film))* (1934) as Henry Briand - *[The Captain Hates the Sea](/source/The_Captain_Hates_the_Sea)* (1934) as Jeweler (uncredited) - *[Clive of India](/source/Clive_of_India_(film))* (1935) as Mr. St. Aubin (uncredited) - *[One New York Night](/source/One_New_York_Night)* (1935) as Matthews (uncredited) - *[Gold Diggers of 1935](/source/Gold_Diggers_of_1935)* (1935) as Head Waiter - *[Once in a Blue Moon](/source/Once_in_a_Blue_Moon_(1935_film))* (1935) as Prince Kolia - *[The Flame Within](/source/The_Flame_Within_(film))* (1935) as Prince Hassan (uncredited) - *[Don't Bet on Blondes](/source/Don't_Bet_on_Blondes)* (1935) as Wedding Dress Fitter (uncredited) - *[The Payoff](/source/The_Payoff_(1935_film))* (1935) as Reporter (uncredited) - *[Ship Cafe](/source/Ship_Cafe)* (1935) as Tailor (uncredited) - *[The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo](/source/The_Man_Who_Broke_the_Bank_at_Monte_Carlo_(film))* (1935) as Casino Assistant (uncredited) - *[Stars Over Broadway](/source/Stars_Over_Broadway)* (1935) as Man Wanting Testimonial (uncredited) - *[Dangerous](/source/Dangerous_(1935_film))* (1935) as First Waiter (uncredited) - *[Anything Goes](/source/Anything_Goes_(1936_film))* (1936) as Man with Silly Walk (uncredited) - *[The Story of Louis Pasteur](/source/The_Story_of_Louis_Pasteur)* (1936) as Louis Pasteur's Assistant - *[The Walking Dead](/source/The_Walking_Dead_(1936_film))* (1936) as Nolan's Butler (uncredited) - *[Love Before Breakfast](/source/Love_Before_Breakfast)* (1936) as Charles - *[Colleen](/source/Colleen_(1936_film))* (1936) as Jeweler - *[Snowed Under](/source/Snowed_Under)* (1936) as Costume Designer Maza (uncredited) - *[The Singing Kid](/source/The_Singing_Kid)* (1936) as Designer (uncredited) - *[Times Square Playboy](/source/Times_Square_Playboy)* (1936) as Jewelry Store Clerk (uncredited) - *[Bullets or Ballots](/source/Bullets_or_Ballots)* (1936) as Waiter (uncredited) - *[Hearts Divided](/source/Hearts_Divided)* (1936) as Jefferson's Secretary (uncredited) - *[The Big Noise](/source/The_Big_Noise_(1936_American_film))* (1936) as Mr. Rosewater - *[Hot Money](/source/Hot_Money_(film))* (1936) as Ed Biddle - *[China Clipper](/source/China_Clipper_(1936_film))* (1936) as Waiter (uncredited) - *[Love Begins at 20](/source/Love_Begins_at_20)* (1936) as Eddie as Office Worker (uncredited) - *[Walking on Air](/source/Walking_on_Air_(1936_film))* (1936) as Albert, the Valet - *[Down the Stretch](/source/Down_the_Stretch_(1936_film))* (1936) as William J. Cooper - *[Cain and Mabel](/source/Cain_and_Mabel)* (1936) as Headwaiter (uncredited) - *[Love on the Run](/source/Love_on_the_Run_(1936_film))* (1936) as Comedy Reactionary (uncredited) - *[King of Hockey](/source/King_of_Hockey)* (1936) as Evans, Kathleen's Chauffeur - *[Stolen Holiday](/source/Stolen_Holiday)* (1937) as Swiss Waiter (uncredited) - *[Ready, Willing, and Able](/source/Ready%2C_Willing%2C_and_Able_(film))* (1937) as Tenant (uncredited) - *[Café Metropole](/source/Caf%C3%A9_Metropole)* (1937) as Hat Clerk - *[San Quentin](/source/San_Quentin_(1937_film))* (1937) as Lorenz Review Headwaiter (uncredited) - *[Dangerous Holiday](/source/Dangerous_Holiday)* (1937) as Violin Teacher (uncredited) - *[Wake Up and Live](/source/Wake_Up_and_Live)* (1937) as Pianist - *[Fight for Your Lady](/source/Fight_for_Your_Lady)* (1937) as Florist (uncredited) - *[Hollywood Round-Up](/source/Hollywood_Round-Up)* (1937) as Hotel Clerk - *[I'll Take Romance](/source/I'll_Take_Romance_(film))* (1937) as Male Dressmaker - *[The Lone Wolf in Paris](/source/The_Lone_Wolf_in_Paris)* (1938) as Hotel Desk Manager (uncredited) - *[Beauty for the Asking](/source/Beauty_for_the_Asking)* (1939) as Cyril - *[He Stayed for Breakfast](/source/He_Stayed_for_Breakfast)* (1940) as maître d'hôtel (uncredited) - *[She Knew All the Answers](/source/She_Knew_All_the_Answers)* (1941) as Head Waiter - *[Two in a Taxi](/source/Two_in_a_Taxi)* (1941) as Receptionist (uncredited) - *[Our Wife](/source/Our_Wife_(1941_film))* (1941) as Waiter (uncredited) - *[Over My Dead Body](/source/Over_My_Dead_Body_(1942_film))* (1942) as Salesman - *[Saratoga Trunk](/source/Saratoga_Trunk)* (1945) as Leon (uncredited) - *[The Spider](/source/The_Spider_(1945_film))* (1945) as Apartment Manager - *[The Shocking Miss Pilgrim](/source/The_Shocking_Miss_Pilgrim)* (1947) as Office Clerk (uncredited) - *[Nightmare Alley](/source/Nightmare_Alley_(1947_film))* (1947) as The Geek (uncredited) - *[Cry of the City](/source/Cry_of_the_City)* (1948) as Barber (uncredited) - *[The Snake Pit](/source/The_Snake_Pit)* (1948) as Patient (uncredited) - *[Road House](/source/Road_House_(1948_film))* (1948) as Lefty - *[Unfaithfully Yours](/source/Unfaithfully_Yours_(1948_film))* (1948) as maître d'hôtel (uncredited) - *[Chicken Every Sunday](/source/Chicken_Every_Sunday)* (1949) as Jake Barker (uncredited) - *[The Fan](/source/The_Fan_(1949_film))* (1949) as Alphonse - Philippe's Assistant (uncredited) - *[You're My Everything](/source/You're_My_Everything_(film))* (1949) as Waiter (uncredited) - *[Dancing in the Dark](/source/Dancing_in_the_Dark_(1949_film))* (1949) as Waiter - *[Wabash Avenue](/source/Wabash_Avenue_(film))* (1950) as Wax Museum Attendant (uncredited) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Naturalization_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Naturalization_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Naturalization_1-2) Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of [California](/source/California), Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887–1940; Microfilm Serial: M1524; Microfilm Roll: 2. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["George Beranger"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073239/). *IMDb*. Retrieved 11 February 2022. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Cosgrove_3-5) Cosgrove, Bryony (3 March 2012). ["The stuff of silent legend"](http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-stuff-of-silent-legend-20120302-1u7jf.html). *Brisbane Times*. Retrieved 14 November 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Calderwood, Brent (December 2021). ["Step Right Up: The World of Carnival Noir"](https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircitymagazine.html). *Noir City Magazine*. **33**: 26. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Cosgrove, Bryony (3 March 2012). "The stuff of silent legend". *[The Saturday Age](/source/The_Saturday_Age)*. p. 18. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Kane, Rich (6 March 2012). ["A Laguna Beach Silent Film Star's Story Sounds a Lot Like "The Artist""](https://web.archive.org/web/20120308141812/http://lagunabeach.patch.com/articles/a-laguna-beach-silent-film-star-s-story-sounds-a-lot-like-the-artist#photo-first). *Laguna Beach Patch*. Archived from [the original](http://lagunabeach.patch.com/articles/a-laguna-beach-silent-film-star-s-story-sounds-a-lot-like-the-artist#photo-first) on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "Film Maker G A Beranger Dies in Laguna". *Los Angeles Times*. Laguna Beach. 9 March 1973. p. Obituary. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:90_8-0)** Usai, Paolo Cherchi (25 July 2019). [*The Griffith Project, Volume 6: Films Produced in 1912*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Griffith_Project_Volume_6/u1jyDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22When+Love+Forgives%22+%22Harry+Carey%22&pg=RA1-PT470&printsec=frontcover). Bloomsbury Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-83902-013-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-83902-013-1). ## Further reading - Cosgrove, Bryony (December 2011). ["Missing in Action, Caught on Film: Silent Film Actor "André de Beranger" Goes to War"](http://www.screeningthepast.com/2011/11/missing-in-action-caught-on-film-silent-film-actor-andre-de-beranger-goes-to-war/). *Screening the Past* (32). [La Trobe University](/source/La_Trobe_University). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1328-9756](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1328-9756). ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [George Beranger](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:George_Beranger). - [George Beranger](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073239/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy Spain Catalonia --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [George Beranger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beranger) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beranger?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.