Robert J. Wilke
 |
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| Robert J. Wilke | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1914 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Died | March 28, 1989 (aged 74) Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film actor |
Robert J. Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was a prolific American film actor noted primarily for his villainous roles, mainly in westerns.
Wilke started as a stuntman in the 1930s and his first appearance on screen was in San Francisco (1936). He soon began to acquire regular character parts, mainly as a heavy, and made his mark when, along with Lee Van Cleef and Sheb Wooley, he played one of the "three men waiting at the station" in High Noon (1952).
He became a prominent western "bad guy" after this but unfortunately he was one of those actors who fall into the "man with no name" category. His face was instantly recognisable but few cinemagoers actually knew his name. Unlike Van Cleef, Wilke never got the "big break". Wilke appeared seven times each on the NBC western Laramie and the CBS's Gunsmoke.
He also starred five times on Bonanza, four times on Wagon Train and Death Valley Days, three times on Clint Eastwood's Rawhide, Duncan Renaldo's The Cisco Kid, Pat Conway's Tombstone Territory, and Fess Parker's Daniel Boone, twice on The Virginian, Cimarron Strip, and The Guns of Will Sonnett, and once on Andrew Duggan's Lancer, Robert Conrad's The Wild Wild West, and the ABC family western The Monroes. He appeared as a dishonest fight promoter in the 1958 episode "The Fighter" of NBC's Bat Masterson, having engaged in fisticuffs with Gene Barry, who played Masterson.
In the 1965-1966 television season, Wilke played a lawman, Marshal Sam Corbett, in the 34-episode western series The Legend of Jesse James, who in vain tried to capture the outlaws Jesse James and his brother Frank James. Ann Doran co-starred as the Jameses mother, Zerelda James Samuel. In 1960, Wilke had portrayed Jesse James associate Cole Younger in the short-lived NBC western series Overland Trail with William Bendix and Doug McClure.
Outside of westerns, Wilke appeared in such films as From Here to Eternity (1953) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), in which he was the first mate of the "Nautilus".
He had a good role as a hitman in The Far Country (1954) and continued to work steadily in films and TV over the next twenty years. More western credits followed in Man of the West (1958) and numerous lesser known films but he was most active in TV during the 1950s and 1960s.
Other television programs in which Wilke appeared included Maverick, Tarzan, Tales of Wells Fargo, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, Have Gun - Will Travel, The Untouchables, Bronco, The Westerner, Cheyenne, Overland Trail, Lawman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Zorro, and The Rifleman.
In 1960, he played a cameo in The Magnificent Seven as the railroad bully, Wallace, who was quickly killed off by James Coburn in the remembered gun v knife fight. He had an unusually sympathetic (and large) role in Days of Heaven (1978) as Farmer Sam Shepard's ally, The Farm Foreman.
Wilke's final film role was somewhat against type as General Barnicke in the comedy Stripes in 1981.
