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
- Scandal Sheet as Frank Madison
- Young Man with Ideas as Stanley Rickson (uncredited)
- Son of Paleface as Governor Freeman (uncredited)
- 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)
- Insurance Investigator as Russell James
- Let's Go Navy! as Captain
- Rodeo King and the Senorita as Dr. Sands
- Sunny Side of the Street as Cyrus Pelley
1950
- The Cisco Kid as Barry Owens
- The Baron of Arizona as Governor
- Triple Trouble as The Judge
- Short Grass as Charlie Bissel
- Three Husbands as Edward Wurdeman - Attorney at Law
- Federal Agent at Large as James Goodwin
1949
- The Fountainhead as Guy Francon (uncredited)
- Stampede as Varick
- A Dangerous Profession
- State Department: File 649 as Director-General
- Rose of the Yukon as Gen. Butler
- The Judge as Judge Allan J. Brooks
1948
- Call Northside 777 as Governor's Aide Robert Winston (uncredited)
- Silver River as Major Spencer
- Tap Roots as Gen. Johnston (uncredited)
- Johnny Belinda as Dr. Horace M. Gray (uncredited)
- Rocky as Kenneth Forrester
- Disaster as Police Commissioner Jerome
- King of the Gamblers as Sam Hyland
1947
- The Beginning or the End as Dr. Vannevar Bush
- High Wall as Emory Garrison
- Black Gold as Senator Watkins
- Her Husband's Affairs as Gov. Fox
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Max Atterbury
- The Vigilantes Return as Judge Holden
1946
- Rolling Home as Henry Kane
- Angel on My Shoulder as Citizens for Better Government Chairman (uncredited)
- Blondie Knows Best as J.C. Dithers
- The Cat Creeps as Walter Elliott
- Easy to Wed as Hector Boswell
- Riverboat Rhythm as Col. Edward Beeler
- The Walls Came Tumbling Down as Captain Griffin
- Blondie's Lucky Day as J.C. Dithers
- Gay Blades as Whittlesey
- Wife Wanted as Philip Conway
1945
- Dakota as Colonel Wordin
- Life with Blondie as J.C. Dithers
- The Phantom Speaks as Owen McAllister
- Allotment Wives as Brig. Gen. H.N. Gilbert
- Man Alive as Osborne
- Watchtower Over Tomorrow as Security Council Chair
- Divorce as Judge
- G.I. Honeymoon as Colonel Hammerhead Smith
- Leave It to Blondie as J.C. Dithers
- The Strange Mr. Gregory as Defense Attorney Blair
1944
- Hollywood Canteen as Mr. Brodel (uncredited)
- Dead Man's Eyes as Dr. Sam Welles
- End of the Road as Gregory McCune
- This Is the Life as Dr. Plum
- The Black Parachute as King Stephen
- My Buddy as Senator Henry
1943
- Hangmen Also Die! as Dedic
- The Rear Gunner as Commanding Officer
- Footlight Glamour as J.C. Dithers
- It's a Great Life as J.C. Dithers
- There's Something About a Soldier as Gen. Sommerton
- The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
- Jack London as Kerwin Maxwell
- Sweet Rosie O'Grady as Mr. Fox
- Nobody's Darling as Jason Rhodes
1942
- Joe Smith, American as Blake McKettrick
- Blondie Goes to College as J.C. Dithers
- Blondie's Blessed Event as J.C. Dithers
- Calling Dr. Gillespie as Frank M. Todwell
- The Bugle Sounds as Brigadier-General
- Miss Annie Rooney as Mr. Martin White
- Lone Star Ranger as Judge Longstreth
- Flight Lieutenant as Joseph Sanford
- Blondie for Victory as J.C. Dithers
1941
- Strange Alibi as Police Chief Sprague
- Blondie Goes Latin as J.C. Dithers
- The Saint In Palm Springs as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Blondie in Society as J.C. Dithers
- Ringside Maisie as Dr. Kramer
- The Great Swindle as Swann
- Flight from Destiny as Dist. Atty. Johnson
- The Pittsburgh Kid as Max Ellison
- Her First Beau as Mr. Harris
1940
- The Saint's Double Trouble as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Johnny Apollo as Dr. Brown
- We Who Are Young as Braddock
- Blondie Plays Cupid as J.C. Dithers
- Dulcy as Homer Patterson
- Private Affairs as George Gilkin
- Blondie Has Servant Trouble as J.C. Dithers
- The Saint Takes Over as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Melody and Moonlight as Otis Barnett
1939
- The Story of Alexander Graham Bell as President of Western Union
- Wings of the Navy as Commandant
- In Name Only as Dr. Gateson
- Tail Spin as Racing Official Starter (Uncredited)
- Stand Up and Fight as Colonel Webb
- The Saint Strikes Back as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Blondie Brings Up Baby as J.C. Dithers
- The Amazing Mr. Williams as Mayor
- Blondie Meets the Boss as J.C. Dithars
- Barricade as Assistant Secretary of State
- Thunder Afloat as Admiral Girard
- The Big Guy as Jack Lane
- In Old Monterey as Stevenson
- One Against the World as Dr. Ephraim McDowell
1938
- Blondie as Mr. Dithers
- Boys Town as John Hargraves
- Arsène Lupin Returns as F.B.I. Special Agent
- The Saint in New York as Inspector Henry Fernack
- Yellow Jack as Major General Leonard Wood
- Men with Wings as Long
- Wives Under Suspicion as Allison
- Over the Wall as Governor James McDonald
- Fugitives for a Night as Police Captain
- Letter of Introduction as Lou Woodstock (uncredited)
- Crime Ring as Bank President
- Her Jungle Love as J.C. Martin
- 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 Steven's Father
- Breaking the Ice as Mr. Kane
- Tarnished Angel as Detective Sgt. Cramer
- Road Demon as Anderson
1937
- A Star Is Born as Judge George J. Parris (uncredited)
- You Only Live Once as District Attorney (uncredited)
- Madame X as Hugh Fariman Sr.
- The Man Who Found Himself as Dr. Tom Smythe
- Saratoga as Frank Clayton
- Danger – Love at Work as Parsons, an attorney
- Charlie Chan at the Olympics as Mr. Hopkins
- The League of Frightened Men as Alexander Drummond
- This Is My Affair as Judge
- Outcast
- Big Town Girl as Hershell
- Wings Over Honolulu as Judge Advocate
- You Can't Buy Luck as Prosecutor (uncredited)
- Man Of The People as Carter Spetner
- Sea Devils as Court-Martial President (uncredited)
- Racketeers in Exile as Alden Parker
- She's Dangerous as Charles Fitzgerald
- John Meade's Woman as Mr. Melton
- Midnight Madonna as Stuart Kirkland
- Exiled to Shanghai as J.B. Willet
1936
- Fury as Defense Attorney
- China Clipper as State Department Official (uncredited)
- Spendthrift as Attorney
- Sinner Take All as Dr. Harrison (uncredited)
- The Devil Is a Sissy as Judge Holmes
- The Voice of Bugle Ann as District Attorney
- The Accusing Finger as Special Prosecutor
- Sutter's Gold as Prosecuting Attorney
- 36 Hours to Kill as Mac - Train Conductor
- The Case Against Mrs. Ames as First trial judge
- Three Live Ghosts as Detective Bolton
- Too Many Parents as Judge
- Charlie Chan's Secret as Warren T. Phelps
- The Singing Kid as Dr. Brown (uncredited)
- Charlie Chan at the Race Track as Warren Fenton
- You May Be Next! as Army Officer (uncredited)
- Panic on the Air as Johnson
- Educating Father as Fred Humphrey
- Happy Go Lucky as J. Lansing Bennett
- Flying Hostess as Kendall
1935
- A Night at the Opera as The Stage Manager (uncredited)
- 'G' Men as Congressman (uncredited)
- The Raven as Bedside Dr. at Jerry's Right (uncredited)
- If You Could Only Cook as Henry Brown - Member of Board of Directors (uncredited)
- Let 'em Have It as Microscopic Expert
- Alice Adams as Mr. Palmer
- Too Tough to Kill as Chairman of the Board
- Page Miss Glory as Husband at Train Station (uncredited)
- The Calling of Dan Matthews as Club Owner (uncredited)
- 3 Kids and a Queen as Gangster
- One New York Night as Mr. Stokes
- Public Hero Number 1 as Prison Board Member (uncredited)
- Navy Wife as Norton
- Hit-and-Run Driver as Captain James (uncredited)
- A Night at the Ritz as Director (uncredited)
1934
- Housewife as Doctor
- Lightning Strikes Twice as Capt. Nelson
- A Lost Lady as (uncredited)
- The Case of the Howling Dog as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- Gentlemen Are Born as Second Broker