
Robert J. Wilke
Known for Acting · 194 credits
- Born
- 1914-05-18
- Died
- 1989-03-28
- Place of birth
- Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- Bob Wilke · Robert Wilke · Robert Joseph Wilke
Biography
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. -
Known For
TV Shows (70)

Perry Mason
1957
as Deputy Sheriff Connors

Bonanza
1959
as Charlie Sheppard / Al Simmons / Sheriff Claude T. Booker / Brazos / Marshal Hollister

Dallas
1978
as Tom Owens

Lassie
1954
as Mr. Corey

The Fugitive
1963
as Johnny

Wagon Train
1957
as Sgt. Wick / Wesley Thomas / Col. Thomas Stone / Jabez Moore

Maverick
1957
as McCabe / Diamond Dan Malone

The Rifleman
1958
as Flory Sheltin / Ward Haskins

The Virginian
1962
as Conrad / Colton

Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Will Tybee / Casey Bryan / Walt DeVries / Trail Boss Rook / Maj. Blake

Lawman
1958
as Marshal Tom Haddon / Fallon - Bounty Hunter / Lal Hoard

The Untouchables
1959
as George 'Bugs' Moran / Dutch Schultz

Starsky & Hutch
1975
as Mac Johnson

Cheyenne
1955
as Bob Manson / Jed Begert / Kelso Prather / Ben Creed / Carl Banner

My Three Sons
1960
as Danny Donnigan
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as George / Ben Crane

Rawhide
1959
as Sheriff McVey / Tom Galt / Lafe Thomas

Daniel Boone
1964
as Toff / Jake Manning / Fryman

The Wild Wild West
1965
as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin

The Lucy Show
1962
as Tom Carter

Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Virgil / Ben Hooker / Jack Radovitch

Zorro
1957
as Capt. Salvador Mendoza

The Lone Ranger
1949
as Henchman (uncredited)

Gunsmoke
1955
as Hickock / Tom / Pegger / Pitt / Ab Rankin / Kelby / Luke Cumberledge

77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Vern Reece

Peter Gunn
1958

Bat Masterson
1958
as Bull Kirby / Rod Clements

Adventures in Paradise
1959
as Riker

The Texan
1958
as Marshal Bart Pennock / Sheriff Tip Latta / Pete Torrey / Asa Kirby

The Deputy
1959
as Ace Gentry

Laramie
1959

Lancer
1968

Adventures of Superman
1952
as Bingham

Tarzan
1966
as Spooner

Riverboat
1959
as Bolesy / Red Dog Hanlon

The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956

The Abbott and Costello Show
1952
as Mike Brodie
The Cisco Kid
1950
as Henchman Vic / Judd Storme / Barney

Bronco
1958

Tombstone Territory
1957
as Burt Foster / Jess Caulfield

Cavalcade of America
1952

The Tall Man
1960
as Marshal Ben Hartley

The Westerner
1960
as Murdo

The Gene Autry Show
1950
as Henchman Cody / Charlie Bolton / Monte - Henchman / Henchman in Plaid Shirt

Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
as Zecca

The Third Man
1959
as Vince Gabriel

The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
as Sheriff Dan Butler / Tom Judd

Outlaws
1960

How the West Was Won
1977
as Appleton

Cimarron Strip
1967

Law of the Plainsman
1959
as Amos Cameron

Stagecoach West
1960
as Taylor Norman
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Lou Sirotta

Target: The Corruptors!
1961

Sam Benedict
1962
as Lt. Mike Radich

The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Jed - Outlaw / Ben Tilton

Boston Blackie
1951
as Edgar

The Dakotas
1963

Bourbon Street Beat
1959

The Thin Man
1957
Movies (124)

The Magnificent Seven
1960
as Wallace

Spartacus
1960
as Guard captain

High Noon
1952
as Jim Pierce

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as First Mate of the Nautilus

Stripes
1981
as Gen. Barnicke

Days of Heaven
1978
as The Farm Foreman

Backlash
1956
as Jeff Welker

From Here to Eternity
1953
as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)

The Fighting Seabees
1944
as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)

Hellgate
1952
as Sgt. Maj. Kearn

Raw Edge
1956
as Sile Doty

Man of the West
1958
as Ponch

Shock Treatment
1964
as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)

Wichita
1955
as Ben Thompson

The Far Country
1954
as Madden

Fargo
1952
as Link - Henchman

Written on the Wind
1956
as Dan Willis

Santee
1973
as Deaks (as Robert Wilke)

Best of the Badmen
1951
as Jim Younger

Cow Country
1953
as Sledge

Tony Rome
1967
as Ralph Turpin

Arrowhead
1953
as Sgt. Stone

Night Passage
1957
as Concho

Flaming Fury
1949

The Hallelujah Trail
1965
as Chief Five Barrels

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
as Self (archive footage)

The Cheyenne Social Club
1970
as Corey Bannister

Vengeance Valley
1951
as Cowhand (uncredited)

Saddle Legion
1951
as Henchman Hooker

Smoky
1966
as Jeff Nicks

Overland Telegraph
1951
as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)

The Tarnished Angels
1957
as Hank

Never Steal Anything Small
1959
as Lennie

The Inner Circle
1946
as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)

Fate Is the Hunter
1964
as Stillman

The Lone Ranger
1956
as Cassidy

Shotgun
1955
as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)

Strange Lady in Town
1955
as Karg

The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
as Billy the Kid Blake

Frontier Outpost
1950
as Krag Benson

Canyon River
1956
as Joe Graycoe

Hitchhike to Happiness
1945
as Stage Hand (uncredited)

A Gunfight
1971
as Marshal Tom Cater

Buck Privates Come Home
1947
as GI Buddy (uncredited)

War Paint
1953
as Trooper Grady

The Rawhide Years
1956
as Neal (as Robert Wilke)

The Maverick
1952
as Massey

Homicide for Three
1948
as Policeman

Badman's Territory
1946
as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)

The Las Vegas Story
1952
as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)

Wild and Wooly
1978
as Demas Scott

Trail of Kit Carson
1945
as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)

Daredevils of the Red Circle
1939
as G-Man

The Rookies
1972
as Officer Shaw

Gun the Man Down
1956
as Matt Rankin

The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler
1971
as Hugh Fielding

Smoke Signal
1955
as Daly

San Quentin
1937
as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)

The Gun Hawk
1963
as Johnny Flanders

The Lone Gun
1954
as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)

The Magnificent Stranger
1966
as Sheriff McVey

Blackmail
1947
as Policeman

White Tie and Tails
1946
as Starter (uncredited)

Cattle Town
1952
as Keeno

The Desert Hawk
1950
as Camel Driver

They Call It Murder
1971
as Sheriff Rex Brandon

The Wyoming Bandit
1949
as Sam

Return to Warbow
1958
as Red

The Desperate Mission
1969
as Gant

Passkey to Danger
1946
as Police Sergeant

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
1973
as The Sheriff

Outcasts of Black Mesa
1950
as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)

The Sweet Creek County War
1979

Sunset in El Dorado
1945
as Curley Roberts

The Fighting Devil Dogs
1938
as Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)

Across the Badlands
1950
as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)

Cowboy and the Senorita
1944
as Townsman (uncredited)

Earl Carroll Vanities
1945
as Cab Driver

Mule Train
1950
as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)

Santa Fe Saddlemates
1945
as Rawhide

Bandits of the Badlands
1945
as Keller

Hot Summer Night
1957
as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)

Lone Texas Ranger
1945
as Henchman (uncredited)

Pistol Harvest
1951
as Andy Baylor

Faces in the Fog
1944
as Photographer

Sierra Sue
1941
as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)

Star Reporter
1939
as Reporter

Code of the Prairie
1944

Hidden Valley Outlaws
1944
as Rancher (uncredited)

The Catman of Paris
1946
as The Catman (uncredited)

Laramie
1949
as Cronin (uncredited)

Sheriff of Sundown
1944
as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)

S.O.S Tidal Wave
1939
as Man in TV Studio

Adventures of Red Ryder
1940
as Henchman

The Ghost Goes Wild
1947
as Burglar

Rendezvous with Annie
1946
as MP (uncredited)

Bordertown Trail
1944
as Henchman

Grand Ole Opry
1940
as Hillbilly (uncredited)

Twilight on the Rio Grande
1947
as Henchman

Whispering Footsteps
1943
as Bank Customer

Carson City Raiders
1948
as Ed Noble

Gunplay
1951
as Henchman Winslow

Wyoming Roundup
1952
as Wyatt - Henchman

Rough Riders of Cheyenne
1945
as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)

Law of the Canyon
1947
as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)

Road Agent
1952
as Slab Babcock

Call of the Rockies
1944
as Deputy Jim

In Old Missouri
1940
as Hillbilly

Vigilantes of Dodge City
1944
as Bill

Cyclone Fury
1951
as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)

Daredevils of the Clouds
1948
as Joe

Hot Lead
1951
as Stoney Dawson

The Blonde Bandit
1949
as Police Det. Walker

That Man's Here Again
1937
as (uncredited)

Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
1941
as Cutter Helmsman

San Antonio Kid
1944
as Henchman

In Old Monterey
1939
as Man on Wagon

Corpus Christi Bandits
1945
as Henchman Steve

Two Guns and a Badge
1954
as Moore - Outlaw

Sheriff of Cimarron
1945
as Henchman Dobie
About Robert J. Wilke
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 h… With 194 credits spanning from 1937 to 1987, Robert J. Wilke has appeared in 124 films and 70 TV shows.
Fans searching for Robert J. Wilke movies, Robert J. Wilke filmography, or the latest projects starring Robert J. Wilke can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Robert J. Wilke Movies
- The Magnificent Seven (1960) — as Wallace
- Spartacus (1960) — as Guard captain
- High Noon (1952) — as Jim Pierce
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) — as First Mate of the Nautilus
- Stripes (1981) — as Gen. Barnicke
Where to Watch Robert J. Wilke Films
Most Robert J. Wilke movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Robert J. Wilke, check our movies catalogue and browse page.