Robert J. Wilke
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. -
Known for
ActingBirthday
May 18, 1914Deathday
March 28, 1989Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
120Place of birth
Cincinnati, Ohio, USAAlso known as
Bob Wilke, Robert Wilke, Robert Joseph WilkeCast credits
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
First Mate of the NautilusHigh Noon
Jim PierceSpartacus
Guard captainNight Passage
ConchoTony Rome
Ralph TurpinThe Las Vegas Story
Clayton (as Robert Wilke)Man of the West
PonchArrowhead
Sgt. StoneBacklash
Jeff WelkerThe Tarnished Angels
HankCowboy and the Senorita
Townsman (uncredited)The Far Country
MaddenWritten on the Wind
Dan WillisThe Ghost Goes Wild
BurglarThe Inner Circle
Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)A Gunfight
Marshal Tom CaterBandits of the Badlands
KellerThe Boy Who Cried Werewolf
The SheriffSantee
Deaks (as Robert WilkeGun the Man Down
Matt RankinHot Summer Night
Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)