Robert J. Wilke
Born: 1914-05-18 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died: 1989-03-28
Known For: Acting
Biography
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. -
Filmography
1987
- James Stewart: A Wonderful Life as Self (archive footage)
1981
- Stripes as Gen. Barnicke
1978
- Dallas as Tom Owens
- Days of Heaven as The Farm Foreman
- Wild and Wooly as Demas Scott
1977
- How the West Was Won as Appleton
1975
- Starsky & Hutch as Mac Johnson
1974
1973
- Santee as Deaks (as Robert Wilke
- The Boy Who Cried Werewolf as The Sheriff
1972
- The Rookies as Officer Shaw
- Kung Fu as Sgt. Bridger
1971
- A Gunfight as Marshal Tom Cater
- The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler as Hugh Fielding
- They Call It Murder as Sheriff Rex Brandon
1970
- The Cheyenne Social Club as Corey Bannister
1969
- The Desperate Mission as Gant
1968
1967
- Tony Rome as Ralph Turpin
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Sheriff Dan Butler
- Cimarron Strip
- Rango
1966
- Tarzan as Spooner
- Smoky as Jeff Nicks
- The Monroes
- The Magnificent Stranger as Sheriff McVey
1965
- The Wild Wild West as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
- The Hallelujah Trail as Chief Five Barrels
- The Legend of Jesse James as Marshal Sam Corbett
1964
- Daniel Boone as Toff
- Shock Treatment as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
- Fate Is the Hunter as Stillman
1963
- The Fugitive as Johnny
- The Greatest Show on Earth as Lou Sirotta
- The Dakotas
- The Gun Hawk as Johnny Flanders
1962
- The Virginian as Conrad
- The Lucy Show as Tom Carter
- Sam Benedict as Lt. Mike Radich
- The Beachcomber as Bill Winters
1961
- Target: The Corruptors!
- The Long Rope as Ben Matthews
1960
- My Three Sons as Danny Donnigan
- The Magnificent Seven as Wallace
- Spartacus as Guard captain
- Outlaws
- The Tall Man as Marshal Ben Hartley
- Stagecoach West as Taylor Norman
- The Westerner as Murdo
- The Slowest Gun in the West as Billy the Kid Blake
1959
- Bonanza as Charlie Sheppard
- The Untouchables as George 'Bugs' Moran
- Rawhide as Sheriff McVey
- Laramie
- Adventures in Paradise as Riker
- Law of the Plainsman as Amos Cameron
- The Deputy as Ace Gentry
- Riverboat as Bolesy
- The Third Man as Vince Gabriel
- Bourbon Street Beat
- Never Steal Anything Small as Lennie
- Wichita Town
1958
- The Rifleman as Flory Sheltin
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Virgil
- Lawman as Marshal Tom Haddon
- Bat Masterson as Bull Kirby
- 77 Sunset Strip as Vern Reece
- Peter Gunn
- The Texan as Marshal Bart Pennock
- Bronco
- Man of the West as Ponch
- Return to Warbow as Red
1957
- Perry Mason as Deputy Sheriff Connors
- Wagon Train as Sgt. Wick
- Have Gun, Will Travel as Will Tybee
- Maverick as McCabe
- Zorro as Capt. Salvador Mendoza
- Tombstone Territory as Burt Foster
- Night Passage as Concho
- The Thin Man
- The Tarnished Angels as Hank
- The Walter Winchell File as Fisher
- Hot Summer Night as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
1956
- Backlash as Jeff Welker
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie
- Canyon River as Joe Graycoe
- Written on the Wind as Dan Willis
- Raw Edge as Sile Doty
- The Lone Ranger as Cassidy
- Gun the Man Down as Matt Rankin
- The Rawhide Years as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
1955
- Cheyenne as Bob Manson
- Gunsmoke as Hickock
- Smoke Signal as Daly
- Wichita as Ben Thompson
- Shotgun as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
- Screen Director's Playhouse as Zecca
- Strange Lady in Town as Karg
1954
- Lassie as Mr. Corey
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as First Mate of the Nautilus
- The Lone Gun as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
- The Far Country as Madden
- The Wonderful World of Disney as Jed - Outlaw
- Two Guns and a Badge as Moore - Outlaw
1953
- Arrowhead as Sgt. Stone
- Cow Country as Sledge
- War Paint as Trooper Grady
- From Here to Eternity as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as George
- Adventures of Superman as Bingham
- High Noon as Jim Pierce
- Cavalcade of America
- Cattle Town as Keeno
- Hellgate as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
- Wyoming Roundup as Wyatt - Henchman
- The Abbott and Costello Show as Mike Brodie
- The Maverick as Massey
- The Las Vegas Story as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
- Road Agent as Slab Babcock
- Fargo as Link - Henchman
1951
- Overland Telegraph as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
- Saddle Legion as Henchman Hooker
- Gunplay as Henchman Winslow
- Hot Lead as Stoney Dawson
- Boston Blackie as Edgar
- Best of the Badmen as Jim Younger
- Vengeance Valley as Cowhand (uncredited)
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Red Fischer
- Pistol Harvest as Andy Baylor
- Cyclone Fury as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
1950
- The Cisco Kid as Henchman Vic
- The Gene Autry Show as Henchman Cody
- Mule Train as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
- Frontier Outpost as Krag Benson
- The Desert Hawk as Camel Driver
- Outcasts of Black Mesa as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Across the Badlands as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Laramie as Cronin (uncredited)
- Flaming Fury
- Coyote Canyon as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
- The Wyoming Bandit as Sam
- The Blonde Bandit as Police Det. Walker
1948
- Carson City Raiders as Ed Noble
- Daredevils of the Clouds as Joe
- Homicide for Three as Policeman
1947
- Blackmail as Policeman
- Law of the Canyon as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
- Web of Danger as Station Wagon Driver
- Buck Privates Come Home as GI Buddy (uncredited)
- Twilight on the Rio Grande as Henchman
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Burglar
1946
- White Tie and Tails as Starter (uncredited)
- The Catman of Paris as The Catman (uncredited)
- Badman's Territory as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
- Rendezvous with Annie as MP (uncredited)
- The Inner Circle as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
- Traffic in Crime as Hogan's Driver
- Passkey to Danger as Police Sergeant
1945
- Sunset in El Dorado as Curley Roberts
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Rawhide
- Corpus Christi Bandits as Henchman Steve
- Sheriff of Cimarron as Henchman Dobie
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Cab Driver
- Rough Riders of Cheyenne as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Bandits of the Badlands as Keller
- Hitchhike to Happiness as Stage Hand (uncredited)
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Trail of Kit Carson as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
1944
- Cowboy and the Senorita as Townsman (uncredited)
- Sheriff of Sundown as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- San Antonio Kid as Henchman
- Vigilantes of Dodge City as Bill
- The Fighting Seabees as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
- Faces in the Fog as Photographer
- Call of the Rockies as Deputy Jim
- Hidden Valley Outlaws as Rancher (uncredited)
- Code of the Prairie
- Bordertown Trail as Henchman
1943
- Whispering Footsteps as Bank Customer
1941
- Sierra Sue as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
- Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. as Cutter Helmsman
1940
- Grand Ole Opry as Hillbilly (uncredited)
- Adventures of Red Ryder as Henchman
- In Old Missouri as Hillbilly
1939
- Star Reporter as Reporter
- S.O.S Tidal Wave as Man in TV Studio
- In Old Monterey as Man on Wagon
- Daredevils of the Red Circle as G-Man
1938
- The Fighting Devil Dogs as Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
1937
- San Quentin as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
- That Man's Here Again as (uncredited)