Chris Alcaide

Chris Alcaide was the stage name of John Berger (1922–2004) a tall (1.89m) 20th century American character actor frequently cast as the "baddie" in westerns and film noir detective films. His combination of height, sharp stare and deep voice made him a menacing character.

In the mid 1950s he was appearing almost once per week in a variety of shows but primarily as the badman. However, he was a well-known face but not a well-known name, and often went uncredited.

Life

He was born John ("Jack") Thomas Berger on October 21, 1922, in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of George F. B. Berger and his wife Frances Conroy. He moved to Hollywood in 1942 and worked as a bouncer at the Hollywood Palladium.[1]

He served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946 during the Second World War. After the war he returned to the Hollywood Palladium but then sought work as an actor and joined the Ben Bard Players around 1948. This was not permanent work and he remained at he Palladium as an announcer until around 1951. He was first televised in 1950. From 1952 he received fairly constant acting roles and began a long a lucrative career portraying henchmen and black-hatted baddies.

Around 1952 he sustained a serious chest injury in a car accident and this permanently slowed his performance. In 1958 he was the original choice of star as the lead role in Black Saddle but studio executives thought he was too associated with badman roles and chose Peter Breck instead. During the filming of this pilot he injured his back in a fall and again caused permanent damage.

From 1972 to 1985 he ran a photography studio called "Peri's Pictures" in Los Angeles with his wife. This was one of the first studios to fake older settings to look like photos taken in the Old West. It relocated to Palm Springs around 1980.

He died in Palm Springs, California on June 30, 2004. He is buried in the Desert Memorial Park in Palm Springs.[2]

Family

In 1956, Alcaide married actress Tayyibe Perizat Hatman, later known as Peri Alcaide.[3] After they divorced, he wed singer-songwriter Georgia Holt, the mother of Cher.

Although Cher's stepfather for some years, Cher was already famous and they do not seem to have had a close relationship.

TV Roles

Film Roles

References
  1. http://www.westernclippings.com/heavies/chris_alcaide_charactersheavies.shtml
  2. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson
  3. https://obituaries.desertsun.com/obituaries/thedesertsun/obituary.aspx?n=peri-alcaide&pid=105946107
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