John Ridgely

Character actor John Ridgely spent the majority of his career as part of the much-vaunted studio system of the 1930s and '40s, when actors were most often signed to exclusive contracts to specific studios whose executives chose projects for them. Part of the Warner Brothers stable at the time when the studio was best known for its inexpensive and punchy gangster dramas, Ridgely regularly portrayed either tough guys (casino boss Eddie Mars in the noir classic "The Big Sleep") or police officers (as in the classic farce "Arsenic and Old Lace"). Following the demise of the studio system, Ridgely worked sporadically in television until his death.