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Robert J. Wilke
0 FOLLOWERS • 50 CREDITS • MAY 18, 1914 - MAR 28, 1989 • 74
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Prolific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in Le train sifflera trois fois (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Les moissons du ciel (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989. -
Overview
Prolific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in Le train sifflera trois fois (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Les moissons du ciel (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989. -
Known For
Gunsmoke
Bonanza
The Virginian
Perry Mason
Have Gun, Will Travel
Starsky & Hutch
Daniel Boone
The Wild Wild West
Rawhide
My Three Sons
Wagon Train
Four Star Playhouse
The Lucy Show
The Texan
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Bat Masterson
The Fugitive
The Wonderful World of Disney
Riverboat
Cimarron Strip
Lassie
Kung Fu
Sam Benedict
Tombstone Territory
Tarzan
Dallas
The Deputy
Lancer
The Westerner
The Tall Man
Laramie
The Abbott and Costello Show
Law of the Plainsman
Outlaws
Adventures of Superman
Run, Joe, Run
The Thin Man
Wichita Town
Peter Gunn
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
The Magnificent Stranger
Stripes
The Magnificent Seven
Spartacus
The Rookies
Arrowhead
Fargo
A Gunfight
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Days of Heaven
Originals for Paramount+
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