Robert J. Wilke
Birthday: 1914-05-18 | Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, USAProlific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in Le train sifflera trois fois (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Les moissons du ciel (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989. -
Known For
Acting
Role
as The Farm Foreman
as Deaks (as Robert Wilke
as Hugh Fielding
as Marshal Tom Cater
as Gant
as Ralph Turpin
as Jeff Nicks
as Chief Five Barrels
as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
as Billy the Kid Blake
as Hank
as Ponch
as Concho
as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
as Cassidy
as Dan Willis
as Matt Rankin
as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
as Sile Doty
as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
as First Sergeant Daly (as Robert Wilke)
as First Mate of the Nautilus
as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
as Madden
as Sgt. Stone
as Sledge
as Trooper Grady
as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
