Frederick Roger Imhof (August 15, 1875 – April 15, 1958) was an American film actor,
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
,
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
and
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
performer, sketch writer, and songwriter.
Early years
Imhof was born in
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...
, on April 15, 1875, to Nicholas Imhoff, from Switzerland, and Susan McCluen Imhoff, from Ireland.
Career
Imhof began his career as a clown with the Mills Orton Circus, and as an "Irish" comedian. He "toured in vaudeville and burlesque between 1895 and 1930." By 1897, he was "teamed with Charles Osborne in a comedy contortion and burlesque acrobatics act." Around this time, he dropped an "f" from his last name.
In the 1902–1903 season, he first worked with longtime vaudeville partner Hugh Conn, an association that lasted into the 1920s or possibly 1930s. Marcel Corinne (18881977), sometimes spelled Coreene, joined the act sometime in the 1910s. She and Imhof married in 1913. The trio of Imhof, Conn and Corinne toured in two comic sketches, "The Pest House" and "Surgeon Louder, U.S.A.", the latter "a military comedy" Imhof had written. "The Pest House" was "the most popular and longest running of several sketches starring the portly pair Roger Imhof and Marcel Corinne". According to an October 1920 edition of the ''Oregon Daily Journal'', the sketch involved Imhof playing an Irish peddler who spends a mishap-filled night at an inn. In 1923, he appeared in the Broadway play ''Jack and Jill''.
He reportedly invested in Chicago and Los Angeles real estate, but lost most of his money in the stock market and during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.
He became involved early on in the nascent
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
film industry, apparently "as a presenter, promoter, or agent". As an actor, he appeared in films from 1932 to 1944, including ''
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'' (1936), ''
Drums Along the Mohawk
''Drums Along the Mohawk'' is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film stars Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, and direct ...
'' (1939), ''
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' (1940) and '' This Gun for Hire'' (1942).
Of the songs he composed, eleven are extant, including the 1906 "Old Broadway".
Imhof died on April 15, 1958, and was buried in
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery located at 10621 Victory Boulevard, straddling the border between the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood and Burbank, California.
The cemetery's East entrance features the Portal of the Fo ...
.
Papers
Collections of his papers and other material are held by the
Green Library
The Cecil H. Green Library (commonly known as Green Library) is the main library on the Stanford University campus and is part of the SUL system. It is named for Cecil H. Green.
Green Library houses 4 million volumes, most of which are relat ...
br>(Special Collections M0611) Department of Special Collections, Stanford University, and the Spencer Research Librar (MS 121) University of Kansas.
Under Pressure
"Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's tenth studio album ''Hot Space'' (1982). The song reached number one on the U ...
George White's 1935 Scandals
''George White's 1935 Scandals'' is an American musical film, written by Jack Yellen, directed by George White and Harry Lachman, and produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation. It was a follow-up to (but not a sequel to) the 1934 release, ' ...
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
'' (1936) - Alaska
*''
A Son Comes Home
''A Son Comes Home'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by E.A. Dupont and starring Mary Boland, Julie Haydon and Donald Woods (actor), Donald Woods. It was one of three films made by Dupont for Paramount Pictures.St. Pierre p.23
Plot
Cast
* ...
'' (1936) - Detective Kennedy
* '' In His Steps'' (1936) - Adams
*'' North of Nome'' (1936) - Judge Bridle
*''
Red Lights Ahead
''Red Lights Ahead'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Roland D. Reed and starring Andy Clyde, Lucile Gleason and Roger Imhof. It was the last film released by the Poverty Row studio Chesterfield Pictures before it became part of Republi ...
'' (1936) - Pa Wallace
*''
Girl Loves Boy
''Girl Loves Boy'' is a 1937 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by W. Duncan Mansfield and written by W. Duncan Mansfield and Carroll Graham. The film stars Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, Roger Imhof, Dorothy Peterson, Pedro ...
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885.
Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...
Drums Along the Mohawk
''Drums Along the Mohawk'' is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film stars Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, and direct ...
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' (1940) - Mr. Thomas
*'' Little Old New York'' (1940) - John Jacob Astor
*''
I Was an Adventuress
''I Was an Adventuress'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim, and Peter Lorre. An actress/ballerina works as decoy for two international con artists.
Plot
Countess Ta ...
'' (1940) - Henrich Von Korgen
*'' The Way of All Flesh'' (1940) - Franz Henzel
*'' Lady with Red Hair'' (1940) - Pat - the Lamplighter (uncredited)
*''
Victory
The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...