John Tyrrell (actor)


John Edward Tyrrell was an American film actor. He appeared in over 250 films between 1935 and 1947, known for his numerous appearances in the Three Stooges, in a total of 28 shorts with Curly Howard as a third stooge.

Career

Tyrrell was 16 years old when he became involved in vauldville, part of the team Tyrrell and Mack. Like many actors in the Stooge comedies, Tyrrell was a salaried contract player. The Columbia stock company was called upon to play incidental roles in practically everything the studio produced: important films, low-budget "B" pictures, short subjects, and serials. John Tyrrell worked steadily at Columbia Pictures from 1935 to 1946 for 11 years. Occasionally, only Tyrrell's voice would be used, as a radio newsman, public-address announcer, or police-call dispatcher. Tyrrell and fellow stock player Eddie Laughton often appeared together in Columbia movies. One of Tyrrell's biggest roles was probably in the 1939 serial Mandrake the Magician, in which he played a masked crime lord's right-hand man.

Death

Tyrrell's final appearance with the Three Stooges was in Uncivil War Birds. After spending several months at Kingsbridge Veteran's Hospital in the Bronx, New York, John Tyrrell died of complications from pneumonia on September 20, 1949, at age 48.

Selected filmography