George Glenn Strange was a man of many talents and professions. Born on August 16, 1899, in Weed, New Mexico, he grew up to be a real-life cowboy in Cross Cut, Texas. He taught himself to play the fiddle and guitar at a young age and began performing at local functions as a teenager.
As a young man, Strange and his cousin, Taylor McPeters, who later became the western character actor Cactus Mack, joined a radio singing group called the "Arizona Wranglers." They toured the country, performing for various audiences.
In the early 1930s, Strange and McPeters began providing singing fillers in film westerns. Strange would play extra or bit roles in B Westerns and serials, often portraying cowhands, rustlers, and other characters. He made his screen debut as an uncredited soldier in the science fiction classic serial "Flash Gordon" in 1936.
As his career progressed, Strange's billing improved, and he began to play more substantial roles. He became a full-time bad guy in hundreds of B Westerns, appearing in popular serials such as "The Hurricane Express" and "Riders of Death Valley."
In the 1940s, Strange's massive build helped him break into the Universal horror picture genre. He replaced Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Creature and made his debut in "House of Frankenstein" in 1944. He quickly followed this up with "House of Dracula" in 1945.
Strange's most famous role as the Creature came in the cult horror/comedy classic "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" in 1948. He played the monster alongside Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolf Man.
As the B Western genre began to decline in the 1950s, Strange transitioned to television work. He played the role of Butch Cavendish on "The Lone Ranger" and later reprised the role after a prison escape. He also appeared in other TV roles and capped off his career with a steady 12-year role as Sam the bartender on the classic "Gunsmoke" series from 1962 until shortly before his death from lung cancer in 1973.
