
1987
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
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Acting
Born
1914-05-18 · 74 yrs
Died
1989-03-28
From
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Known for
Acting
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).…
Showing 36 of 194 credits (through 1963)