Charles C. Wilson
Charles C. Wilson | |
|---|---|
| File:Charles Wilson actor.jpg Charles C. Wilson in It Happened One Night (1934) | |
| Born | Charles Cahill Wilson 29 July 1894 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | 7 January 1948 (aged 53) Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1918–1948 |
Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American character actor of the early sound film.
The white-haired, burly actor was often typecast as an earnest police officer, newspaper editor or principal. He appeared in over 250 films between 1928 and 1948, mostly playing small supporting roles with a few sentences. Charles Wilson began his acting career at the theatre, including roles in six Broadway plays between 1918 and 1931.[1] In 1928, he directed the Hollywood comedy Lucky Boy (1928), where he also made his film debut. According to the Internet Movie Database, Lucky Boy was Wilson's only film as a director.
His most notable role was probably Clark Gable's "wonderfully aggravated"[2] newspaper boss in Frank Capra's comedy It Happened One Night, which won five Academy Awards in 1935. He was also cast in small roles in other Capra movies such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Shortly before his death, Wilson appeared as the boss of the Three Stooges in the two-reel comedy Crime on Their Hands (1948).
He died at the age of 53 of esophageal varices.
Partial filmography
- Lucky Boy (1928); also director
- Broadway Scandals (1929)
- Secrets of a Secretary (1931) (uncredited)
- Elmer, the Great (1933)
- Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) (uncredited)
- Private Detective 62 (1933) (uncredited)
- Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933)
- Footlight Parade (1933) (uncredited)
- College Coach (1933)
- Female (1933) (uncredited)
- Havana Widows (1933)
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- Gambling Lady (1934) (uncredited)
- Harold Teen (1934)
- Fog Over Frisco (1934)
- The Circus Clown (1934)
- The Dragon Murder Case (1934)
- The St. Louis Kid (1934)
- Broadway Bill (1934) (uncredited)
- Murder in the Clouds (1934)
- Beyond the Law (1934)
- The Gilded Lily (1935)
- The Little Colonel (1935) (uncredited)
- The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) (uncredited)
- Reckless (1935) (uncredited)
- Murder in the Fleet (1935) (uncredited)
- The Glass Key (1935)
- Waterfront Lady (1935)
- The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935)
- Rendezvous (1935) (uncredited)
- Big Brown Eyes (1936)
- Small Town Girl (1936) (uncredited)
- Show Boat (1936)
- Satan Met a Lady (1936)
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) (uncredited)
- Earthworm Tractors (1936)
- Murder with Pictures (1936) (uncredited)
- Magnificent Brute (1936)
- Panic on the Air (1936)
- Life Begins in College (1937)
- Night Key (1937) (uncredited)
- The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937)
- Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) (uncredited)
- Daughter of Shanghai (1937) (uncredited)
- The Gladiator (1938) (uncredited)
- The Spider's Web (1938)
- Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) (uncredited)
- Rose of Washington Square (1939)
- The Roaring Twenties (1939) (uncredited)
- The Return of Doctor X (1939)
- He Married His Wife (1940)
- They Drive by Night (1940) (uncredited)
- City for Conquest (1940) (uncredited)
- Knute Rockne, All American (1940) (uncredited)
- Tin Pan Alley (1940) (uncredited)
- Lady with Red Hair (1940) (uncredited)
- Blues in the Night (1941)
- The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
- Meet John Doe (1941)
- Federal Fugitives (1941)
- Broadway Limited (1941)
- Out of the Fog (1941) (uncredited)
- Dressed to Kill (1941)
- All Through the Night (1941) (uncredited)
- Blondie Goes to College (1942) (uncredited)
- Rings on Her Fingers (1942)
- Lady Gangster (1942)
- This Gun for Hire (1942)
- The Secret Code (1942 serial)
- Gentleman Jim (1942) (uncredited)
- Escape from Crime (1942)
- Silver Spurs (1943)
- Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944) (uncredited)
- Crime by Night (1944)
- Brewster's Millions (1945) (uncredited)
- Road to Utopia (1945) (uncredited)
- Scarlet Street (1945) (uncredited)
- Bringing Up Father (1946)
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946) (uncredited)
- Gas House Kids (1946)
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) (uncredited)
- Crime on Their Hands (1948 short)
- Commotion on the Ocean (1956; archive footage)
References
- ^ Charles C. Wilson at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Michał Oleszczyk (November 12, 2013). "Looking Back at "It Happened One Night"". rogerebert.com.