95 articles
Alan Hale Jr.
Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan Jr., 1921–1990) was an American character actor, son of actor Alan Hale Sr., best known as Skipper Jonas Grumby on Gilligan's Island (1964–67) and co-owner of the Lobster Barrel restaurant.
Alan Hale Sr.
Alan Hale Sr. (Rufus Edward Mackahan, 1892–1950) was an American character actor and director, Errol Flynn's frequent sidekick, who played Little John in Robin Hood (1922), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), father of Alan Hale Jr.
Andy Devine
Andy Devine (Andrew Vabre Devine, 1905-1977), American character actor with a famously raspy voice; played Jingles on Wild Bill Hickok, Buck in Stagecoach (1939), and Friar Tuck in Disney's Robin Hood; born in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Anne Gwynne
Anne Gwynne (Marguerite Gwynne Trice, 1918-2003), American actress and WWII pin-up, Universal Pictures scream queen of 1940s B horror films including Black Friday, Weird Woman, and House of Frankenstein.
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (1910–1979), Arkansas-born American character actor of bearded, grizzled rural roles; Oscar-nominated for The Big Sky (1952), played Davy Crockett, Butch Cassidy, and John Wayne's sidekick in El Dorado.
Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi (Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, 1882–1956), Hungarian-born actor famous as Broadway and film Dracula (1927, 1931); typecast into Poverty Row horror, Ed Wood collaborator, buried in a Dracula cape.
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben Johnson (1918-1996), American Western character actor, stuntman, and 1953 PRCA world champion team roper; won the 1971 Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Sam the Lion in The Last Picture Show.
Bill Quinn
Bill Quinn (William Tyrell Quinn, 1912–1994), American character actor from vaudeville and silent films to Star Trek V; known as Sweeney on The Rifleman and Mr. Van Ranseleer on All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place; father-in-law of Bob Newhart.
Billy Barty
Billy Barty (William John Bertanzetti, 1924–2000) was an American actor with cartilage-hair hypoplasia dwarfism, 3'9" tall, known for Willow, The Day of the Locust, and Foul Play, and founder of Little People of America (1957) and the Billy Barty Foundation (1975).
Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff, born William Henry Pratt and known as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor (1887–1969) who played the monster in Frankenstein (1931) and starred in The Mummy (1932).
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot (Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac, 1904–1972), American film actor best known as Jack Driscoll in King Kong (1933); villain roles in the 1930s, World War II Army Air Forces service, and 11 films with John Wayne.
Burt Mustin
Burt Mustin (Burton Hill Mustin) was an American character actor who began his screen career at age 67 in 1951, appearing in more than 150 films and 400 TV productions.
Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe, born Clarence Linden Crabbe, was an American Olympic swimmer and actor who won 1932 gold in the 400-meter freestyle and starred as Flash Gordon.
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford (Charles Ambrose Bickford), 1891 to 1967, was an American character actor nominated for Academy Awards for The Song of Bernadette, The Farmer's Daughter, and Johnny Belinda.
Charley Grapewin
Charley Grapewin (1869–1956), American character actor from Xenia, Ohio, former circus trapeze artist and vaudevillian; Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz, Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road.
Chill Wills
Chill Wills (Theodore Childress Wills, 1902-1978), American Western character actor and Avalon Boys singer; voice of Francis the Talking Mule 1950-1955; Oscar-nominated for The Alamo (1960).
Clara Blandick
Clara Blandick, born Clara Blanchard Dickey, was an American character actress of stage and screen whose five-decade career included Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Claude Akins
Claude Akins (1926-1994), American character actor of Westerns and war films; Joe Burdette in Rio Bravo, Sheriff Lobo in B.J. and the Bear; nearly 100 films, 180+ TV episodes.
Dabbs Greer
Dabbs Greer (Robert William Greer, 1917–2007), American character actor best known as Rev. Robert Alden on Little House on the Prairie and Mr. Jonas on Gunsmoke; played Old Paul Edgecomb in The Green Mile (1999).
Dan Duryea
Dan Duryea (1907-1968), American film, stage, and television actor; Broadway's Leo Hubbard in The Little Foxes; Hollywood's charming noir villain in Scarlet Street, Criss Cross, Too Late for Tears, and Winchester '73.
Dick Miller
Dick Miller (1928–2019), American character actor from the Bronx, a Roger Corman stock player (A Bucket of Blood, Little Shop of Horrors) later cast by Dante, Scorsese, and Cameron; subject of the 2014 documentary That Guy Dick Miller.
Dub Taylor
Dub Taylor (Walter Clarence Taylor, 1907-1994) was an American character actor, a Western-film fixture from You Can't Take It With You (1938) to Maverick (1994); distinct from the Berlin electronic producer Alex Krüger who uses the same moniker.
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan (William Edgar Buchanan, 1903–1979), American character actor and former dentist, known as Uncle Joe Carson in Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies and for over 100 films.
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton (1886-1970), American character actor of stage, silent and sound film, radio, and TV; known for Astaire-Rogers musicals, Fractured Fairy Tales narration, and F Troop's Roaring Chicken.
Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American stage, film, and television character actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and was known particularly for villainous.
Eve Meyer
Eve Meyer (Eve Turner, 1928–1977), American model, actress, and film producer; one of the first Playboy Playmates, second wife and muse of filmmaker Russ Meyer, namesake of Eve Productions.
Faith Domergue
Faith Domergue (1924-1999), American actress discovered by Howard Hughes, known for 1950s sci-fi and horror films This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, and Cult of the Cobra.
Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen, born Francis Charles Ruf, was an American character actor known as the male nurse in The Lost Weekend (1945) and the cabdriver Ernie in It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Frank McGrath (actor)
Frank McGrath (Benjamin Franklin McGrath, 1903-1967) was an American character actor and stuntman from Mound City, Missouri, known as cook Charlie Wooster on Wagon Train (1957-1965) and as Warner Baxter's stunt double.
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan (Francis Philip Wuppermann, 1890–1949), American character actor, played five roles including the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz (1939); MGM contract player, two Oscar nominations, radio star.