Robert J. Wilke
Born May 18, 1914 (Age: 111)
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Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Biography
Prolific 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. -
Prolific 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. -
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Filmography
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 72
Stripes
1981
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as Gen. Barnicke
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Age: 67
Days of Heaven
1978
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as The Farm Foreman
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Age: 64
Wild and Wooly
1978
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as Demas Scott
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Age: 63
Santee
1973
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as Deaks (as Robert Wilke
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Age: 59
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
1973
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as The Sheriff
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Age: 59
The Rookies
1972
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as Officer Shaw
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Age: 57
The Desperate Mission
1969
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as Gant
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Age: 55
The Hallelujah Trail
1965
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as Chief Five Barrels
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Age: 51
Fate Is the Hunter
1964
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as Stillman
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Age: 50
Shock Treatment
1964
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as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
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Age: 50
The Gun Hawk
1963
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as Johnny Flanders
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Age: 49
The Long Rope
1961
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as Ben Matthews
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Age: 46
Spartacus
1960
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as Guard captain
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Age: 46
The Magnificent Seven
1960
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as Wallace
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Age: 46
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
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as Billy the Kid Blake
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Age: 45
Never Steal Anything Small
1959
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as Lennie
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Age: 44
Man of the West
1958
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as Ponch
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Age: 44
Return to Warbow
1958
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as Red
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Age: 43
Gun the Man Down
1956
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as Matt Rankin
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Age: 42
Written on the Wind
1956
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as Dan Willis
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Age: 42
Canyon River
1956
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as Joe Graycoe
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Age: 42
The Rawhide Years
1956
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as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
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Age: 42
Raw Edge
1956
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as Sile Doty
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Age: 41
Backlash
1956
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as Jeff Welker
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Age: 41
The Lone Ranger
1956
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as Cassidy
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Age: 41
Wichita
1955
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as Ben Thompson
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Age: 41
Shotgun
1955
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as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
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Age: 40
Strange Lady in Town
1955
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as Karg
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Age: 40
Smoke Signal
1955
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as Daly
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Age: 40
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
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as First Mate of the Nautilus
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Age: 40
Two Guns and a Badge
1954
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as Moore - Outlaw
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Age: 40
The Lone Gun
1954
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as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
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Age: 39
The Far Country
1954
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as Madden
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Age: 39
From Here to Eternity
1953
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as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
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Age: 39
War Paint
1953
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as Trooper Grady
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Age: 39
Arrowhead
1953
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as Sgt. Stone
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Age: 39
Cow Country
1953
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as Sledge
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Age: 38
Frontier Outpost
1950
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as Krag Benson
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Age: 36
Across the Badlands
1950
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as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
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Age: 36
The Desert Hawk
1950
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as Camel Driver
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Age: 36
Outcasts of Black Mesa
1950
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as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
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Age: 35
Mule Train
1950
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as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
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Age: 35
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
1945
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as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
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Age: 31
Sunset in El Dorado
1945
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as Curley Roberts
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Age: 31
Bandits of the Badlands
1945
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as Keller
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Age: 31
Hitchhike to Happiness
1945
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as Stage Hand (uncredited)
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Age: 31
Trail of Kit Carson
1945
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as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
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Age: 31
Santa Fe Saddlemates
1945
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as Rawhide
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Age: 31
Lone Texas Ranger
1945
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as Henchman (uncredited)
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Age: 31
Corpus Christi Bandits
1945
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as Henchman Steve
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Age: 30
Earl Carroll Vanities
1945
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as Cab Driver
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Age: 30
Sheriff of Cimarron
1945
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as Henchman Dobie
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Age: 30
Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
1941
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as Cutter Helmsman
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Age: 27
Sierra Sue
1941
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as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
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Age: 27