About
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...
Known for
Perry MasonSeries • 1957
BonanzaSeries • 1959
DallasSeries • 1978
LassieSeries • 1954
The FugitiveSeries • 1963
Wagon TrainSeries • 1957
The VirginianSeries • 1962
Have Gun, Will TravelSeries • 1957
MaverickSeries • 1957
The RiflemanSeries • 1958
My Three SonsSeries • 1960
Four Star PlayhouseSeries • 1952
CheyenneSeries • 1955
The Wild Wild WestSeries • 1965
Daniel BooneSeries • 1964
The Lucy ShowSeries • 1962
Starsky & HutchSeries • 1975
RawhideSeries • 1959
The UntouchablesSeries • 1959
Wanted: Dead or AliveSeries • 1958
LawmanSeries • 1958
The Lone RangerSeries • 1949
ZorroSeries • 1957
Peter GunnSeries • 1958