Editing Lloyd Bridges (section)

===Columbia Pictures and U.S. Coast Guard===
In 1940, Bridges joined the stock company at [[Columbia Pictures]] at $75 a week, where he played small roles in features and short subjects.<ref>{{cite news| title=Lloyd Bridges| newspaper=[[The Times]]| location=[[London]]| date=March 12, 1998|page=25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Jane Withers, Jackie Cooper Columbia Team|author=Schallert, Edwin| date=December 18, 1940| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| page=21}}</ref>

He could be seen in ''[[The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance]]'' (1941), ''[[They Dare Not Love]]'' (1941), ''[[Doctor's Alibi]]'' (1941), ''[[Blue Clay]]'' (1941), ''[[Our Wife (1941 film)|Our Wife]]'' (1941), and ''[[I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island]]'' (1941). In ''[[Here Comes Mr. Jordan]]'' (1941) Bridges is the pilot of the plane in the "heaven" scene.

Bridges later reflected,

{{blockquote|I didn't have enough maturity for a leading man. I looked too broad in the shoulders ... too much like a kid. I never could get into (Columbia studio boss) [[Harry Cohn]]'s office. All the best roles went to [[Glenn Ford]] and [[William Holden]]. They just put me in these awful B-pictures, like ''Two Latins from Manhattan.'' I even did a [[Three Stooges]] short. Sometimes I'd be in two or three movies a week. It was tough sledding.<ref>Lovell, Glenn (April 26, 1989). "Lloyd Bridges Catches His Second Wind". ''St. Louis Post''.</ref>}}
 
He left Columbia Pictures during World War II to enlist in the [[United States Coast Guard]]. Following his discharge, he returned to acting. In later years, he was a member of the [[U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary]], did several public service announcements for the organization, and was made an honorary commodore. Bridges' ''[[Sea Hunt]]'' character Mike Nelson was also portrayed as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and sometimes appeared in uniform. Bridges' sons, actors Beau and Jeff, also served in the Coast Guard and [[United States Coast Guard Reserve|Coast Guard Reserve]].<ref>[http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/lloydbridges.asp "Lloyd Bridges"]. ''U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office''. Retrieved 5 February 2014. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020224037/http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/lloydbridges.asp |date=October 20, 2013 }}</ref> 
[[File:Commodore Lloyd Bridges, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary public service poster.jpg|thumb|Commodore Lloyd Bridges, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary public service poster]]