Robert J. Wilke
Born May 18, 1914 (Age: 111)
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
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. -
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. -
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Filmography
Stripes
1981
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as Gen. Barnicke
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Age: 67
Days of Heaven
1978
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as The Farm Foreman
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Age: 64
The Desperate Mission
1969
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as Gant
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Age: 55
The Hallelujah Trail
1965
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as Chief Five Barrels
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Age: 51
The Long Rope
1961
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as Ben Matthews
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Age: 46
Spartacus
1960
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as Guard captain
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Age: 46
The Magnificent Seven
1960
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as Wallace
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Age: 46
Never Steal Anything Small
1959
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as Lennie
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Age: 44
Written on the Wind
1956
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as Dan Willis
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Age: 42
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
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as First Mate of the Nautilus
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Age: 40
From Here to Eternity
1953
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as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
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Age: 39
Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
1941
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as Cutter Helmsman
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Age: 27
Sierra Sue
1941
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as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
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Age: 27