Robert J. Wilke
Actor
Born May 18, 1914 in 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. 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. -
Filmography
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self (archive footage)
Stripes
Gen. Barnicke
The Sweet Creek County War
Days of Heaven
The Farm Foreman
Dallas
Tom Owens
Wild and Wooly
Demas Scott
How the West Was Won
Appleton
Starsky & Hutch
Mac Johnson
Run, Joe, Run
Santee
Deaks (as Robert Wilke)
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
The Sheriff
Kung Fu
Sgt. Bridger
The Rookies
Officer Shaw
They Call It Murder
Sheriff Rex Brandon
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler
Hugh Fielding
A Gunfight
Marshal Tom Cater
The Cheyenne Social Club
Corey Bannister
The Desperate Mission
Gant
Lancer
The Outcasts
Tony Rome
Ralph Turpin
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Sheriff Dan Butler
Cimarron Strip
Rango
Tarzan
Spooner
The Monroes
The Magnificent Stranger
Sheriff McVey
Smoky
Jeff Nicks
The Wild Wild West
Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
The Legend of Jesse James
Marshal Sam Corbett
The Hallelujah Trail
Chief Five Barrels
Fate Is the Hunter
Stillman
Daniel Boone
Toff
Shock Treatment
Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
The Fugitive
Johnny
The Gun Hawk
Johnny Flanders
The Dakotas
The Lucy Show
Tom Carter
The Virginian
Conrad
Sam Benedict
Lt. Mike Radich
Target: The Corruptors!
The Long Rope
Ben Matthews
Spartacus
Guard captain
The Magnificent Seven
Wallace
Stagecoach West
Taylor Norman
The Westerner
Murdo
My Three Sons
Danny Donnigan
Outlaws
The Tall Man
Marshal Ben Hartley
The Slowest Gun in the West
Billy the Kid Blake
The Untouchables
George 'Bugs' Moran
Bourbon Street Beat
Adventures in Paradise
Riker
The Third Man
Vince Gabriel
Law of the Plainsman
Amos Cameron
Wichita Town
Laramie
Riverboat
Bolesy
Bonanza
Charlie Sheppard
The Deputy
Ace Gentry
Never Steal Anything Small
Lennie
Rawhide
Sheriff McVey
77 Sunset Strip
Vern Reece
Bat Masterson
Bull Kirby
Lawman
Marshal Tom Haddon
Man of the West
Ponch
The Rifleman
Flory Sheltin
The Texan
Marshal Bart Pennock
Bronco
Peter Gunn
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Virgil
Return to Warbow
Red
The Tarnished Angels
Hank
Tombstone Territory
Burt Foster
Zorro
Capt. Salvador Mendoza
The Walter Winchell File
Fisher
Maverick
McCabe
Perry Mason
Deputy Sheriff Connors
The Thin Man
Wagon Train
Sgt. Wick
Have Gun, Will Travel
Will Tybee
Night Passage
Concho
Hot Summer Night
Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
Gun the Man Down
Matt Rankin
Written on the Wind
Dan Willis
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Canyon River
Joe Graycoe
The Rawhide Years
Neal (as Robert Wilke)
Raw Edge
Sile Doty
Backlash
Jeff Welker
The Lone Ranger
Cassidy
Screen Director's Playhouse
Zecca
Cheyenne
Bob Manson
Gunsmoke
Hickock
Wichita
Ben Thompson
Shotgun
Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
Strange Lady in Town
Karg
Smoke Signal
Daly
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
First Mate of the Nautilus
The Wonderful World of Disney
Jed - Outlaw
Lassie
Mr. Corey
Two Guns and a Badge
Moore - Outlaw
The Lone Gun
Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
The Far Country
Madden
War Paint
Trooper Grady
From Here to Eternity
Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
Arrowhead
Sgt. Stone
Cow Country
Sledge
The Maverick
Massey
The Abbott and Costello Show
Mike Brodie
Wyoming Roundup
Wyatt - Henchman
Cavalcade of America
Four Star Playhouse
George
Adventures of Superman
Bingham
Fargo
Link - Henchman
Cattle Town
Keeno
Hellgate
Sgt. Maj. Kearn
High Noon
Jim Pierce
Road Agent
Slab Babcock
The Las Vegas Story
Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
Overland Telegraph
Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Red Fischer
Hot Lead
Stoney Dawson
Boston Blackie
Edgar
Pistol Harvest
Andy Baylor
Cyclone Fury
Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
Best of the Badmen
Jim Younger
Gunplay
Henchman Winslow
Saddle Legion
Henchman Hooker
Vengeance Valley
Cowhand (uncredited)
Frontier Outpost
Krag Benson
Across the Badlands
Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
The Desert Hawk
Camel Driver
The Gene Autry Show
Henchman Cody
Outcasts of Black Mesa
Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Mule Train
Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
The Blonde Bandit
Police Det. Walker
Coyote Canyon
Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
The Lone Ranger
Henchman (uncredited)
Flaming Fury
The Wyoming Bandit
Sam
Laramie
Cronin (uncredited)
Homicide for Three
Policeman
Daredevils of the Clouds
Joe
Carson City Raiders
Ed Noble
The Ghost Goes Wild
Burglar
Blackmail
Policeman
Web of Danger
Station Wagon Driver
Law of the Canyon
Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
Buck Privates Come Home
GI Buddy (uncredited)
Twilight on the Rio Grande
Henchman
White Tie and Tails
Starter (uncredited)
The Inner Circle
Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
Rendezvous with Annie
MP (uncredited)
Traffic in Crime
Hogan's Driver
Passkey to Danger
Police Sergeant
Badman's Territory
Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
The Catman of Paris
The Catman (uncredited)
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Sunset in El Dorado
Curley Roberts
Bandits of the Badlands
Keller
Hitchhike to Happiness
Stage Hand (uncredited)
Trail of Kit Carson
Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
Santa Fe Saddlemates
Rawhide
Lone Texas Ranger
Henchman (uncredited)
Corpus Christi Bandits
Henchman Steve
Earl Carroll Vanities
Cab Driver
Sheriff of Cimarron
Henchman Dobie
Faces in the Fog
Photographer
Vigilantes of Dodge City
Bill
Sheriff of Sundown
Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Code of the Prairie
San Antonio Kid
Henchman
Bordertown Trail
Henchman
Call of the Rockies
Deputy Jim
Cowboy and the Senorita
Townsman (uncredited)
Hidden Valley Outlaws
Rancher (uncredited)
The Fighting Seabees
Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Whispering Footsteps
Bank Customer
Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
Cutter Helmsman
Sierra Sue
Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
Adventures of Red Ryder
Henchman
Grand Ole Opry
Hillbilly (uncredited)
In Old Missouri
Hillbilly
In Old Monterey
Man on Wagon
Daredevils of the Red Circle
G-Man
S.O.S Tidal Wave
Man in TV Studio
Star Reporter
Reporter
The Fighting Devil Dogs
Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
San Quentin
Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
That Man's Here Again
(uncredited)