Robert J. Wilke

Actor

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. -

Personal Info

Occupation Actor

Place of Birth Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Birthday 1914-05-18

Featured Crew Taste

Filmography by Year

1988

1981

1979

1978

1973

1971

1970

1969

1967

1966

1965

1964

1963

1961

1960

1959

1958

1957

1956

1955

1954

1953

1952

1951

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1945

1944

1943

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1940

1939

1937