Robert J. Wilke
Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: May 18, 1914
Day of Death: March 28, 1989 (75 years old)
Place of Birth: 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. -
1988
1981
1979
1978
1973
1972
1971
1970
1969
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1961
1960
1959
1958
1957
1956
1955
1954
1953
1952
1951
Actor Jim Younger
Best of the Badmen
Actor Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
Overland Telegraph
Actor Henchman Hooker
Saddle Legion
Actor Stoney Dawson (as Robert Wilke)
Hot Lead
Actor Henchman Winslow
Gunplay
Actor Andy Baylor
Pistol Harvest
Actor Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
Cyclone Fury
Actor Cowhand (uncredited)
Vengeance Valley
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
Actor Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
The Inner Circle
Actor The Catman (uncredited)
The Catman of Paris
Actor Hogan's Driver
Traffic in Crime
Actor Police Sergeant
Passkey to Danger
Actor MP (uncredited)
Rendezvous with Annie
Actor Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
Badman's Territory
Actor Starter (uncredited)
White Tie and Tails
1945
Actor Stage Hand (uncredited)
Hitchhike to Happiness
Actor Keller
Bandits of the Badlands
Actor Henchman Steve
Corpus Christi Bandits
Actor Henchman Dobie
Sheriff of Cimarron
Actor Rawhide
Santa Fe Saddlemates
Actor Cab Driver
Earl Carroll Vanities
Actor Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
Actor Curley Roberts
Sunset in El Dorado
Actor Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
Trail of Kit Carson
1944
Actor Townsman (uncredited)
Cowboy and the Senorita
Actor Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
San Antonio Kid
Actor
Code of the Prairie
Actor Rancher (uncredited)
Hidden Valley Outlaws
Actor Bill
Vigilantes of Dodge City
Actor Henchman
Bordertown Trail
Actor Deputy Jim
Call of the Rockies
Actor Photographer
Faces in the Fog
Actor Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
The Fighting Seabees
Actor Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Sheriff of Sundown