Villain of the Month: Turhan Bey
A Viennanese of Turkish descent, Turhan Bey came to the U.S. in the 1930’s where he studied acting at the Ben Bard Studio and became a regular at the Pasadena Playhouse. The exotic looking actor began appearing in film with the coming of WWII, where he was first cast as an Asian in films like Burma Convoy (1941) and Bombay Clipper (1942). This typecasting continued into his serial work, where he appeared as a Japanese spy in Universal’s Junior G-Men of the Air (1942) and The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack (1943).
During that time he also made Arabian Nights (1942), which lead to him becoming synonymous with exotic adventures films set in the desert. Other films in this vein included The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), Sudan (1945) and A Night In Paradise (1946). He also made a brief return to his old typecasting by appearing in the adaptation of Dragon Seed (1944) as well as appearing in a non mummy horror film The Mad Ghoul (1943).
His film work slowed down after the war. His most notable film during this time was playing the charming fake spitiualist/ conman in The Amazing Mr. X (1948). Other films included Adventures of Casanova (1948), Song of India (1949) and Prisoners of the Casbah (1953). After Producing the film Stolen Identity (1953), Bey returned to his homeland, Vienna, where he became a well repected photographer as well as a play director in Salzburg.
And that would have been the end of the story until a funny thing happened. Coming over to the U.S. for an award ceremony, Bey rejuvenated his acting career in the mid 90’s and became a recuring player on Babylon 5. Other TV appearances included VR.5, Seaquest DSV and Murder She Wrote.
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