Robert Dudley
84 movies
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Sep 12, 1889
- Died
- Nov 12, 1955 (age 66)
- Place of birth
- Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- Robert Y. Dudley
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Dudley (September 13, 1869 – September 15*, 1955) was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in more than 115 films.
Read the full biography
Dudley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was educated at Lake Forest College in Evanston, Illinois and Chicago, where he majored in oral surgery. In 1917 he appeared in his first film, Seven Keys to Baldpate, and then made three other silent films through 1921. After 1922 he worked consistently, appearing in three or four films a year, and making the transition to sound films in 1929 with The Bellamy Trial. Dudley often played characters with a quick temper, including jurors, shopkeepers, ticket agents, court clerks and justices of the peace, as well as an occasional farmer, hobo, or laborer. His performances in these small parts were frequently uncredited.
In the 1940s, Dudley was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges. His most distinctive and memorable role for Sturges was the "Wienie King" in 1942's The Palm Beach Story, the funny little self-made rich man with a big hat who spontaneously bankrolls Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea on their escapade.
The 5' 9" Dudley, who was the founder of the "Troupers Club of Hollywood", was married to Elaine Anderson, and they had two girls, Jewell and Patricia Lee.
He made his final film, As Young as You Feel, in 1951, and died in 1955 in San Clemente, California.
*[TMDb note: The California Death Index indicates that Mr. Dudley died on 12 November 1955. That date should therefore be considered accurate and official.]
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Robert Dudley: movies and TV shows
Acting (84)
- 1950 The Jackpot
as Simpkins (uncredited)
- 1948 Strike It Rich
as Pop
- 1948 Race Street
as Pop (Watchman) (uncredited)
- 1948 Sleep, My Love
as Bar Patron at The Maples
- 1947 Mourning Becomes Electra
as Chemist (uncredited)
- 1947 Christmas Eve
as Robert - Matilda's Chauffeur (uncredited)
- 1947 Magic Town
as Dickey
- 1947 Living in a Big Way
as Carpenter
- 1947 The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
as Robert McDuffy
- 1946 Singin' in the Corn
as Gramp McCoy
- 1946 San Quentin
as Fuller (uncredited)
- 1946 Gallant Journey
as Process Server (uncredited)
- 1945
- 1945
- 1945
- 1944 Belle of the Yukon
as Storekeeper (uncredited)
- 1944 The Doughgirls
as Hotel Waiter
- 1944 The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
as Man (uncredited)
- 1944 Casanova Brown
as Justice Of The Peace
- 1944 It Happened Tomorrow
as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
- 1944 Main Street Today
as Frank Hostetter (uncredited)
- 1943 Happy Land
as Old Man Bowers (uncredited)
- 1943 Son of Dracula
as Justice of the Peace Jonathan Kirby (uncredited)
- 1943 Honeymoon Lodge
as Elderly Man
- 1943 The Ghost and the Guest
as Ben Bowron
- 1942 The Palm Beach Story
as Wienie King
- 1941 All That Money Can Buy
as Lem (uncredited)
- 1941 Citizen Kane
as Photographer (uncredited)
- 1941 The Lady Eve
as Husband on Ship (uncredited)
- 1940 When the Daltons Rode
as Pete Norris - Juror
- 1940 Stranger on the Third Floor
as Postman (uncredited)
- 1940 Lucky Partners
as Bailiff (uncredited)
- 1940 Haunted House
as Hank Edwards
- 1940 The House of the Seven Gables
as Jury Foreman
- 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Reporter (uncredited)
- 1939 Yankee Doodle Goes to Town
as Shopkeeper (uncredited)
- 1939 Zenobia
as Court Clerk
- 1939 Almost a Gentleman
as Farmer
- 1937 The Toast of New York
as Janitor
- 1937 The Mighty Treve
as Rancher at Auction
- 1936 Fury
as Store Owner (uncredited)
- 1936 The Prisoner of Shark Island
as Druggist at Trial (uncredited)
- 1936 The Perfect Set-Up
as Theatre Employee Shooting Victim (uncredited)
- 1936 Paddy O'Day
as Robert - Chauffeur
- 1935 Frisco Kid
as Vigilante Leader (uncredited)
- 1935 3 Kids and a Queen
as Shopkeeper
- 1935 The Gilded Lily
as Store Clerk (uncredited)
- 1934 Wild Gold
as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
- 1933 Midnight Mary
as Mannering's Night Watchman (uncredited)
- 1933 Face in the Sky
as Minister (uncredited)
- 1932 Three Wise Girls
as Lem - the Druggist
- 1932
- 1931 An American Tragedy
as Juror (uncredited)
- 1931 Scandal Sheet
as Flint's Secretary
- 1930 Conspiracy
as Mr. Christopher (uncredited)
- 1930 Dames Ahoy
as Parson
- 1930 Wide Open
as Office Worker
- 1930 Burning Up
as Sheriff
- 1929 Dynamite
as Store Proprietor
- 1929 Big News
as Telegraph Editor
- 1929 Shanghai Rose
as Reformer
- 1928 Fools for Luck
as Jim Simpson
- 1928 Skinner's Big Idea
as Gibbs
- 1928 The Night Flyer
as Freddy
- 1927 Broadway Madness
as Thomas
- 1927 After Midnight
as Sugar Daddy (uncredited)
- 1927 Casey at the Bat
as Farmer (uncredited)
- 1926 The Marriage Clause
as Secretary
- 1926 For Heaven's Sake
as Harold's Secretary (uncredited)
- 1925 A Woman of the World
as French-speaking party guest
- 1925 The Last Edition
as Yes Man
- 1925 Kentucky Pride
as Preacher (uncredited)
- 1924 On the Stroke of Three
as Jasper Saddler
- 1923 The Extra Girl
as Financier
- 1923 Sixty Cents an Hour
as Storekeeper
- 1923 The Tiger's Claw
as Army Officer
- 1923 Nobody's Bride
as Uncle Peter Standish
- 1922 Making a Man
as Bailey
- 1922 The Ninety and Nine
as Abner Blake
- 1921 One a Minute
as Rogers' Attorney (uncredited)
- 1921 Traveling Salesman
as Pierce Gill
- 1920 The Fourteenth Man
as Tidmarsh
- 1918 Out of a Clear Sky
as Father
- 1917 Seven Keys to Baldpate
as Clerk