Bert Freed
Known for
Bert Freed has spent over 79 years in front of the camera, with more than 83 film and TV credits. his Sgt. Boulanger in 'Paths of Glory' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Drama has been his most frequent territory.
Bert Freed
43 Movies
40 Series
Bert Freed has spent over 79 years in front of the camera, with more than 83 film and TV credits. his Sgt. Boulanger in 'Paths of Glory' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography. Drama has been his most frequent territory.
Movies
Plays Sgt. Boulanger
Paths of Glory
1957
Plays Schmidt
Hang 'em High
1968
Plays Ben Golden
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
Plays Sam Dakin
Norma Rae
1979
Plays Chief of Detectives Hap Lynch
Madigan
1968
Plays Tom Winston
The Desperate Hours
1955
Plays Quince
Nevada Smith
1966
Plays Det. Sgt. Paul Klein
Where the Sidewalk Ends
1950
Plays Police Lieutenant
P.J.
1968
Plays Mr. Stuart Posner
Billy Jack
1971
Plays Slattery
Halls of Montezuma
1951
Plays Police Chief A.C. Barrows
Invaders from Mars
1953
Plays Foreman
The Long, Long Trailer
1954
Plays Det. Dakis
Detective Story
1951
Plays Mayor John Randolph
Love and the Midnight Auto Supply
1977
Plays Sheriff
Invitation to a Gunfighter
1964
Plays Skinner
There Was a Crooked Man...
1970
Plays Dillon
Fate Is the Hunter
1964
Plays Abe Irwin
The Cobweb
1955
Plays Joe Jenkins
The Gazebo
1959
Plays Sgt. Randall
Red Mountain
1951
Plays Dutch (Third New York Henchman)
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
1950
Plays Smitty
The Company She Keeps
1951
Plays Max Jacob Flatow, Sr.
Wild in the Streets
1968
Plays Sheriff Buck Wheeler
Twilight of Honor
1963
Plays Lt. (jg) Andrew Szymanski
Men of the Fighting Lady
1954
Plays Sgt. Vince Opperman
Take the High Ground!
1953
Plays Emmy's Husband
Key to the City
1950
Plays Bartender
The Subterraneans
1960
Plays Herron, a Man in Alley Mob
Boomerang!
1947
Plays Jack
Barracuda
1978
Plays Frank Josephson
Shock Treatment
1964
Plays Lester Brackman
The Goddess
1958
Plays Police Captain
The Swinger
1966
Plays Emil Jablons
The Atomic City
1952
Plays Doc Kincaid
Evel Knievel
1971
Plays Adler
Why Must I Die
1960
TV Shows
Plays Rufe Ryker
Shane
1966
Plays Leon Chandler
Mission: Impossible
1966
Plays Edwin Stanton
Lincoln
1974
Plays Dave Reed
Cain's Hundred
1961
Plays Anthony Solan
Knight Rider
1982
Plays Detective Horton
Petticoat Junction
1963
Plays Stambler
Charlie's Angels
1976
Plays Al Clovis
Gunsmoke
1955
Plays Ken Woodman
Perry Mason
1957
Plays Chick
Studio One
1948
Plays Sgt. Weber
Combat!
1962
Plays Mitch Green
General Electric Theater
1953
Plays Badeff
Get Smart
1965
Plays Pete Johnson
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Plays Capt. Akins
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1974
Plays Capt. Harvey Ellison
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Plays Sheriff Parsons
Run for Your Life
1965
Plays Telford Burris
The High Chaparral
1967
Plays M / Sgt. Matthew Brogan
The Millionaire
1955
Plays Milo Henderson
The Virginian
1962
Plays Michael Dannora
Adventures in Paradise
1959
Plays Al Rago
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Plays Lieutenant Rosenberg
Decoy
1957
Plays Lorimer
Mr. Novak
1963
Plays Kester
Riverboat
1959
Plays Benson
Law of the Plainsman
1959
Plays Dr. Donald White
Dr. Kildare
1961
Plays Lieutenant
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Plays Police Sgt. Bert Clark
The Green Hornet
1966
Plays Maj. Bernsdorf
Hogan's Heroes
1965
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Norma Rae
Full Filmography
Knight Rider
Anthony Solan · 1 episode
1982–1983
TV
Darkroom
Charlie's Dad · 1 episode
1981–
TV
Norma Rae
Sam Dakin
1979
Film
Charlie's Angels
Stambler · 1 episode
1978
TV
Barracuda
Jack
1978
Film
Love and the Midnight Auto Supply
Mayor John Randolph
1977
Film
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Capt. Akins · 1 episode
1974–
TV
Lincoln
Edwin Stanton · 2 episodes
1974–
TV
Incident at Vichy
Marchand, A Businessman
1973
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bert Freed still alive?
Bert Freed passed away on August 2, 1994 at age 74.
What are the most famous roles of Bert Freed?
Bert Freed is best known for roles in Paths of Glory, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hang 'em High.
How many movies has Bert Freed been in?
Over a 47-year career (since 1947), Bert Freed has appeared in 43 movies and 40 TV shows.
What was Bert Freed's first movie?
The career of Bert Freed began with Boomerang! (1947).
What is Bert Freed's most recent movie or series?
Bert Freed's most recent release is Are You My Mother?, which premiered on March 5, 1986.
What TV shows has Bert Freed appeared in?
On television, Bert Freed has appeared in Knight Rider, The Munsters, Get Smart, Mission: Impossible.
Bert Freed
1919-11-03 · The Bronx, New York USA
Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 — August 2, 1994) was a prolific American character actor, voice over actor, and the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending Penn State University, and made his Broadway debut in 1942. Following World War II Army service in the European Theatre, he appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985. His film debut occurred, oddly enough, in a musical Carnegie Hall (1947). A prominent role was as the villainous Ryker in the television series Shane, in which Freed added a unique touch of realism by beginning the show clean-shaven and growing a beard from one week to the next, never shaving again through the season.
Freed played Columbo in a live 1960 episode of the "Chevy Mystery Theatre" seven years before Peter Falk played the role. Thomas Mitchell also played the part on stage prior to Falk's version, which is probably where many of the eccentric Columbo traits originated; only a few were visible in Freed's straightforward interpretation, although the character as played by Freed is recognizably Columbo.
He appeared (sometimes more than once) in television shows such as The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley,The Virginian, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels, Then Came Bronson, Run For Your Life, Get Smart, The Lucy Show, Hogan's Heroes, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Perry Mason, Combat!, Petticoat Junction, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Ironside, The Green Hornet, The Munsters, and many, many more. He directed one episode of T.H.E. Cat.
Freed appeared as a racist club owner in No Way Out (1950), a gangster in Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950), a Marine private in Halls of Montezuma (1951 film), an Army sergeant in Take the High Ground! (1953), the Police Chief in Invaders From Mars (1953), Sgt. Boulanger in Paths of Glory (1957), the hangman in Hang 'Em High (1968), Max's father in Wild in the Streets (1968), as Chief of Detectives in Madigan (1968), a homosexual prison guard in There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) and Bernard's father in Billy Jack (1971) in which he got "whumped" on the side of the face by Billy Jack's right foot "just for the hell of it."
He retired from acting in 1986, and died of a heart attack in Canada in 1994 while on a fishing trip with his son. Bert Freed, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.