Jonathan Hale
Born: 1891-03-20 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Died: 1966-02-28
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley, March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor. Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic Corps. Hale is most well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Fernack in various The Saint films by RKO Pictures. In 1950 he made two appearances in The Cisco Kid as Barry Owens. He also appeared in two different episodes of Adventures of Superman: "The Evil Three", in which he played a murderous "Southern Colonel"-type character, and "Panic in the Sky", one of the most famous episodes, in which he played the lead astronomer at the Metropolis Observatory, actually a California observatory. Among the relatively few television programs on which Hale appeared are the religion anthology series Crossroads, The Loretta Young Show, Brave Eagle, Schlitz Playhouse, The Joey Bishop Show, and Walt Disney Presents: "A Tribute to Joel Chandler Harris". Hale committed suicide on February 28, 1966. He was found dead that evening in his room at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Hale had taken his own life with a .38 caliber pistol, which was found near his body. He was 74. Hale was interred at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California. Sadly, Hale's grave went unmarked for more than four decades, until a proper headstone was erected by donations from the "Dearly Departed" fan-based group in 2013; he is now honored with the inscription, "We Remembered You".
Filmography
1956
- Jaguar as Dr. Powell
- The Three Outlaws as Pinkerton
1955
- MGM Parade
- Screen Director's Playhouse as Mayor
- Crossroads as Governor
- The Night Holds Terror as Bob Henderson
1954
- Lassie
- The Whistler
- Cattle Queen of Montana as Politician (uncredited)
- She Couldn't Say No as John Bentley
- Duffy of San Quentin as Boyd
1953
- City Detective
- Kansas Pacific as Sherman Johnson
- Taxi as Mr. Barker (uncredited)
- The Flaming Urge as Mr. Chalmers
1952
- Adventures of Superman as Professor Roberts
- Cavalcade of America
- Mr. & Mrs. North
- Young Man with Ideas as Stanley Rickson (uncredited)
- Son of Paleface as Governor Freeman (uncredited)
- Scandal Sheet as Frank Madison
- The Steel Trap as Tom Bowers
- Behind Southern Lines as General
1951
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok as General
- Strangers on a Train as Mr. Antony
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
- The Tall Target as Passenger from Carolina (uncredited)
- Let's Go Navy! as Captain
- Sunny Side of the Street as Cyrus Pelley
- Rodeo King and the Senorita as Dr. Sands
- Insurance Investigator as Russell James
1950
- The Cisco Kid as Barry Owens
- The Baron of Arizona as Governor
- Federal Agent at Large as James Goodwin
- Triple Trouble as The Judge
- Short Grass as Charlie Bissel
- Three Husbands as Edward Wurdeman
1949
- The Fountainhead as Guy Francon (uncredited)
- A Dangerous Profession
- State Department: File 649 as Director-General
- Rose of the Yukon as Gen. Butler
- The Judge as Judge Allan J. Brooks
- Stampede as Varick
1948
- Tap Roots as Gen. Johnston (uncredited)
- Call Northside 777 as Governor's Aide Robert Winston (uncredited)
- Johnny Belinda as Dr. Gray (uncredited)
- Silver River as Major Spencer
- King of the Gamblers as Sam Hyland
- Rocky as Kenneth Forrester
- Disaster as Police Commissioner Jerome
1947
- The Beginning or the End as Dr. Vannevar Bush
- The Vigilantes Return as Judge Holden
- Her Husband's Affairs as Gov. Fox
- High Wall as Emory Garrison
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Max Atterbury
- Black Gold as Senator Watkins
1946
- Angel on My Shoulder as Citizens for Better Government Chairman (uncredited)
- Blondie's Lucky Day as J.C. Dithers
- Gay Blades as Whittlesey
- The Walls Came Tumbling Down as Captain Griffin
- The Cat Creeps as Walter Elliott
- Wife Wanted as Philip Conway
- Rolling Home as Henry Kane
- Blondie Knows Best as J.C. Dithers
- Easy to Wed as Hector Boswell
- Riverboat Rhythm as Col. Edward Beeler
1945
- Dakota as Colonel Wordin
- Man Alive as Osborne
- Leave It to Blondie as J.C. Dithers
- Life with Blondie as J.C. Dithers
- The Strange Mr. Gregory as Defense Attorney Blair
- G.I. Honeymoon as Colonel Hammerhead Smith
- The Phantom Speaks as Owen McAllister
- Divorce as Judge
- Watchtower Over Tomorrow as Security Council Chair
- Allotment Wives as Brig. Gen. H.N. Gilbert
1944
- Dead Man's Eyes as Dr. Sam Welles
- Hollywood Canteen as Mr. Brodel (uncredited)
- This Is the Life as Dr. Plum
- End of the Road as Gregory McCune
- My Buddy as Senator Henry
- The Black Parachute as King Stephen
1943
- Hangmen Also Die! as Dedic
- The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
- Sweet Rosie O'Grady as Mr. Fox
- There's Something About a Soldier as Gen. Sommerton
- The Rear Gunner as Commanding Officer
- It's a Great Life as J.C. Dithers
- Jack London as Kerwin Maxwell
- Footlight Glamour as J.C. Dithers
- Nobody's Darling as Jason Rhodes
1942
- Blondie's Blessed Event as J.C. Dithers
- Blondie Goes to College as J.C. Dithers
- Miss Annie Rooney as Mr. Martin White
- Calling Dr. Gillespie as Frank M. Todwell
- Joe Smith, American as Blake McKettrick
- The Bugle Sounds as Brigadier-General
- Flight Lieutenant as Joseph Sanford
- Lone Star Ranger as Judge Longstreth
- Blondie for Victory as J.C. Dithers
1941
- Ringside Maisie as Dr. Kramer
- The Saint In Palm Springs as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Strange Alibi as Police Chief Sprague
- Blondie Goes Latin as J.C. Dithers
- Flight from Destiny as Dist. Atty. Johnson
- Blondie in Society as J.C. Dithers
- Her First Beau as Mr. Harris
- The Great Swindle as Swann
- The Pittsburgh Kid as Max Ellison
1940
- We Who Are Young as Braddock
- Johnny Apollo as Dr. Brown
- Blondie Has Servant Trouble as J.C. Dithers
- The Saint Takes Over as Inspector Henry Fernack
- The Saint's Double Trouble as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Dulcy as Homer Patterson
- Blondie Plays Cupid as J.C. Dithers
- Melody and Moonlight as Otis Barnett
- Private Affairs as George Gilkin
1939
- The Story of Alexander Graham Bell as President of Western Union
- The Saint Strikes Back as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Wings of the Navy as Commandant
- In Name Only as Dr. Gateson
- Stand Up and Fight as Colonel Webb
- The Amazing Mr. Williams as Mayor
- Blondie Meets the Boss as J.C. Dithars
- Blondie Brings Up Baby as J.C. Dithers
- Thunder Afloat as Admiral Girard
- One Against the World as Dr. Ephraim McDowell
- Barricade as Assistant Secretary of State
- In Old Monterey as Stevenson
- The Big Guy as Jack Lane
- Tail Spin as Racing Official Starter (Uncredited)
1938
- The Saint in New York as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Boys Town as John Hargraves
- Tarnished Angel as Detective Sgt. Cramer
- Blondie as Mr. Dithers
- Fugitives for a Night as Police Captain
- Arsène Lupin Returns as F.B.I. Special Agent
- Letter of Introduction as Lou Woodstock (uncredited)
- The First Hundred Years as Judge Parker
- There's That Woman Again as Rolfe Davis
- Judge Hardy's Children as John Lee
- Gangs of New York as Warden
- The Duke of West Point as Colonel Early
- Her Jungle Love as J.C. Martin
- Breaking the Ice as Mr. Kane
- Men with Wings as Long
- Over the Wall as Governor James McDonald
- Wives Under Suspicion as Allison
- Crime Ring as Bank President
- Yellow Jack as Major General Leonard Wood
- Road Demon as Anderson
1937
- A Star Is Born as Judge Parris (uncredited)
- You Only Live Once as District Attorney (uncredited)
- The Man Who Found Himself as Dr. Tom Smythe
- Man Of The People as Carter Spetner
- Charlie Chan at the Olympics as Mr. Hopkins
- This Is My Affair as Judge
- Danger – Love at Work as Parsons, an attorney
- You Can't Buy Luck as Prosecutor (uncredited)
- John Meade's Woman as Mr. Melton
- Outcast
- Saratoga as Frank Clayton
- Madame X as Hugh Fariman Sr.
- The League of Frightened Men as Alexander Drummond
- Big Town Girl as Hershell
- Wings Over Honolulu as Judge Advocate
- Racketeers in Exile as Alden Parker
- She's Dangerous as Charles Fitzgerald
- Sea Devils as Court-Martial President (uncredited)
- Exiled to Shanghai as J.B. Willet
- Midnight Madonna as Stuart Kirkland
1936
- Fury as Defense Attorney
- The Case Against Mrs. Ames as First trial judge
- 36 Hours to Kill as Mac - Train Conductor
- Charlie Chan at the Race Track as Warren Fenton
- Panic on the Air as Johnson (uncredited)
- The Devil Is a Sissy as Judge Holmes
- The Voice of Bugle Ann as District Attorney
- You May Be Next! as Army Officer (uncredited)
- Charlie Chan's Secret as Warren T. Phelps
- The Accusing Finger as Special Prosecutor
- China Clipper as State Department Official (uncredited)
- Spendthrift as Attorney
- Sinner Take All as Dr. Harrison (uncredited)
- Three Live Ghosts as Detective Bolton
- Happy Go Lucky as J. Lansing Bennett
- The Singing Kid as Dr. Brown (uncredited)
- Sutter's Gold as Prosecuting Attorney
- Educating Father as Fred Humphrey
- Flying Hostess as Kendall
- Too Many Parents as Judge
1935
- A Night at the Opera as The Stage Manager (uncredited)
- The Raven as Bedside Dr. at Jerry's Right (uncredited)
- 'G' Men as Congressman (uncredited)
- If You Could Only Cook as Henry Brown - Member of Board of Directors (uncredited)
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Gangster
- One New York Night as Mr. Stokes
- The Calling of Dan Matthews as Club Owner (uncredited)
- Public Hero Number 1 as Prison Board Member (uncredited)
- Too Tough to Kill as Chairman of the Board
- Let 'em Have It as Microscopic Expert
- Alice Adams as Mr. Palmer
- A Night at the Ritz as Director (uncredited)
- Hit-and-Run Driver as Captain James (uncredited)
- Page Miss Glory as Husband at Train Station (uncredited)
- Navy Wife as Norton
1934
- Housewife as Doctor
- The Case of the Howling Dog as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Gentlemen Are Born as Second Broker
- A Lost Lady as (uncredited)
- Lightning Strikes Twice as Capt. Nelson