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
- Kung Fu as Sgt. Bridger
- The Rookies as Officer Shaw
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
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Sheriff Dan Butler
- Cimarron Strip
- Rango
- Tony Rome as Ralph Turpin
1966
- Tarzan as Spooner
- The Monroes
- The Magnificent Stranger as Sheriff McVey
- Smoky as Jeff Nicks
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 Lucy Show as Tom Carter
- The Virginian as Conrad
- 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
- The Tall Man as Marshal Ben Hartley
- 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
- Rawhide as Sheriff McVey
- The Untouchables as George 'Bugs' Moran
- Adventures in Paradise as Riker
- Laramie
- The Deputy as Ace Gentry
- The Third Man as Vince Gabriel
- Riverboat as Bolesy
- 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
- Peter Gunn
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Virgil
- 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
- 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
- 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
- The Lone Ranger as Cassidy
- Written on the Wind as Dan Willis
- The Rawhide Years as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
- Raw Edge as Sile Doty
- Backlash as Jeff Welker
- 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
- The Abbott and Costello Show as Mike Brodie
- High Noon as Jim Pierce
- Cavalcade of America
- Hellgate as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
- The Las Vegas Story as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
- Cattle Town as Keeno
- The Maverick as Massey
- Fargo as Link - Henchman
- Road Agent as Slab Babcock
- Wyoming Roundup as Wyatt - Henchman
1951
- Boston Blackie as Edgar
- Vengeance Valley as Cowhand (uncredited)
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Red Fischer
- Best of the Badmen as Jim Younger
- Saddle Legion as Henchman Hooker
- Hot Lead as Stoney Dawson
- Overland Telegraph as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
- Gunplay as Henchman Winslow
- Cyclone Fury as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
- Pistol Harvest as Andy Baylor
1950
- The Cisco Kid as Henchman Vic
- The Gene Autry Show as Henchman Cody
- The Desert Hawk as Camel Driver
- Mule Train as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
- Frontier Outpost as Krag Benson
- Across the Badlands as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
- Outcasts of Black Mesa as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- The Wyoming Bandit as Sam
- Laramie as Cronin (uncredited)
- The Blonde Bandit as Police Det. Walker
- Flaming Fury
- Coyote Canyon as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
1948
- Carson City Raiders as Ed Noble
- Daredevils of the Clouds as Joe
- Homicide for Three as Policeman
1947
- Buck Privates Come Home as GI Buddy (uncredited)
- Twilight on the Rio Grande as Henchman
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Burglar
- Blackmail as Policeman
- Law of the Canyon as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
- Web of Danger as Station Wagon Driver
1946
- Badman's Territory as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
- The Inner Circle as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
- Rendezvous with Annie as MP (uncredited)
- Traffic in Crime as Hogan's Driver
- Passkey to Danger as Police Sergeant
- White Tie and Tails as Starter (uncredited)
- The Catman of Paris as The Catman (uncredited)
1945
- Hitchhike to Happiness as Stage Hand (uncredited)
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Cab Driver
- Sheriff of Cimarron as Henchman Dobie
- Sunset in El Dorado as Curley Roberts
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Rawhide
- Rough Riders of Cheyenne as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Bandits of the Badlands as Keller
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Trail of Kit Carson as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
- Corpus Christi Bandits as Henchman Steve
1944
- The Fighting Seabees as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
- San Antonio Kid as Henchman
- Bordertown Trail as Henchman
- Code of the Prairie
- Cowboy and the Senorita as Townsman (uncredited)
- Call of the Rockies as Deputy Jim
- Hidden Valley Outlaws as Rancher (uncredited)
- Sheriff of Sundown as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Faces in the Fog as Photographer
- Vigilantes of Dodge City as Bill
1943
- Whispering Footsteps as Bank Customer
1941
- Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. as Cutter Helmsman
- Sierra Sue as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
1940
- Adventures of Red Ryder as Henchman
- Grand Ole Opry as Hillbilly (uncredited)
- In Old Missouri as Hillbilly
1939
- Star Reporter as Reporter
- Daredevils of the Red Circle as G-Man
- S.O.S Tidal Wave as Man in TV Studio
- In Old Monterey as Man on Wagon
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)