What I like about Ward Bond is the fact that he was a no nonscense kind of guy, who can fit into a part like a fine glove. I was convienced that he was truely Irish in The Quiet Man. He was just awesome as Burt the policeman in It's a Wonderful Life.
He played such wonderful parts with so many great actors. It's amazing looking at his filmoraphy that he could do so much and not be well known outside of Hollywood. I know he was known, but he wasn't a John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, or Clark Gable. He played with many of them, and worked with such great directors.
It was fitting that he starred in a great television show The Wagon Train. It's just a shame that he died like he did at the height of his career.
Cheers, Hondo B)