Robert J. Wilke
Known for Acting · 194 credits
- Born
- 1914-05-18
- Died
- 1989-03-28
- Place of birth
- Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- Bob Wilke · Robert Wilke · Robert Joseph Wilke
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. -
Known For
TV Shows (70)
Perry Mason
1957
as Deputy Sheriff Connors
Bonanza
1959
as Charlie Sheppard / Al Simmons / Sheriff Claude T. Booker / Brazos / Marshal Hollister
Dallas
1978
as Tom Owens
Lassie
1954
as Mr. Corey
The Fugitive
1963
as Johnny
Wagon Train
1957
as Sgt. Wick / Wesley Thomas / Col. Thomas Stone / Jabez Moore
The Rifleman
1958
as Flory Sheltin / Ward Haskins
Maverick
1957
as McCabe / Diamond Dan Malone
Lawman
1958
as Marshal Tom Haddon / Fallon - Bounty Hunter / Lal Hoard
The Virginian
1962
as Conrad / Colton
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as George / Ben Crane
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Will Tybee / Casey Bryan / Walt DeVries / Trail Boss Rook / Maj. Blake
Rawhide
1959
as Sheriff McVey / Tom Galt / Lafe Thomas
Cheyenne
1955
as Bob Manson / Jed Begert / Kelso Prather / Ben Creed / Carl Banner
My Three Sons
1960
as Danny Donnigan
The Untouchables
1959
as George 'Bugs' Moran / Dutch Schultz
Starsky & Hutch
1975
as Mac Johnson
The Wild Wild West
1965
as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
The Lucy Show
1962
as Tom Carter
Daniel Boone
1964
as Toff / Jake Manning / Fryman
Zorro
1957
as Capt. Salvador Mendoza
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Virgil / Jack Radovitch / Ben Hooker
Peter Gunn
1958
The Lone Ranger
1949
as Henchman (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
1955
as Hickock / Pegger / Tom / Pitt / Ab Rankin / Kelby / Luke Cumberledge
77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Vern Reece
Bat Masterson
1958
as Bull Kirby / Rod Clements
Adventures in Paradise
1959
as Riker
The Texan
1958
as Marshal Bart Pennock / Sheriff Tip Latta / Pete Torrey / Asa Kirby
The Deputy
1959
as Ace Gentry
Laramie
1959
Adventures of Superman
1952
as Bingham
Lancer
1968
Tarzan
1966
as Spooner
The Cisco Kid
1950
as Henchman Vic / Barney / Judd Storme
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
The Abbott and Costello Show
1952
as Mike Brodie
Tombstone Territory
1957
as Burt Foster / Jess Caulfield
Cavalcade of America
1952
Riverboat
1959
as Bolesy / Red Dog Hanlon
The Tall Man
1960
as Marshal Ben Hartley
The Gene Autry Show
1950
as Henchman Cody / Charlie Bolton / Monte - Henchman / Henchman in Plaid Shirt
Bronco
1958
The Third Man
1959
as Vince Gabriel
Outlaws
1960
How the West Was Won
1977
as Appleton
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
as Zecca
Law of the Plainsman
1959
as Amos Cameron
Stagecoach West
1960
as Taylor Norman
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
as Sheriff Dan Butler / Tom Judd
Boston Blackie
1951
as Edgar
Target: The Corruptors!
1961
Cimarron Strip
1967
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Jed - Outlaw / Ben Tilton
Sam Benedict
1962
as Lt. Mike Radich
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Lou Sirotta
The Monroes
1966
Bourbon Street Beat
1959
The Thin Man
1957
The Dakotas
1963
Movies (124)
The Magnificent Seven
1960
as Wallace
Spartacus
1960
as Guard captain
High Noon
1952
as Jim Pierce
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as First Mate of the Nautilus
Stripes
1981
as Gen. Barnicke
From Here to Eternity
1953
as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
Days of Heaven
1978
as The Farm Foreman
Backlash
1956
as Jeff Welker
The Fighting Seabees
1944
as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Night Passage
1957
as Concho
The Far Country
1954
as Madden
Written on the Wind
1956
as Dan Willis
Santee
1973
as Deaks (as Robert Wilke)
Arrowhead
1953
as Sgt. Stone
The Cheyenne Social Club
1970
as Corey Bannister
Man of the West
1958
as Ponch
Cow Country
1953
as Sledge
Tony Rome
1967
as Ralph Turpin
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
as Self (archive footage)
Shock Treatment
1964
as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
Hellgate
1952
as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
The Hallelujah Trail
1965
as Chief Five Barrels
Saddle Legion
1951
as Henchman Hooker
Wichita
1955
as Ben Thompson
Raw Edge
1956
as Sile Doty
Never Steal Anything Small
1959
as Lennie
Fate Is the Hunter
1964
as Stillman
Fargo
1952
as Link - Henchman
The Tarnished Angels
1957
as Hank
Best of the Badmen
1951
as Jim Younger
Overland Telegraph
1951
as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
Flaming Fury
1949
Vengeance Valley
1951
as Cowhand (uncredited)
Wild and Wooly
1978
as Demas Scott
The Lone Ranger
1956
as Cassidy
A Gunfight
1971
as Marshal Tom Cater
Buck Privates Come Home
1947
as GI Buddy (uncredited)
The Rawhide Years
1956
as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
Canyon River
1956
as Joe Graycoe
The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
as Billy the Kid Blake
Badman's Territory
1946
as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
Shotgun
1955
as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler
1971
as Hugh Fielding
Smoke Signal
1955
as Daly
The Inner Circle
1946
as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
Strange Lady in Town
1955
as Karg
The Rookies
1972
as Officer Shaw
Trail of Kit Carson
1945
as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
Hitchhike to Happiness
1945
as Stage Hand (uncredited)
Daredevils of the Red Circle
1939
as G-Man
Cattle Town
1952
as Keeno
San Quentin
1937
as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
Gun the Man Down
1956
as Matt Rankin
The Las Vegas Story
1952
as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
Blackmail
1947
as Policeman
War Paint
1953
as Trooper Grady
Smoky
1966
as Jeff Nicks
The Desert Hawk
1950
as Camel Driver
Sunset in El Dorado
1945
as Curley Roberts
Frontier Outpost
1950
as Krag Benson
The Desperate Mission
1969
as Gant
Homicide for Three
1948
as Policeman
Pistol Harvest
1951
as Andy Baylor
Return to Warbow
1958
as Red
Mule Train
1950
as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
Cowboy and the Senorita
1944
as Townsman (uncredited)
The Lone Gun
1954
as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
They Call It Murder
1971
as Sheriff Rex Brandon
The Wyoming Bandit
1949
as Sam
The Gun Hawk
1963
as Johnny Flanders
Earl Carroll Vanities
1945
as Cab Driver
White Tie and Tails
1946
as Starter (uncredited)
Adventures of Red Ryder
1940
as Henchman
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
1973
as The Sheriff
Faces in the Fog
1944
as Photographer
Wyoming Roundup
1952
as Wyatt - Henchman
The Fighting Devil Dogs
1938
as Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
Passkey to Danger
1946
as Police Sergeant
Hot Summer Night
1957
as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
Call of the Rockies
1944
as Deputy Jim
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
1945
as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Sierra Sue
1941
as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
Outcasts of Black Mesa
1950
as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Santa Fe Saddlemates
1945
as Rawhide
The Magnificent Stranger
1966
as Sheriff McVey
Carson City Raiders
1948
as Ed Noble
Whispering Footsteps
1943
as Bank Customer
In Old Monterey
1939
as Man on Wagon
Laramie
1949
as Cronin (uncredited)
Gunplay
1951
as Henchman Winslow
Bandits of the Badlands
1945
as Keller
The Blonde Bandit
1949
as Police Det. Walker
Code of the Prairie
1944
Rendezvous with Annie
1946
as MP (uncredited)
Vigilantes of Dodge City
1944
as Bill
The Maverick
1952
as Massey
The Sweet Creek County War
1979
Twilight on the Rio Grande
1947
as Henchman
Sheriff of Sundown
1944
as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Lone Texas Ranger
1945
as Henchman (uncredited)
S.O.S Tidal Wave
1939
as Man in TV Studio
Bordertown Trail
1944
as Henchman
Daredevils of the Clouds
1948
as Joe
Road Agent
1952
as Slab Babcock
Across the Badlands
1950
as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
San Antonio Kid
1944
as Henchman
Grand Ole Opry
1940
as Hillbilly (uncredited)
The Ghost Goes Wild
1947
as Burglar
The Long Rope
1961
as Ben Matthews
That Man's Here Again
1937
as (uncredited)
Star Reporter
1939
as Reporter
Hidden Valley Outlaws
1944
as Rancher (uncredited)
Sheriff of Cimarron
1945
as Henchman Dobie
Hot Lead
1951
as Stoney Dawson
Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
1941
as Cutter Helmsman
In Old Missouri
1940
as Hillbilly
The Catman of Paris
1946
as The Catman (uncredited)
Web of Danger
1947
as Station Wagon Driver
Two Guns and a Badge
1954
as Moore - Outlaw
Corpus Christi Bandits
1945
as Henchman Steve
About 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 h… With 194 credits spanning from 1937 to 1987, Robert J. Wilke has appeared in 124 films and 70 TV shows.
Fans searching for Robert J. Wilke movies, Robert J. Wilke filmography, or the latest projects starring Robert J. Wilke can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Robert J. Wilke Movies
- The Magnificent Seven (1960) — as Wallace
- Spartacus (1960) — as Guard captain
- High Noon (1952) — as Jim Pierce
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) — as First Mate of the Nautilus
- Stripes (1981) — as Gen. Barnicke
Where to Watch Robert J. Wilke Films
Most Robert J. Wilke movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Robert J. Wilke, check our movies catalogue and browse page.