Biography
The son of veteran vaudeville headliner
Julius Tannen and the brother of actor
Charles Tannen, William Tannen entered films as a Columbia contractee in 1934. Along with several other young stage-trained performers, Tannen was "discovered" by MGM in 1938's
Dramatic School. During his subsequent years at MGM, he was briefly associated with three top comedy teams: He played
Virginia Grey's brother in the
Marx Brothers'
The Big Store (1941), a Nazi flunkey in Laurel and Hardy's
Air Raid Wardens (1943), and a "hard-boiled" assistant director in
Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945). On TV, William Tannen was seen in the recurring role of Deputy Hal on the weekly Western
Wyatt Earp (1955-1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide