- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRalph Mounce Byrd
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Handsome, hairy-chested Ralph Byrd had an 18 year career in Hollywood both as a leading man and as a character actor, though he is best remembered for his role as Chester Gould's comic strip detective, Dick Tracy, in several movie serials and on television (first for ABC and then in a syndicated series). During his film career he was a contract player for RKO and 20th- Fox. A serious auto accident slowed down his film career in the late 1940s, but he returned to the role of Tracy and worked steadily until his untimely death of a heart attack. His survivors were his widow, the actress Virginia Carroll, and his daughter, Carol, 13 at the time of his death.- IMDb mini biography by: anonymous
- SpouseVirginia Carroll(February 20, 1937 - August 18, 1952) (his death, 1 child)
- Some accounts list the cause of his death as a sudden heart attack suffered while sitting in his car waiting for his wife, actress Virginia Carroll, to finish shopping. However, in an interview Carroll said that he actually died of cancer in the Sawtelle Veterans Administration hospital in Los Angeles.
- Best known as portrayer of comic-strip detective "Dick Tracy" in 40's "B" films. (See also Morgan Conway.)
- Enlisted in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II and taught demolition.
- Was an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster.
- Performed on stage frequently in Hollywood with the Bliss-Hayden Little Theatre where he met his wife, actress Virginia Carroll. They would have one daughter, Carroll.
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