Robert Dudley
Acting
Born 1889-09-12
Died 1955-11-12
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
84 credits
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Dudley (September 13, 1869 – September 15*, 1955) was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in more than 115 films.
Dudley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was educated at Lake Forest College in Evanston, Illinois and Chicago, where he majored in oral surgery. In 1917 he appeared in his first film, Seven Keys to Baldpate, and then made three other silent films through 1921. After 1922 he worked consistently, appearing in three or four films a year, and making the transition to sound films in 1929 with The Bellamy Trial. Dudley often played characters with a quick temper, including jurors, shopkeepers, ticket agents, court clerks and justices of the peace, as well as an occasional farmer, hobo, or laborer. His performances in these small parts were frequently uncredited.
In the 1940s, Dudley was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges. His most distinctive and memorable role for Sturges was the "Wienie King" in 1942's The Palm Beach Story, the funny little self-made rich man with a big hat who spontaneously bankrolls Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea on their escapade.
The 5' 9" Dudley, who was the founder of the "Troupers Club of Hollywood", was married to Elaine Anderson, and they had two girls, Jewell and Patricia Lee.
He made his final film, As Young as You Feel, in 1951, and died in 1955 in San Clemente, California.
*[TMDb note: The California Death Index indicates that Mr. Dudley died on 12 November 1955. That date should therefore be considered accurate and official.]
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Filmography
— top 60 of 84
Acting
56 credits
Citizen Kane
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Fury
Magic Town
The Prisoner of Shark Island
All That Money Can Buy
The Lady Eve
Sleep, My Love
Zenobia
Son of Dracula
The Palm Beach Story
Casanova Brown
The Gilded Lily
The Toast of New York
An American Tragedy
The House of the Seven Gables
Broadway Madness
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Christmas Eve
The Doughgirls
It Happened Tomorrow
Stranger on the Third Floor
Frisco Kid
Belle of the Yukon
Race Street
Mourning Becomes Electra
Happy Land
3 Kids and a Queen
The Jackpot
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
When the Daltons Rode
Living in a Big Way
Lucky Partners
Main Street Today
Midnight Mary
Scandal Sheet
Paddy O'Day
Yankee Doodle Goes to Town
The Extra Girl
Skinner's Big Idea
Honeymoon Lodge
Dynamite
Out of a Clear Sky
The Perfect Set-Up
San Quentin
Gallant Journey
Singin' in the Corn
Kentucky Pride
Three Wise Girls
The Fourteenth Man
Face in the Sky
Conspiracy
Burning Up
Casey at the Bat
Wild Gold
Big News
Other credits
4 credits
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