Biography

Dropped out of films a few years after the advent of sound as his voice was not well-suited.

Following his retirement from films, he purchased several apartment buildings. He never married but for several decades enjoyed the companionship of Hattie Bonney, the widow of a race car driver.

The 6', 215 pound silent actor made over 170 films between 1918 and 1935. Most of them were as imposing but dull-witted villains, brutes and bully types, and most were in association with the 'Hal Roach' Studios. His best known role was as the cop in Harold Lloyd's classic silent comedy Safety Last! (1923).

Died of a heart attack four days after entering Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital for a hernia operation. Buried at Forest Lawn, his old friend from the silent days Harold Lloyd attended his funeral services.

Was sickly as a child. A Denver exhibition featuring famous strong man Al Treloar, who held the title of "The World's Most Perfect Man," changed Noah's life and he became obsessed with bodybuilding. He even converted part of the family's barn into a gym for himself with punching bags made from bales of hay. An amateur who never turned professional, Treloar, who became the physical director of the Los Angeles Athletics Club, became Noah's mentor in California. Noah subsequently broke amateur records and won the title of "World's Strongest Man" at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Comedian Harold Lloyd noticed Noah at the Athletics Club and discovered him for films. Noah went on to appear in nearly 50 of Lloyd's films, usually as a heavy, the first being Kicking the Germ Out of Germany (1918).