Robert Dudley (September 13, 1869 – September 15, 1955) was a dentist turned film
character actor
A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
who, in his 35-year career, appeared in more than 115 films.
Career
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 film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
s 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
Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director.
He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...
The Lady Eve
''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.Sullivan's Travels'', '' The Palm Beach Story'', ''
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' is a 1944 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall. Brian Donlevy and A ...
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'' is a 1947 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd (in his final film appearance), and featuring a supporting cast including female protagonis ...
'' His most distinctive and memorable role for Sturges was the Wienie King in 1942's '' The Palm Beach Story'', the rich man with a big hat who spontaneously bankrolls
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...
and
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...
on their escapade.
Personal life and death
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
''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Harmon Jones and written by Lamar Trotti, based on a story by Paddy Chayefsky. It stars Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, David Wayne, and Jean Peters, and features Marilyn Mo ...
'' in 1951 and died on September 15, 1955, in San Clemente, California.
Nobody's Bride
''Nobody's Bride'' is a 1923 American crime film directed by Herbert Blaché and written by Albert Kenyon. The film stars Herbert Rawlinson, Edna Murphy, Alice Lake, Harry von Meter, Frank Brownlee and Sidney Bracey. The film was released on ...
The Day of Faith
''The Day of Faith'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Tod Browning starring Eleanor Boardman, Tyrone Power Sr., and Raymond Griffith.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review, Jane Maynard opens a mission in the ...
'' (1923) - Morris
* ''
The Extra Girl
''The Extra Girl'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by F. Richard Jones and starring Mabel Normand.
On the Stroke of Three
''On the Stroke of Three'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by F. Harmon Weight and starring Kenneth Harlan, Madge Bellamy, and Mary Carr.
Plot
As described in a review in a film magazine, Lafayette Jordan (Davis), financier, pla ...
The Last Edition
The Last Edition is a 1925 American silent film, silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. Film Booking Offices of America, FBO released the film in November 1925. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis (actor), Ralph Lewis as a Print ...
'' (1925) - Yes Man (uncredited)
* '' A Woman of the World'' (1925) - French-Speaking Party Guest (uncredited)
* '' For Heaven's Sake'' (1926) - Harold's Secretary (uncredited)
* '' The Marriage Clause'' (1926) - Secretary
* ''
Casey at the Bat
Casey may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Casey Station
* Casey Range
Australia
* Casey, Australian Capital Territory
* City of Casey, Melbourne
* Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives
Canada
* Casey, Ontari ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
'' (1929) - Store Proprietor (uncredited)
* '' Shanghai Rose'' (1929) - Reformer
* '' Burning Up'' (1930) - Sheriff (uncredited)
* '' Wide Open'' (1930) - Office Worker
* '' Dames Ahoy!'' (1930) - Parson (uncredited)
* '' The Sins of the Children'' (1930) - Harry - Inventory Recorder (uncredited)
* ''
Conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
'' (1930) - Mr. Christopher (uncredited)
* ''
Scandal Sheet
Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism, which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as a half broadsheet. The size became associated with sensationalism, an ...
'' (1931) - Flint's Secretary (uncredited)
* ''
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
An American Tragedy
''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later, abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906, and the tria ...
Face in the Sky
''Face in the Sky'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Stuart Erwin. The film was directed by Harry Lachman and released by Fox Film.
Plot
Two sign painters find themselves blackmailed by a beautiful woman dete ...
'' (1933) - Minister (uncredited)
* '' Midnight Mary'' (1933) - Mannering's Night Watchman (uncredited)
* '' Wild Gold'' (1934) - Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
* '' The Gilded Lily'' (1935) - Store Clerk (uncredited)
* ''
Goin' to Town
''Goin' To Town'' is a 1935 musical film, musical comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and written by Mae West. The film stars Mae West, Paul Cavanagh, Gilbert Emery, Marjorie Gateson, Tito Coral, and Ivan Lebedeff. The film was released on Ap ...
'' (1935) - Deputy (uncredited)
* ''
Front Page Woman
''Front Page Woman'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Laird Doyle, Lillie Hayward and Roy Chanslor based on the novel ''Women Are Bum Newspapermen'' by Richard Macauley.
Plot
Ellen Garfield refuses ...
The Toast of New York
''The Toast of New York'' is a 1937 American biographical film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, and Jack Oakie. The film is a fictionalized account of the lives of financiers James Fisk and ...
Springtime in the Rockies
''Springtime in the Rockies'' is an American Technicolor musical comedy film released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1942. It stars Betty Grable, with support from John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Evere ...
'' (1937) - Barn Dance Emcee (uncredited)
* '' The Four Feathers'' (1939) - Farmer (uncredited)
* ''
Zenobia
Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...
'' (1939) (UK: ''Elephants Never Forget'') - Court Clerk
* '' A Woman Is the Judge'' (1939) - Prosecutor (uncredited)
* ''
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a naive, newly appointed United ...
'' (1939) - Reporter (uncredited)
* '' The Amazing Mr. Williams'' (1939) - Citizens Committee Man (uncredited)
* ''
The House of the Seven Gables
''The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance'' is a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England fam ...
'' (1940) - Jury Foreman (uncredited)
* ''
Haunted House
A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...
'' (1940) - Hank Edwards (uncredited)
* ''
When the Daltons Rode
''When the Daltons Rode'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by George Marshall and starring Randolph Scott, Kay Francis and Brian Donlevy. Based on the 1931 book of the same name by Emmett Dalton, a member of the Dalton Gang, and Jack J ...
'' (1940) - Pete Norris - Juror (uncredited)
* '' Lucky Partners'' (1940) - Bailiff (uncredited)
* '' Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940) - Postman (uncredited)
* ''
The Lady Eve
''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...
'' (1941) - Photographer (uncredited)
* ''
The Devil and Daniel Webster
"The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by a fictionalized Daniel Webster, a noted 19th-century A ...
'' (1941) - Lem (uncredited)
* ''
Skylark
''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially ...
Syncopation
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...
'' (1942) - Bartender (uncredited)
* '' The Palm Beach Story'' (1942) - Wienie King
* ''Campeão da Liberdade'' (1942) - Man in Shop (uncredited)
* '' The Ghost and the Guest'' (1943) - Ben Bowron
* '' Follow the Band'' (1943) - Seth Cathcart (uncredited)
* '' Honeymoon Lodge'' (1943) - Elderly Man (uncredited)
* '' Son of Dracula'' (1943) - Jonathan Kirby, Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
* '' Happy Land'' (1943) - Old Man Bowers (uncredited)
* ''
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' is a 1944 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall. Brian Donlevy and A ...
'' (1944) - Man (uncredited)
* '' It Happened Tomorrow'' (1944) - A. Seemer (uncredited)
* '' Sensations of 1945'' (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* '' The Great Moment'' (1944) - Charles - Morton's Cashier (uncredited)
* '' Casanova Brown'' (1944) - Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
* '' The Doughgirls'' (1944) - Waiter with Fruit Bowl (uncredited)
* '' The Big Noise'' (1944) - Grandpa (uncredited)
* '' Nothing but Trouble'' (1944) - Old Man (uncredited)
* '' Music for Millions'' (1944) - Rafferty - Postman (uncredited)
* '' Belle of the Yukon'' (1944) - Storekeeper (uncredited)
* '' I'll Be Seeing You'' (1944) - Pine Hills YMCA Hotel Attendant (uncredited)
* ''
Lady on a Train
''Lady on a Train'' is a 1945 American crime comedy film noir directed by Charles David and starring Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, and David Bruce.
Based on a story by Leslie Charteris, the film is about a woman who witnesses a murder in a n ...
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
'' (1945) - The Telegrapher (uncredited)
* '' Colonel Effingham's Raid'' (1946) - Pete (uncredited)
* ''
Breakfast in Hollywood
:''for the 1946 film, see Breakfast in Hollywood (film).''
''Breakfast in Hollywood'' is a morning radio show created and hosted by Tom Breneman broadcast from 1941 to 1948 on three different radio networks: NBC, ABC and Mutual. These unscri ...
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'' is a 1947 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd (in his final film appearance), and featuring a supporting cast including female protagonis ...
'' (1947) - Robert McDuffy
* ''
Living in a Big Way
''Living in a Big Way'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film starring Gene Kelly, Marie McDonald as a couple who marry during World War II after only knowing each other a short time. This was director Gregory La Cava's final film.
Plot
Leo Go ...
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
'' (1947) - Robert (uncredited)
* ''
Mourning Becomes Electra
''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Ba ...
'' (1947) - Chemist (uncredited)
* ''
Sleep, My Love
''Sleep, My Love'' is a 1948 American Film noir, noir film directed by Douglas Sirk. It features Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. It has been called "a gaslighting thriller."
Plot
Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't ...
'' (1948) - Peeping Tom at The Maples (uncredited)
* '' Race Street'' (1948) - Pop - Watchman (uncredited)
* '' Strike It Rich'' (1948) - Pop - the Postmaster
* ''
Portrait of Jennie
''Portrait of Jennie'' (also released under the title ''Tidal Wave'') is a 1948 American supernatural film directed by William Dieterle, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, and Lillian ...
'' (1948) - Another Old Mariner (uncredited)
* '' Johnny Holiday'' (1949) - Bill Barnett, Old Shoemaker (uncredited)
* '' The Jackpot'' (1950) - Mr. Simpkins (uncredited)
* ''
As Young as You Feel
''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Harmon Jones and written by Lamar Trotti, based on a story by Paddy Chayefsky. It stars Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, David Wayne, and Jean Peters, and features Marilyn Mo ...
'' (1951) - Old Man on Park Bench (não creditado) (final film role)