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
- They Call It Murder as Sheriff Rex Brandon
- The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler as Hugh Fielding
- A Gunfight as Marshal Tom Cater
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
- Outlaws
- The Tall Man as Marshal Ben Hartley
- The Magnificent Seven as Wallace
- Stagecoach West as Taylor Norman
- Spartacus as Guard captain
- 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
- The Deputy as Ace Gentry
- Riverboat as Bolesy
- The Third Man as Vince Gabriel
- Law of the Plainsman as Amos Cameron
- Bourbon Street Beat
- Wichita Town
- Never Steal Anything Small as Lennie
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
- Maverick as McCabe
- 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
- Gun the Man Down as Matt Rankin
- Backlash as Jeff Welker
- The Rawhide Years as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
- Raw Edge as Sile Doty
- Canyon River as Joe Graycoe
1955
- Cheyenne as Bob Manson
- Gunsmoke as Hickock
- Screen Director's Playhouse as Zecca
- Strange Lady in Town as Karg
- Smoke Signal as Daly
- Wichita as Ben Thompson
- Shotgun as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
1954
- Lassie as Mr. Corey
- The Wonderful World of Disney as Jed - Outlaw
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as First Mate of the Nautilus
- 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
- War Paint as Trooper Grady
- Cow Country as Sledge
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as George
- Adventures of Superman as Bingham
- The Abbott and Costello Show as Mike Brodie
- Cavalcade of America
- High Noon as Jim Pierce
- The Las Vegas Story as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
- Hellgate as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
- Cattle Town as Keeno
- Road Agent as Slab Babcock
- The Maverick as Massey
- Fargo as Link - Henchman
- Wyoming Roundup as Wyatt - Henchman
1951
- Boston Blackie as Edgar
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Red Fischer
- Best of the Badmen as Jim Younger
- Vengeance Valley as Cowhand (uncredited)
- Saddle Legion as Henchman Hooker
- Hot Lead as Stoney Dawson
- Overland Telegraph as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
- Pistol Harvest as Andy Baylor
- Cyclone Fury as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
- Gunplay as Henchman Winslow
1950
- The Gene Autry Show as Henchman Cody
- The Cisco Kid as Judd Storme
- The Desert Hawk as Camel Driver
- Outcasts of Black Mesa as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Mule Train as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
- Frontier Outpost as Krag Benson
- Across the Badlands as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Flaming Fury
- Laramie as Cronin (uncredited)
- The Wyoming Bandit as Sam
- The Blonde Bandit as Police Det. Walker
- Coyote Canyon as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
1948
- Daredevils of the Clouds as Joe
- Homicide for Three as Policeman
- Carson City Raiders as Ed Noble
1947
- Buck Privates Come Home as GI Buddy (uncredited)
- Twilight on the Rio Grande as Henchman
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Burglar
- Law of the Canyon as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
- Web of Danger as Station Wagon Driver
- Blackmail as Policeman
1946
- The Catman of Paris as The Catman (uncredited)
- White Tie and Tails as Starter (uncredited)
- Badman's Territory as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
- The Inner Circle as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
- Passkey to Danger as Police Sergeant
- Rendezvous with Annie as MP (uncredited)
- Traffic in Crime as Hogan's Driver
1945
- Trail of Kit Carson as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
- Sunset in El Dorado as Curley Roberts
- Rough Riders of Cheyenne as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Cab Driver
- Bandits of the Badlands as Keller
- Hitchhike to Happiness as Stage Hand (uncredited)
- Corpus Christi Bandits as Henchman Steve
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Rawhide
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman (uncredited)
- Sheriff of Cimarron as Henchman Dobie
1944
- The Fighting Seabees as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
- Cowboy and the Senorita as Townsman (uncredited)
- Call of the Rockies as Deputy Jim
- Faces in the Fog as Photographer
- Code of the Prairie
- Vigilantes of Dodge City as Bill
- San Antonio Kid as Henchman
- Hidden Valley Outlaws as Rancher (uncredited)
- Sheriff of Sundown as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
- Bordertown Trail as Henchman
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
- That Man's Here Again as (uncredited)
- San Quentin as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)