Ben Taggart

Canadian stage actor Ben Taggart made a few New York-based films in the mid-teens, but for the most part concentrated on theatrical work. Taggart came to Hollywood in 1931 to play Captain Corcoran in the Marx Brothers' Monkey Business; he also portrayed a theatrical agent in the film's promotional trailer, exchanging rhymed couplets with Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo. After a bit as a traffic cop in the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers (1932), he freelanced as a featured player. He showed up in several Charley Chase two-reelers of the 1930s, usually playing Chase's boss or prospective father-in-law. In addition, he could be seen in a handful of serials, including Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). In his last active years, Ben Taggart was often as not cast as a B-picture prison warden.