Vernon Dent biography | clown ministry

You are here: Three Stooges >Vernon Dent biography

Vernon Bruce Dent (1895 - 1963) was a comic actor who co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, and is best remembered today for his frequent appearances in the Three Stooges short films as antagonist to the Stooges.

In the early 1920’s, Vernon Dent was a fixture at the Mack Sennett studio, working with comedians Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde, and especially Harry Langdon. Vernon Dent alternately played breezy pals and blustery authority figures opposite Harry Langdon’s timid character. However, Mack Sennett voided all contracts when it came time to retool his studio for sound, and Vernon Dent moved to a different studio, Educational Pictures in 1929. Vernon Dent’s supporting performances were frequently funnier than the sometimes uninspired antics of the nominal stars. When Educational hired Harry Langdon for a series of two-reelers in 1932, Vernon Dent resumed his place as Langdon’s co-star.

Dent joined Columbia Pictures’ short-subject department in 1936 and went on to work with practically every star on the payroll, including fellow Sennett alumni Harry Langdon, Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, and Eddie Quillan; The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, El Brendel, Vera Vague, Hugh Herbert, Schilling and Lane, Harry von Zell, and Bert Wheeler. Vernon Dent appeared very occasionally in feature films, including Million Dollar Legs, Chip Off the Old Block, and Kill the Umpire, but was much more visible in two-reel comedies.

Dent went blind in the early 1950s but, amazingly, he continued to act in Columbia shorts (in a stationary or seated position) through 1954. He participated in the nationally televised This Is Your Life tribute to Mack Sennett.

Bibliography for Vernon Dent

The Columbia Comedy Shorts by Ted Okuda with Edward Watz, [1]. (Includes complete history and filmography of the Columbia shorts; Vernon Dent’s wife is quoted several times about his personal and professional life)

courtesy of Wikipedia.com

You rated this page: