Actor

Robert J. Wilke

May 18, 1914 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

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.

Notable work

7.5
Spartacus (1960)
as Guard captain
7.5
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
as Wallace
7.7
High Noon (1952)
as Jim Pierce
7.5
Days of Heaven (1978)
as The Farm Foreman
6.6
Stripes (1981)
as Gen. Barnicke
7.1
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
as First Mate of the Nautilus
7.3
From Here to Eternity (1953)
as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
7.5
Bonanza (1959)
as Charlie Sheppard and as Al Simmons and as Sheriff Claude T. Booker and as Brazos and as Marshal Hollister

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