Personal Info
Birth date
1914-05-18 (111 Years)
Day of death
1989-03-28
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Also known as
Bob Wilke
Robert Wilke
Robert Joseph Wilke
Robert J. Wilke
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
Perry Mason
7.7
Overview:
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.Maverick
6.8
Overview:
The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than messing up their fine clothing with actual work. Sly and clever, none of the Mavericks are much for acts of derring do, but they can be courageous when the situation calls for it. Most often, however, they live by their wits and considerable charm.Bonanza
7.5
Overview:
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.The Rifleman
7
Overview:
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.Dallas
6.8
Overview:
The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.The Fugitive
7.2
Overview:
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.Four Star Playhouse
6.7
Overview:
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.Wagon Train
6.4
Overview:
The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.The Virginian
6.3
Overview:
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.Cheyenne
5.8
Overview:
Cheyenne Bodie was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero. CHEYENNE is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.Have Gun, Will Travel
7.4
Overview:
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.Lassie
6.1
Overview:
Lassie is the pet of Jeff Miller, an 11-year-old farm boy. The two become best friends and enjoy family adventures in the American countryside, teaching each other about love, nature and commitment.Wanted: Dead or Alive
6.8
Overview:
Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television. The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.Rawhide
7.1
Overview:
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.The Lucy Show
7
Overview:
The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.The Wild Wild West
7.5
Overview:
The Wild Wild West is an American television series. Developed at a time when the television western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over all or part of the United States. The show also featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Verne-esque style technology have inspired some to give the show credit for the origins of the steam punk subculture.Zorro
7.481
Overview:
Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.The Untouchables
7.8
Overview:
Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in 1930s Chicago.Starsky & Hutch
7.2
Overview:
Streetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.Daniel Boone
6.9
Overview:
Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.Lawman
5.6
Overview:
Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.My Three Sons
6.4
Overview:
A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and later the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.The Lone Ranger
6.7
Overview:
The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".Gunsmoke
6.59
Overview:
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.77 Sunset Strip
6.7
Overview:
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.The Tall Man
6.3
Overview:
The Tall Man is a half-hour American western television series about Sheriff Pat Garrett and the gunfighter Billy the Kid that aired seventy-five episodes on NBC from 1960 to 1962, filmed by Revue Productions.Peter Gunn
6.5
Overview:
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and featuring Henry Mancini music that could tell you the action with your eyes closed, Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and simply as Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a calm cool way.Bat Masterson
6.1
Overview:
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black-and-white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions, the company responsible for such hit series as Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol.Acting
1987James Stewart: A Wonderful Life as Self (archive footage)
1981Stripes as Gen. Barnicke
1979The Sweet Creek County War as Unknown
1978Days of Heaven as The Farm Foreman
1978Dallas (1 Episode) as Tom Owens
1978Wild and Wooly as Demas Scott
1977How the West Was Won (1 Episode) as Appleton
1975Starsky & Hutch (1 Episode) as Mac Johnson
1974Run, Joe, Run (1 Episode) as Unknown
1973Santee as Deaks (as Robert Wilke
1973The Boy Who Cried Werewolf as The Sheriff
1972Kung Fu (1 Episode) as Sgt. Bridger
1972The Rookies as Officer Shaw
1971They Call It Murder as Sheriff Rex Brandon
1971The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler as Hugh Fielding
1971A Gunfight as Marshal Tom Cater
1970The Cheyenne Social Club as Corey Bannister
1969The Desperate Mission as Gant
1968Lancer (1 Episode) as Unknown
1968The Outcasts (1 Episode) as Unknown
1967Tony Rome as Ralph Turpin
1967The Guns of Will Sonnett (1, 1 Episode) as Sheriff Dan Butler, Tom Judd
1967Cimarron Strip (2 Episodes) as Unknown
1967Rango (1 Episode) as Unknown
1966Tarzan (3 Episodes) as Spooner
1966The Monroes (1 Episode) as Unknown
1966The Magnificent Stranger as Sheriff McVey
1966Smoky as Jeff Nicks
1965The Wild Wild West (1 Episode) as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
1965The Legend of Jesse James (34 Episodes) as Marshal Sam Corbett
1965The Hallelujah Trail as Chief Five Barrels
1964Fate Is the Hunter as Stillman
1964Daniel Boone (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Toff, Jake Manning, Fryman
1964Shock Treatment as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
1963The Greatest Show on Earth (1 Episode) as Lou Sirotta
1963The Fugitive (1 Episode) as Johnny
1963The Gun Hawk as Johnny Flanders
1963The Dakotas (1 Episode) as Unknown
1962The Lucy Show (1 Episode) as Tom Carter
1962The Virginian (1, 1 Episode) as Conrad, Colton
1962Sam Benedict (2 Episodes) as Lt. Mike Radich
1962The Beachcomber (1, 1 Episode) as Bill Winters, Jason Despol
1961Target: The Corruptors! (1 Episode) as Unknown
1961The Long Rope as Ben Matthews
1960Spartacus as Guard captain
1960The Magnificent Seven as Wallace
1960Stagecoach West (1 Episode) as Taylor Norman
1960The Westerner (1 Episode) as Murdo
1960My Three Sons (1 Episode) as Danny Donnigan
1960Outlaws (1 Episode) as Unknown
1960The Tall Man (1 Episode) as Marshal Ben Hartley
1960The Slowest Gun in the West as Billy the Kid Blake
1959The Untouchables (2, 1 Episode) as George 'Bugs' Moran, Dutch Schultz
1959Bourbon Street Beat (2 Episodes) as Unknown
1959Adventures in Paradise (1 Episode) as Riker
1959The Third Man (1 Episode) as Vince Gabriel
1959Law of the Plainsman (1 Episode) as Amos Cameron
1959Wichita Town (1 Episode) as Unknown
1959Laramie (1 Episode) as Unknown
1959Riverboat (1, 1 Episode) as Bolesy, Red Dog Hanlon
1959Bonanza (1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Charlie Sheppard, Al Simmons, Sheriff Claude T. Booker, Brazos, Marshal Hollister
1959The Deputy (1 Episode) as Ace Gentry
1959Never Steal Anything Small as Lennie
1959Rawhide (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Sheriff McVey, Tom Galt, Lafe Thomas
195877 Sunset Strip (1 Episode) as Vern Reece
1958Bat Masterson (1, 1 Episode) as Bull Kirby, Rod Clements
1958Lawman (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Marshal Tom Haddon, Fallon - Bounty Hunter, Lal Hoard
1958The Rifleman (1, 1 Episode) as Flory Sheltin, Ward Haskins
1958The Texan (1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Marshal Bart Pennock, Sheriff Tip Latta, Pete Torrey, Asa Kirby
1958Bronco (1 Episode) as Unknown
1958Peter Gunn (1 Episode) as Unknown
1958Wanted: Dead or Alive (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Virgil, Jack Radovitch, Ben Hooker
1958Man of the West as Ponch
1958Return to Warbow as Red
1957The Tarnished Angels as Hank
1957Tombstone Territory (1, 1 Episode) as Burt Foster, Jess Caulfield
1957Zorro (4 Episodes) as Capt. Salvador Mendoza
1957The Walter Winchell File (1 Episode) as Fisher
1957Maverick (1, 1 Episode) as McCabe, Diamond Dan Malone
1957Perry Mason (1 Episode) as Deputy Sheriff Connors
1957The Thin Man (1 Episode) as Unknown
1957Wagon Train (1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Sgt. Wick, Wesley Thomas, Col. Thomas Stone, Jabez Moore
1957Have Gun, Will Travel (1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Will Tybee, Casey Bryan, Walt DeVries, Trail Boss Rook, Maj. Blake
1957Night Passage as Concho
1957Hot Summer Night as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
1956Gun the Man Down as Matt Rankin
1956Written on the Wind as Dan Willis
1956The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1 Episode) as Unknown
1956Canyon River as Joe Graycoe
1956The Rawhide Years as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
1956Raw Edge as Sile Doty
1956Backlash as Jeff Welker
1956The Lone Ranger as Cassidy
1955Screen Director's Playhouse (1 Episode) as Zecca
1955Cheyenne (1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Bob Manson, Jed Begert, Kelso Prather, Ben Creed, Carl Banner
1955Gunsmoke (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Hickock, Pegger, Tom, Pitt, Ab Rankin, Kelby, Luke Cumberledge
1955Wichita as Ben Thompson
1955Shotgun as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
1955Strange Lady in Town as Karg
1955Smoke Signal as Daly
195420,000 Leagues Under the Sea as First Mate of the Nautilus
1954The Wonderful World of Disney (2, 2 Episode) as Jed - Outlaw, Ben Tilton
1954Lassie (1 Episode) as Mr. Corey
1954Two Guns and a Badge as Moore - Outlaw
1954The Lone Gun as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
1954The Far Country as Madden
1953War Paint as Trooper Grady
1953From Here to Eternity as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
1953Arrowhead as Sgt. Stone
1953Cow Country as Sledge
1952The Maverick as Massey
1952The Abbott and Costello Show (1 Episode) as Mike Brodie
1952Wyoming Roundup as Wyatt - Henchman
1952Cavalcade of America (1 Episode) as Unknown
1952Four Star Playhouse (1, 1 Episode) as George, Ben Crane
1952Adventures of Superman (1 Episode) as Bingham
1952Fargo as Link - Henchman
1952Cattle Town as Keeno
1952Hellgate as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
1952High Noon as Jim Pierce
1952Road Agent as Slab Babcock
1952The Las Vegas Story as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
1951Overland Telegraph as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1, 3, 1 Episode) as Red Fischer, Unknown, Whitey
1951Hot Lead as Stoney Dawson (as Robert Wilke)
1951Boston Blackie (1 Episode) as Edgar
1951Pistol Harvest as Andy Baylor
1951Cyclone Fury as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
1951Best of the Badmen as Jim Younger
1951Gunplay as Henchman Winslow
1951Saddle Legion as Henchman Hooker
1951Vengeance Valley as Cowhand (uncredited)
1950Frontier Outpost as Krag Benson
1950Across the Badlands as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
1950The Cisco Kid (1, 1, 1 Episode) as Henchman Vic, Barney, Judd Storme
1950The Desert Hawk as Camel Driver
1950The Gene Autry Show (1, 1, 1, 1 Episode) as Henchman Cody, Charlie Bolton, Monte - Henchman, Henchman in Plaid Shirt
1950Outcasts of Black Mesa as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
1950Mule Train as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
1949The Blonde Bandit as Police Det. Walker
1949Coyote Canyon as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
1949The Lone Ranger (1 Episode) as Henchman (uncredited)
1949Flaming Fury as Unknown
1949The Wyoming Bandit as Sam
1949Laramie as Cronin (uncredited)
1948Homicide for Three as Policeman
1948Daredevils of the Clouds as Joe
1948Carson City Raiders as Ed Noble
1947The Ghost Goes Wild as Burglar
1947Blackmail as Policeman
1947Web of Danger as Station Wagon Driver
1947Law of the Canyon as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
1947Buck Privates Come Home as GI Buddy (uncredited)
1947Twilight on the Rio Grande as Henchman
1946White Tie and Tails as Starter (uncredited)
1946The Inner Circle as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
1946Rendezvous with Annie as MP (uncredited)
1946Traffic in Crime as Hogan's Driver
1946Passkey to Danger as Police Sergeant
1946Badman's Territory as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
1946The Catman of Paris as The Catman (uncredited)
1945Rough Riders of Cheyenne as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
1945Sunset in El Dorado as Curley Roberts
1945Bandits of the Badlands as Keller
1945Hitchhike to Happiness as Stage Hand (uncredited)
1945Trail of Kit Carson as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
1945Santa Fe Saddlemates as Rawhide
1945Corpus Christi Bandits as Henchman Steve
1945Earl Carroll Vanities as Cab Driver
1945Sheriff of Cimarron as Henchman Dobie
1944Faces in the Fog as Photographer
1944Vigilantes of Dodge City as Bill
1944Sheriff of Sundown as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
1944Code of the Prairie as Unknown
1944San Antonio Kid as Henchman
1944Bordertown Trail as Henchman
1944Call of the Rockies as Deputy Jim
1944Cowboy and the Senorita as Townsman (uncredited)
1944Hidden Valley Outlaws as Rancher (uncredited)
1944The Fighting Seabees as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
1943Whispering Footsteps as Bank Customer
1941Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. as Cutter Helmsman
1941Sierra Sue as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
1940Adventures of Red Ryder as Henchman
1940Grand Ole Opry as Hillbilly (uncredited)
1940In Old Missouri as Hillbilly
1939In Old Monterey as Man on Wagon
1939Daredevils of the Red Circle as G-Man
1939S.O.S Tidal Wave as Man in TV Studio
1939Star Reporter as Reporter
1938The Fighting Devil Dogs as Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
1937San Quentin as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
1937That Man's Here Again as (uncredited)