Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
September 23, 1886
Place of Birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Social Media
James Burke
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap.
In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer.
Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) |
| 1959 | Alias Jesse James | Charlie (uncredited) |
| 1957 | Public Pigeon No. 1 | Harrigan |
| 1957 | The Unholy Wife | Sheriff Tom Watling |
| 1954 | Lucky Me | Mahoney |
| 1952 | We're Not Married! | Willie's Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1952 | Toughest Man in Arizona | |
| 1952 | Lone Star | Luther Kilgore |
| 1952 | Denver and Rio Grande | Sheriff Ed Johnson |
| 1951 | Warpath | Oldtimer |
| 1951 | The Last Outpost | Stagecoach driver (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Raton Pass | Hank |
| 1951 | His Kind of Woman | Barkeeper in Nogales (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Here Comes the Groom | O'Neill, Policeman |
| 1950 | Let's Dance | George (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Copper Canyon | Jeb Bassett |
| 1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | The Train Conductor |
| 1949 | Shamrock Hill | Michael Rogan |
| 1949 | Red, Hot and Blue | Doorman (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Alias Nick Beal | Bum |
| 1948 | The Big Clock | O'Brien |
| 1948 | Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1948 | June Bride | Luke Potter |
| 1948 | The Timber Trail | Jed Baker |
| 1948 | Beyond Glory | Jim, the Bartender (uncredited) |
| 1948 | Night Wind | Sheriff Hamilton |
| 1947 | Body and Soul | Arnold (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Philo Vance's Gamble | Lt. Burke |
| 1947 | Easy Come, Easy Go | Harry Weston |
| 1947 | Down to Earth | Detective Kelly |
| 1947 | The Gas House Kids in Hollywood | Police Lt. Burke |
| 1947 | California | Pokey |
| 1947 | Song of the Thin Man | Policeman Callahan (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Nightmare Alley | Rural Marshal (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Bowery Bombshell | Detective O'Malley |
| 1946 | Two Years Before the Mast | Carrick |
| 1946 | The Virginian | Andy Jones (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Young Widow | Motorcycle Cop (Uncredited) |
| 1945 | The Horn Blows at Midnight | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Anchors Aweigh | Studio Cop |
| 1945 | I Love a Bandleader | Charles Gibley |
| 1945 | Shady Lady | Crane |
| 1945 | How DOooo You Do | Detective |
| 1944 | Casanova Brown | O'Leary (uncredited) |
| 1944 | 3 Men in White | First Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Dixie | Riverboat Captain (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Bill, Intern Guard (uncredited) |
| 1943 | No Place for a Lady | Police Substation Chief Moriarty |
| 1943 | Riding High | Pete |
| 1942 | All Through the Night | Police Lt. Forbes |
| 1942 | A Close Call for Ellery Queen | Sgt. Velie |
| 1942 | A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen | Sgt. Velie |
| 1942 | Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen | Police Sergeant Velie |
| 1942 | A Night to Remember | Pat Murphy (uncredited) |
| 1942 | My Favorite Blonde | Union Secretary |
| 1942 | Army Surgeon | Brooklyn |
| 1942 | It Happened in Flatbush | Umpire Shaunnessy |
| 1941 | The Maltese Falcon | Luke |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring | Sgt. Velie |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime | Sgt. Velie |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | Sgt. Velie |
| 1941 | Million Dollar Baby | Callahan |
| 1941 | Reaching for the Sun | Norm |
| 1941 | Pot o' Gold | Lt. Grady |
| 1940 | Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise | Wilkie, house detective |
| 1940 | Ellery Queen, Master Detective | Sgt. Velle |
| 1940 | The Saint Takes Over | Patrolman Mike |
| 1940 | The Golden Fleecing | Sibley |
| 1940 | Buck Benny Rides Again | Taxi Driver |
| 1940 | Little Nellie Kelly | Sergeant McGowan |
| 1940 | No Time for Comedy | Police Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1940 | The Way of All Flesh | Frisco |
| 1940 | Double Alibi | Police Captain Orr |
| 1940 | Opened by Mistake | Police Sergeant Wilkins |
| 1939 | At the Circus | John Carter |
| 1939 | Beau Geste | Lieutenant Dufour |
| 1939 | The Saint Strikes Back | Headquarters Police Officer |
| 1939 | The Cisco Kid and the Lady | Pop Saunders |
| 1939 | On Borrowed Time | Sheriff Burlingame |
| 1939 | The Family Next Door | Policeman |
| 1939 | Within the Law | 'Red' |
| 1939 | Dodge City | Cattle Auctioneer (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Fast and Furious | Clancy |
| 1939 | Sudden Money | McPherson |
| 1939 | I'm from Missouri | Walt Bliss |
| 1938 | The Dawn Patrol | Flaherty - Motorcycle Driver |
| 1938 | Men with Wings | J.A. Nolan |
| 1938 | You Can't Take It with You | Chief Detective (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Joy of Living | Mac |
| 1938 | The Mad Miss Manton | Sullivan |
| 1938 | The Affairs of Annabel | Muldoon |
| 1938 | Flight Into Nowhere | Ike Matthews |
| 1938 | Little Orphan Annie | Mike Moriarty |
| 1937 | Dead End | Police Officer Mulligan |
| 1937 | The Perfect Specimen | Constable Snodgrass |
| 1937 | High, Wide and Handsome | Stackpole |
| 1937 | Champagne Waltz | Mr. Scribner |
| 1937 | Life Begins with Love | Darby McGraw |
| 1936 | 36 Hours to Kill | Doyle - Process Server |
| 1936 | Great Guy | Patrick James Aloysius 'Pat' Haley |
| 1936 | Dancing Feet | Phil Moore |
| 1936 | Laughing at Trouble | Bill Norton |
| 1936 | Song and Dance Man | Lt. Mike Boyle |
| 1936 | Klondike Annie | |
| 1936 | The Leathernecks Have Landed | Corrigan |
| 1936 | Rhythm on the Range | Wabash |
| 1936 | Can This Be Dixie? | Sheriff N.B.F. Rider |
| 1936 | Forgotten Faces | Sgt. Johnny Donovan / Harry's friend |
| 1935 | Welcome Home | Michael Shaughnessy |
| 1935 | Man on the Flying Trapeze | Patrolman |
| 1935 | Here Comes Cookie | Broken-Nose Reilly |
| 1935 | Dinky | Truck Driver |
| 1935 | So Red the Rose | Major Rushton |
| 1935 | Call of the Wild | Ole |
| 1935 | Hot Money | Police Sgt. Burke |
| 1935 | The Affair of Susan | Hogan |
| 1935 | The Mystery Man | Managing Editor Marvin |
| 1935 | Broadway Gondolier | Uncle Andy |
| 1935 | After the Dance | Police Lieutenant |
| 1935 | Music Is Magic | Mickey (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Make a Million | Pete |
| 1935 | Coronado | Slug Moran |
| 1935 | Ruggles of Red Gap | Jeff Tuttle |
| 1935 | Frisco Waterfront | Corrigan |
| 1935 | Case of the Missing Man | Police Sergeant Rorty |
| 1935 | Mississippi | Skeptical Passenger in Pilot House (uncredited) |
| 1935 | The Farmer Takes a Wife | Man Hauling Rifles and Bullets |
| 1934 | Such Women Are Dangerous | Detective |
| 1934 | Love Time | Emperor Francis I |
| 1934 | Little Miss Marker | Detective Reardon (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Six of a Kind | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Empress | |
| 1934 | Ticket to a Crime | Detective Lt. John Aloysius McGinnis |
| 1934 | Treasure Island | Pirate of the Spanish Main |
| 1934 | Lady by Choice | Brannigan |
| 1934 | A Very Honorable Guy | Sergeant |
| 1934 | City Limits | King, a Hobo |
| 1934 | Friends of Mr. Sweeney | Policeman Arresting Wynn |
| 1934 | It Happened One Night | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Gambling Lady | Detective Making Raid (uncredited) |
| 1934 | All of Me | Welfare Island Guard (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Twentieth Century | Sheriff (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Wharf Angel | Brooklyn Jack |
| 1934 | The Merry Frinks | 3rd Expressman (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Sadie McKee | Motorcycle Cop (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Bombshell | First Immigration Officer (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Lady Killer | |
| 1933 | College Humor | Cromwell Dexter |
| 1933 | To the Last Man | Kentucky Sheriff (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Face in the Sky | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Queen Christina | Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited) |
| 1933 | A Lady's Profession | Mulroy |
| 1933 | The Girl in 419 | Detective Jackson |
| 1933 | Torch Singer | Taxi Driver |
| 1933 | The Kennel Murder Case | Policeman Who Lets Dog Out (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Hollywood Handicap |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Policeman |
| 1958 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | |
| 1958 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Sheriff John Tatum |
| 1958 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Sheriff M. Comstock |
| 1958 | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Sheriff Blore |
| 1957 | Trackdown | |
| 1957 | The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour | Horse Handler (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Cheyenne | Buckshot |
| 1955 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | |
| 1954 | Lassie | |
| 1952 | My Little Margie | |
| 1951 | I Love Lucy | Mr. Watson |