Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
September 12, 1889
Place of Birth:
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Dudley (September 13, 1869 – September 15*, 1955) was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in more than 115 films.
Dudley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was educated at Lake Forest College in Evanston, Illinois and Chicago, where he majored in oral surgery. In 1917 he appeared in his first film, Seven Keys to Baldpate, and then made three other silent films through 1921. After 1922 he worked consistently, appearing in three or four films a year, and making the transition to sound films in 1929 with The Bellamy Trial. Dudley often played characters with a quick temper, including jurors, shopkeepers, ticket agents, court clerks and justices of the peace, as well as an occasional farmer, hobo, or laborer. His performances in these small parts were frequently uncredited.
In the 1940s, Dudley was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges. His most distinctive and memorable role for Sturges was the "Wienie King" in 1942's The Palm Beach Story, the funny little self-made rich man with a big hat who spontaneously bankrolls Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea on their escapade.
The 5' 9" Dudley, who was the founder of the "Troupers Club of Hollywood", was married to Elaine Anderson, and they had two girls, Jewell and Patricia Lee.
He made his final film, As Young as You Feel, in 1951, and died in 1955 in San Clemente, California.
*[TMDb note: The California Death Index indicates that Mr. Dudley died on 12 November 1955. That date should therefore be considered accurate and official.]
Year | Movie | Role |
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1950 | The Jackpot | Simpkins (uncredited) |
1948 | Sleep, My Love | Bar Patron at The Maples |
1948 | Race Street | Pop (Watchman) (uncredited) |
1948 | Strike It Rich | Pop |
1947 | The Sin of Harold Diddlebock | Robert McDuffy |
1947 | Magic Town | Dickey |
1947 | Christmas Eve | Robert - Matilda's Chauffeur (uncredited) |
1947 | Mourning Becomes Electra | Chemist (uncredited) |
1947 | Living in a Big Way | Carpenter |
1946 | San Quentin | Fuller (uncredited) |
1946 | Singin' in the Corn | Gramp McCoy |
1946 | Gallant Journey | Process Server (uncredited) |
1945 | San Antonio | |
1945 | Lady on a Train | |
1945 | The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry | |
1944 | The Doughgirls | Hotel Waiter |
1944 | Casanova Brown | Justice Of The Peace |
1944 | Belle of the Yukon | Storekeeper (uncredited) |
1944 | It Happened Tomorrow | Justice of the Peace (uncredited) |
1944 | Main Street Today | Frank Hostetter (uncredited) |
1944 | The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek | Man (uncredited) |
1943 | The Ghost and the Guest | Ben Bowron |
1943 | Son of Dracula | Justice of the Peace Jonathan Kirby (uncredited) |
1943 | Happy Land | Old Man Bowers (uncredited) |
1943 | Honeymoon Lodge | Elderly Man |
1942 | The Palm Beach Story | Wienie King |
1941 | All That Money Can Buy | Lem (uncredited) |
1941 | The Lady Eve | Husband on Ship (uncredited) |
1941 | Citizen Kane | Photographer (uncredited) |
1940 | When the Daltons Rode | Pete Norris - Juror |
1940 | The House of the Seven Gables | Jury Foreman |
1940 | Haunted House | Hank Edwards |
1940 | Stranger on the Third Floor | Postman (uncredited) |
1940 | Lucky Partners | Bailiff (uncredited) |
1939 | Zenobia | Court Clerk |
1939 | Almost a Gentleman | Farmer |
1939 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Reporter (uncredited) |
1939 | Yankee Doodle Goes to Town | Shopkeeper (uncredited) |
1937 | The Mighty Treve | Rancher at Auction |
1937 | The Toast of New York | Janitor |
1936 | The Perfect Set-Up | Theatre Employee Shooting Victim (uncredited) |
1936 | Paddy O'Day | Robert - Chauffeur |
1936 | Fury | Store Owner (uncredited) |
1936 | The Prisoner of Shark Island | Druggist at Trial |
1935 | Frisco Kid | Vigilante Leader (uncredited) |
1935 | 3 Kids and a Queen | Shopkeeper |
1935 | The Gilded Lily | Store Clerk (uncredited) |
1934 | Wild Gold | Hotel Clerk (uncredited) |
1933 | Midnight Mary | Mannering's Night Watchman (uncredited) |
1933 | Face in the Sky | Minister (uncredited) |
1932 | Broken Lullaby | |
1932 | Three Wise Girls | Lem - the Druggist |
1931 | Scandal Sheet | Flint's Secretary |
1931 | An American Tragedy | Juror (uncredited) |
1930 | Wide Open | Office Worker |
1930 | Dames Ahoy | Parson |
1930 | Conspiracy | Mr. Christopher (uncredited) |
1930 | Burning Up | Sheriff |
1929 | Shanghai Rose | Reformer |
1929 | Big News | Telegraph Editor |
1929 | Dynamite | Store Proprietor |
1928 | Fools for Luck | Jim Simpson |
1928 | The Night Flyer | Freddy |
1927 | Casey at the Bat | Farmer (uncredited) |
1926 | For Heaven's Sake | Harold's Secretary (uncredited) |
1926 | The Marriage Clause | Secretary |
1925 | The Last Edition | Yes Man |
1925 | A Woman of the World | French-speaking party guest |
1924 | On the Stroke of Three | Jasper Saddler |
1923 | The Extra Girl | Financier |
1923 | The Tiger's Claw | Army Officer |
1922 | Making a Man | Bailey |
1922 | The Ninety and Nine | Abner Blake |
1921 | Traveling Salesman | Pierce Gill |
1921 | One a Minute | Rogers' Attorney (uncredited) |
1920 | The Fourteenth Man | Tidmarsh |
1917 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | Clerk |
Year | TV Show | Role |
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