Bernard Punsly(1923-2004)

Bernard Punsly auditioned for the 1935 play "Dead End" on a lark - he had absolutely no show-business experience whatsoever, had never studied acting and had no desire to be an actor. He said that show business seemed like it might be fun, so he figured he'd give it a shot. To his surprise he was picked for he play, and when it turned out to be a huge hit, was called to Hollywood with the rest of the juvenile cast for the film version. While Punsly appeared in most of the "Dead End Kids" films made after the play, he didn't participate in most of his colleagues' "extra-curricular activities" - while they were out partying and getting into trouble with the law, Punsly would go home after a day's filming and read, mainly medical books, as he always wanted to be a doctor. His lack of film-industry ambition is reflected in the fact that he appeared in only two films outside of the Dead End Kids series, one was 'The Big Broadcast of 1938' and the other was 'Junior Army'. And even the, though 'Junior Army' was not a Dead End Kid movie, it still had in its cast fellow Dead Enders Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Bobby Jordan. Punsley left the series in the early-40s to join the army, where he received his medical training. Upon his discharge he enrolled in the University of Georgia, eventually attaining his life's dream of becoming an MD. He returned to California, but not to a film career - he opened up a medical practice in Torrance. Punsly said that he never watched his old films - not because he had any regrets about making them, but because, as he said, he grew out of them.