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
- The Boy Who Cried Werewolf as The Sheriff
- Santee as Deaks (as Robert Wilke)
1972
- Kung Fu as Sgt. Bridger
- The Rookies as Officer Shaw
1971
- A Gunfight as Marshal Tom Cater
- They Call It Murder as Sheriff Rex Brandon
- The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler as Hugh Fielding
1970
- The Cheyenne Social Club as Corey Bannister
1969
- The Desperate Mission as Gant
1968
1967
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Sheriff Dan Butler
- Cimarron Strip
- Rango
- Tony Rome as Ralph Turpin
1966
- Tarzan as Spooner
- The Monroes
- Smoky as Jeff Nicks
- The Magnificent Stranger as Sheriff McVey
1965
- The Wild Wild West as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
- The Legend of Jesse James as Marshal Sam Corbett
- The Hallelujah Trail as Chief Five Barrels
1964
- Daniel Boone as Toff
- Fate Is the Hunter as Stillman
- Shock Treatment as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
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
- Spartacus as Guard captain
- The Tall Man as Marshal Ben Hartley
- The Magnificent Seven as Wallace
- Outlaws
- 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
- Adventures in Paradise as Riker
- Laramie
- Riverboat as Bolesy
- The Third Man as Vince Gabriel
- The Deputy as Ace Gentry
- Law of the Plainsman as Amos Cameron
- Bourbon Street Beat
- Wichita Town
- Never Steal Anything Small as Lennie
1958
- The Rifleman as Flory Sheltin
- Lawman as Marshal Tom Haddon
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Virgil
- Peter Gunn
- Bat Masterson as Bull Kirby
- 77 Sunset Strip as Vern Reece
- 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
- Maverick as McCabe
- Wagon Train as Sgt. Wick
- Have Gun, Will Travel as Will Tybee
- Zorro as Capt. Salvador Mendoza
- Tombstone Territory as Burt Foster
- The Thin Man
- The Walter Winchell File as Fisher
- Night Passage as Concho
- The Tarnished Angels as Hank
- Hot Summer Night as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
1956
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie
- Written on the Wind as Dan Willis
- The Lone Ranger as Cassidy
- Backlash as Jeff Welker
- Raw Edge as Sile Doty
- The Rawhide Years as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
- Gun the Man Down as Matt Rankin
- Canyon River as Joe Graycoe
1955
- Cheyenne as Bob Manson
- Gunsmoke as Hickock
- Screen Director's Playhouse as Zecca
- Wichita as Ben Thompson
- Shotgun as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
- Smoke Signal as Daly
- Strange Lady in Town as Karg
1954
- Lassie as Mr. Corey
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as First Mate of the Nautilus
- The Wonderful World of Disney as Jed - Outlaw
- The Far Country as Madden
- The Lone Gun as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
- Two Guns and a Badge as Moore - Outlaw
1953
- From Here to Eternity as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
- Arrowhead as Sgt. Stone
- Cow Country as Sledge
- War Paint as Trooper Grady
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as George
- Adventures of Superman as Bingham
- Cavalcade of America
- The Abbott and Costello Show as Mike Brodie
- High Noon as Jim Pierce
- Hellgate as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
- The Las Vegas Story as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
- Fargo as Link - Henchman
- Road Agent as Slab Babcock
- Wyoming Roundup as Wyatt - Henchman
- Cattle Town as Keeno
- The Maverick as Massey
1951
- Boston Blackie as Edgar
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Red Fischer
- Vengeance Valley as Cowhand (uncredited)
- Best of the Badmen as Jim Younger
- Pistol Harvest as Andy Baylor
- Saddle Legion as Henchman Hooker
- Cyclone Fury as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
- Gunplay as Henchman Winslow
- Hot Lead as Stoney Dawson
- Overland Telegraph as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
1950
- The Gene Autry Show as Henchman Cody
- The Cisco Kid as Henchman Vic
- The Desert Hawk as Camel Driver
- Mule Train as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
- Outcasts of Black Mesa as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Frontier Outpost as Krag Benson
- Across the Badlands as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Laramie as Cronin (uncredited)
- Coyote Canyon as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
- Flaming Fury
- 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
- Buck Privates Come Home as GI Buddy (uncredited)
- Web of Danger as Station Wagon Driver
- Law of the Canyon as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
- Twilight on the Rio Grande as Henchman
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Burglar
1946
- Badman's Territory as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
- Rendezvous with Annie as MP (uncredited)
- The Inner Circle as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
- White Tie and Tails as Starter (uncredited)
- The Catman of Paris as The Catman (uncredited)
- Traffic in Crime as Hogan's Driver
- Passkey to Danger as Police Sergeant
1945
- Trail of Kit Carson as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
- Sunset in El Dorado as Curley Roberts
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Cab Driver
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Rawhide
- Hitchhike to Happiness as Stage Hand (uncredited)
- Bandits of the Badlands as Keller
- Corpus Christi Bandits as Henchman Steve
- Sheriff of Cimarron as Henchman Dobie
- Rough Riders of Cheyenne as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
1944
- The Fighting Seabees as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
- Cowboy and the Senorita as Townsman (uncredited)
- Hidden Valley Outlaws as Rancher (uncredited)
- Code of the Prairie
- Faces in the Fog as Photographer
- San Antonio Kid as Henchman
- Sheriff of Sundown as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Bordertown Trail as Henchman
- Vigilantes of Dodge City as Bill
- Call of the Rockies as Deputy Jim
1943
- Whispering Footsteps as Bank Customer
1941
- Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. as Cutter Helmsman
- Sierra Sue as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
1940
- In Old Missouri as Hillbilly
- Adventures of Red Ryder as Henchman
- Grand Ole Opry as Hillbilly (uncredited)
1939
- S.O.S Tidal Wave as Man in TV Studio
- Daredevils of the Red Circle as G-Man
- In Old Monterey as Man on Wagon
- Star Reporter as Reporter
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)