Fritz Feld
(1900 - 1993)| Another of Froggy's victims on "Andy's Gang" was the inimitable Fritz Feld. Short, medium built and handsome with wavy hair, meticulous mustache and occasionally a Van Dyke beard, very intense eyes an ...Click on photo to read biography |
Henry Jones
(1912 - 1999)| There are few more familiar character actors than Henry Jones. He was an average looking man with a slight smile, thinning hair and that familiar twangy voice with a Midwestern type drawl. He played q ...Click on photo to read biography |
Pert Kelton
(1907 - 1968)| Although her film and television career was brief, she created such memorable characters that she is indelibly etched in our memories. She was short and stocky with a head of beautiful red hair and a ...Click on photo to read biography |
John Doucette
(1921 - 1994)| Another in the Superman (1950s) TV series gallery of villains, he was a terrific character actor. With a hefty build, menacing sneer and a growly, bass voice he was the perfect bad guy. He appeared in ...Click on photo to read biography |
John Fiedler
(1925 - 2005)| Anyone who's ever seen John Fielder remembers him as he's one of those unique types you never forget. Small in stature, slight in physique, balding with a quizzical, bespectacled face and a high pitch ...Click on photo to read biography |
Mabel Albertson
(1901 - 1982)| She was so good at her craft that she could really get on your nerves. A smallish, gray-blonde haired lady with expressive eyes, a smirky smile and a whiny but sharp monotone voice, she was most often ...Click on photo to read biography |
Theodore Bikel
(1924 - )| Not only is he an excellent character actor of great depth, he is a man of many other talents. He is a first class folksinger, musician/guitarist, an author and is active in politics. As an actor, his ...Click on photo to read biography |
Dabbs Greer
(1917 - 2007)| He was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as ...Click on photo to read biography |
Parley Baer
(1914 - 2002)| Another of those oh so familiar faces in movies and television, he was recognizable as much by his voice as his looks. Hefty but solid with a round, smiling face, twinkling eyes and that honey smooth ...Click on photo to read biography |
Zasu Pitts
(1894 - 1963)| One of the more familiar actors up to the 1960s, she started her career in silent films. Small in stature with a plain, but sweet face and always a quizzical or flustered look, she was most often cast ...Click on photo to read biography |
Alan Hale
(1892 - 1950)| He was one of the most popular and sturdy character actors of his time. Big, burly and ruggedly handsome with curly fair hair, a square jaw and Irish smiling eyes, he worked with some of the best acto ...Click on photo to read biography |
Elisha Cook_Jr.
(1903 - 1995)| One of the best known and most popular character actors of all time, he was one of the screen's best villains. Slight of build, small in stature with piercing blue eyes, a smirky, blank stare on his f ...Click on photo to read biography |
Ward Bond
(1903 - 1960)| Another of the rugged, burly Irish school of character actors he was a popular actor throughout his long career. Fair haired, with a square jaw, intense blue eyes and a neatly groomed mustache, he was ...Click on photo to read biography |
Peter Lorre
(1904 - 1964)| There were two Peter Lorres: the young, thin and wiry, short man with beady eyes and smirky smile (pictured above); and the older chubby man with bulging eyes and puffy voice. His whiny, sharp voice a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Akim Tamiroff
(1899 - 1972)| Although we think of him in roles as Spanish or Hispanic, he was actually an Armenian. Short and stocky with dark hair, thick eyebrows over intense eyes, often with a black mustache, he was cast in a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Nigel Bruce
(1895 - 1953)| Many of us believe that he was the best Dr. Watson in the history of the Sherlock Holmes portrayals. He was jolly, lovable and fun to watch. Plump, graying and distinguished looking with his white mus ...Click on photo to read biography |
Allan Melvin
(1923 - 2008)| He’s been around a long time, since the early days of television, and has been primarily a TV actor. Tall, husky and tough-looking with a long, square face, blond hair and husky voice, he is familiar ...Click on photo to read biography |
Billy Barty
(1924 - 2000)| We now salute two of the smallest actors in show business, each with huge talents: Billy Barty and Michael Dunn. Billy Barty is a veteran of 70 years plus in show business and one of the most delightf ...Click on photo to read biography |
Michael Dunn
(1934 - 1973)| Michael Dunn was a more serious actor, of the classical school, than Billy Barty, but only because Barty pioneered the way for other dwarf actors. He was an enormous talent who struggled with intense ...Click on photo to read biography |
Hillary Brooke
(1914 - 1999)| She was a "blonde bombshell", sometimes the lead actress, sometimes the supporting actress; most often the latter. Most often she was cast as "the other dame" doomed to a disappointing end. Born Beatr ...Click on photo to read biography |
Frank Faylen
(1905 - 1985)| He was a tough guy who most often played cabdrivers, bartenders, policemen, gangsters and others of that ilk. His wisecracking demeanor, smart-guy attitude and cranky voice were perfect for these part ...Click on photo to read biography |
Ken Curtis
(1916 - 1991)| Although we know him mostly for his amazing role as Festus Haggen on the "Gunsmoke" TV series, he had a very diversified entertainment career. Tall, medium built and good-looking, we know him better a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Vito Scotti
(1918 - 1996)| We begin here with some of the alumni from the TV series "Andy's Gang" of the 1950s. These great actors were the 'victims' of a character on that show called "Froggy the Gremlin." They would deliver a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Rolfe Sedan
(1896 - 1982)| Yet another victim of Froggy the Gremlin's mischief was Rolfe Sedan a veteran character actor of over 100 films and scores of TV shows. He, too, was short of stature and stocky with a mustache, small ...Click on photo to read biography |
Billy Gilbert
(1894 - 1971)| The last of our collection of Froggy the Gremlin's 'victims' is Billy Gilbert. His short-tempered, and frenetic demeanor made him the perfect target of Froggy's mischief. He was a tall, portly fellow, ...Click on photo to read biography |
Keye Luke
(1904 - 1991)| He was always the kindly, honorable Asian in films, non-stereotypical, and from what I hear of those who knew him, he was a charming gentleman offscreen also. Keye Luke was born on June 18, 1904 in Ca ...Click on photo to read biography |
Don Knotts
(1924 - 2006)| One of the greatest actors in the history of television, he created the extremely memorable character of Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show" for which he won 5 Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actor ...Click on photo to read biography |
Graham Greene
(1952 - )| There are two famous men named Graham Greene and both excelled at their positions in life; one a magnificent novelist and screenwriter, the second an incredibly talented Native American actor. Graham ...Click on photo to read biography |
Gene Evans
(1922 - 1998)| Big, burly and red-haired with sharp features, a heavy brow with bushy eyebrows and a gruff voice he was one of filmdom's perennial tough guys. Whether in westerns, war dramas or adventure films he wa ...Click on photo to read biography |
Joan Blondell
(1906 - 1979)| She was a dame, a broad, a wisecracking tough gal in most of her films. Joan Blondell had two careers; in her early years under contract to Warner Brothers she played in musicals and gangster films of ...Click on photo to read biography |
Agnes Moorehead
(1900 - 1974)| She was a classy actress throughout her long career, extremely versatile and always watchable. Kind of plain-looking and lean with red hair and catty eyes she could play anything from a timid woman to ...Click on photo to read biography |
Slim Pickens
(1919 - 1983)| Everybody remembers the scene of Slim riding an atomic bomb, like a bucking bronco, down on the USSR in "Dr. Strangelove." He was a true American cowboy, although I was shocked to learn he wasn't born ...Click on photo to read biography |
Lee_J. Cobb
(1911 - 1976)| One of the most reliable, recognizable of all character actors he had a long and illustrious career in films. Tall, stocky and stocky with a strong, jutting jaw and long face he ha ...Click on photo to read biography |
Geoffrey Lewis
(1935 - )| Geoffrey Lewis is a perfect example of the character actors for whom this Website was created. Everyone knows his face but few know his name. His strongest features are his eyes, steely blue and pierc ...Click on photo to read biography |
Philip Ahn
(1905 - 1978)| Another of the great American Asian actors who were typecast during World War II and later found his niche. Philip Ahn was a somber-faced, serious type but with a kindly demeanor. He was born on March ...Click on photo to read biography |
Merie Earle
(1889 - 1984)| She was one of the sweetest and cutest of the "little old lady" actresses. Small slightly hunched-over, with her hair in a bun and smiling eyes gleaming out from her old-style spectacles she started h ...Click on photo to read biography |
Charles Aidman
(1925 - 1993)| He was another of those actors whose voice was his "bread and butter", even though he was an actor, writer and composer. He was tall, dark and handsome with expressive eyes but it was his voice that s ...Click on photo to read biography |
Murray Hamilton
(1923 - 1986)| Murray Hamilton was a very familiar face in movies and on TV. He initially played pleasant, good guy types but later was most often cast as strong-willed, conniving, blind-to-the facts types. He was a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Edward Binns
(1916 - 1990)| If you noticed a similarity between the above three actors it was purely intentional. Each of these actors play similar type roles and resemble each other somewhat in appearance. Edward Binns was a fo ...Click on photo to read biography |
Matt Clark
(1936 - )| Although he appeared primarily in Westerns early in his career, it was his exceptional work in the 1984 film "Country" with Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard that made me realize what a special character ...Click on photo to read biography |
Sylvia Sidney
(1910 - 1999)| One of the top female character actors of all time she had a long and distinguished career and ranked at the top for quality work. She had a heart-shaped face with sharp features and cat-like eyes. Sh ...Click on photo to read biography |
John Dehner
(1915 - 1992)| He was a master of many areas of the entertainment world: animation, stage, radio news announcer and actor, film and television actor. Tall and impressive looking with a stern face and smooth voice he ...Click on photo to read biography |
Royal Dano
(1922 - 1994)| He often was cast as Abraham Lincoln in films and on television and many came to believe that Lincoln must have sounded exactly like Dano. Tall, dark, lanky and gaunt-looking with squinty, but piercin ...Click on photo to read biography |
Ethel Waters
(1896 - 1977)| She was so lovable, so huggable on film that you wished she was your third grandma. One of the world's top jazz and blues singers, she was also a topnotch actress and the first black actress to receiv ...Click on photo to read biography |
Noah Beery_Jr.
(1913 - 1994)| This great character actor was a member of a famous acting family and seemed to age like 'fine wine.' Dark and macho looking with a square jaw, expressive eyes and an upbeat, laid back demeanor he was ...Click on photo to read biography |
Andrew Duggan
(1923 - 1988)| Andrew Duggan was a very prolific and familiar actor, especially on television where he made his mark. Tall, husky and square-jawed with a sturdy look, and piercing eyes he was a staple in many TV mov ...Click on photo to read biography |
James Coburn
(1928 - 2002)| He could "write the book" on cool and classy! He was the epitome of cool as defined by the likes of Bogart and McQueen. Tall, lean, and fair-haired as a young man with chiseled, but handsome, features ...Click on photo to read biography |
Sydney Greenstreet
(1879 - 1954)| If ever there was a 'classic villain', it was Sydney Greenstreet. Considered by many to be one of the all time great characters of film, he appeared in many film classics. Rotund, white-haired, with a ...Click on photo to read biography |
Gordon Jackson
(1923 - 1990)| He most often played the good guy in British films and was a solid, sturdy actor. Tall, lean and red-haired, with a long, but kindly, face and gentle eyes he made his mark on stage, in films and on te ...Click on photo to read biography |
Barnard Hughes
(1915 - 2006)| Everyone knows this face, whether with mustache, beard, both or clean shaven he was a familiar actor on the big screen and on stage and television. We most often saw him portraying a grandfather or di ...Click on photo to read biography |
Estelle Winwood
(1883 - 1984)| One of the oldest working actors ever and a Grande Dame of the cinema for many years she was the epitome of class and sophistication in film. Small, fragile and birdlike with sharp facial features and ...Click on photo to read biography |
Edward Arnold
(1890 - 1956)| Amazingly this sophisticated and dapper gentleman started his career in films as a cowboy actor in silents. He was primarily a stage actor and straddled his acting career between the theatre and motio ...Click on photo to read biography |
Don Beddoe
(1903 - 1991)| He always appeared to have a smile on his face and seemed a quite cheery individual and to be sure he was adept at playing that type character. Wide-eyed, and round-faced with a neat mustache and smoo ...Click on photo to read biography |
Raymond Walburn
(1887 - 1969)| He was a jolly looking gentleman with a round, but smiling, face, wide-eyes and bushy mustache. He was a fixture in many films of the 1930s, 40s and 50s often playing a mischievous rogue or a pompous ...Click on photo to read biography |
Frances Sternhagen
(1930 - )| One of the finest character actresses of recent years is Frances Sternhagen. She most often portrayed strong-willed, determined women; doctors, female executives and the like. Lean and sturdily built ...Click on photo to read biography |
Teri Garr
(1949 - )| She was one of the busiest actresses of the 1960s, 70s, 80s and early 90s but has virtually disappeared in recent years; surely not for lack of talent! Perhaps it is because she is nearing 50 and the ...Click on photo to read biography |
Gene Lockhart
(1891 - 1957)| He was another jolly, amiable type actor but was versatile enough for any role. Short, round-faced and chubby with light hair and smiling eyes, he has been compared to Charles Coburn and Cecil Kellawa ...Click on photo to read biography |
Frank DeKova
(1910 - 1981)| He was adept at playing various ethnic types, mostly Indians, Italians and other Mediterranean types. Tall, dark and solid with a sculpted, craggy face and dark leering eyes he was often cast as a vil ...Click on photo to read biography |
James Millhollin
(1915 - 1993)| James Millhollin was an excellent character actor whose style and mannerisms were reminiscent of Franklin Pangborn. Although his career was short and his credits few, his work was most memorable. Medi ...Click on photo to read biography |
Albert Paulsen
(1929 - 2004)| He was basically a television character actor but he made a few films and excelled at his acting craft. He was tall, lean and dark with a knack for playing European types. Very little is known of his ...Click on photo to read biography |
William Windom
(1923 - )| His is one of the most familiar faces in films and especially on television. He is quite versatile in his roles and was most often cast as a businessman, professional type, military officer or politic ...Click on photo to read biography |
Alice Pearce
(1917 - 1966)| The TV series "Bewitched" not only had a terrific company of fine character actors, but it also utilized some of the best character actors of the day in its productions. We salute two terrific actress ...Click on photo to read biography |
Sandra Gould
(1916 - 1999)| Upon the death of Alice Pearce, Sandra Gould was chosen to replace her in the role of Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor. There were only a few similarities however; the toothy grin, the voices were bo ...Click on photo to read biography |
Brion James
(1945 - 1999)| Occasionally actors die before their time in the midst of great careers, such is the case of the next two terrific character actors. Brion James was a most recognizable actor and one of the best villa ...Click on photo to read biography |
J.T. Walsh
(1943 - 1998)| Another very popular actor on his way up was J. T. Walsh. He was building a fine body of work when his life was cut short by a heart attack. Medium-built and stocky with good looks ...Click on photo to read biography |
M.Emmet Walsh
(1935 - )| Solid, sturdy M. Emmet Walsh was one of the best character actors of the 1970s, 80s & 90s. Rotund, dumpy and rumpled looking with a bald head and jowly face, he was adept at pla ...Click on photo to read biography |
Ben Johnson
(1918 - 1996)| Ben Johnson was the epitome of the western cowboy and, in reality, he was a true-life cowboy. Tall, lanky and "aw shucks" shy with a weather-beaten, but handsome face he was the perfect screen cowboy. ...Click on photo to read biography |
Peter Boyle
(1933 - 2006)| High on the list of great character actors working today is Peter Boyle whose versatility amazes. Big, thick and bulky with a bald head, large brow and coarse features, he is deft at comedy as well as ...Click on photo to read biography |
John Anderson
(1922 - 1992)| He was a very familiar, solid and sturdy character actor. Tall, fair-haired and lean with a square jaw, rugged good looks and a memorable resonant, baritone voice. Most often remembered for western ro ...Click on photo to read biography |
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