1901-11-28 Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit. Newspaper gossip columnists noted his rise from playing "Gangster #4", with no lines, and not carrying a gun, to "Gangster #2", with both lines and a gun. Wagner was one of five children, all boys, of William Wallace Wagner, a railroad conductor, and Edith Wagner, a writer who provided dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor during the Mexican Revolution. When he was 10 years old, his father was killed by rebels and the family moved to Salinas, California, where he met John Steinbeck, who became a lifelong friend. Steinback based the character of the boy in his novel The Red Pony on Wagner. Under the name "Max Baron", Wagner acted in many Spanish-language versions of English-language films, which studios made as a matter of course in the early days of sound films, He also served as a Spanish language coach for other actors, and appeared in many of the "Mexican Spitfire" films starring Lupe Vélez, where he also served to monitor Velez's Spanish ad-libs for profanity. Other series that Wagner appeared in include the Charlie Chan films, and Tom Mix serials, as well as others made by Mascot Pictures Corporation. In the 1940s, Wagner was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges, beginning with The Palm Beach Story In 1940 during the filming of "The Mad Doctor", Wagner was credited for driving 50,000 miles as an on-screen taxi driver on the studio back lots of Hollywood. Since his appearance as a cab driver in Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935), producers often cast him as a wise-cracking or henchman taxi driver. "I was cast as a taxi driver about five years ago", Wagner told a reporter. "And I was typed." In 1952, Wagner began to appear on television, in episodes of such shows as The Cisco Kid, Zane Grey Theater and Perry Mason, playing much the same kind of parts he played in the movies. He was a regular cast member on the western television series Gunsmoke, making nearly 80 appearances between 1959 and 1973. He also appeared in many episodes of The Rifleman, Bonanza, Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West and Maverick, including a guest-starring role in the 1959 Rifleman episode "Blood Brother." He also had roles in the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone series. He appeared in more than 200 television episodes between 1952 and 1974. Notable film roles for Wagner include a supporting role in the cult science fiction classic Invaders from Mars (1953), an actor playing a gangster in the film-within-a-film segment of Bullets or Ballots (1936), and the bull farm attendant in the Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters (1945). Late in his career, he appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also occasionally composed music, such as the Mexican folk ballad "Pedro, Rudarte y Simon" in the Western film The Last Trail (1933). Wagner died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1975.
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Young Frankenstein | Villager (uncredited) | 1974-12-15 |
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Terror in the Wax Museum | Music Hall Drunk (Uncredited) | 1973-05-02 |
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Evil Roy Slade | Townsman (uncredited) | 1972-02-18 |
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Support Your Local Gunfighter | Townsman Watching Fight (uncredited) | 1971-05-26 |
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The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again | Barfly (uncredited) | 1970-11-16 |
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True Grit | Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) | 1969-06-11 |
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The Legend of Lylah Clare | Reporter (uncredited) | 1968-08-21 |
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Rosemary's Baby | Man in Dream Sequence (uncredited) | 1968-06-12 |
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Hang 'em High | Prisoner | 1968-04-12 |
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Return of the Gunfighter | Barfly (uncredited) | 1967-03-25 |
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Gunpoint | 1966-04-25 | |
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A Big Hand for the Little Lady | Cashier (uncredited) | 1966-06-08 |
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The Great Race | Barfly (uncredited) | 1965-07-01 |
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Shenandoah | Church Member | 1965-06-03 |
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4 for Texas | Blackjack Dealer | 1963-12-21 |
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It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Spectator (uncredited) | 1963-11-07 |
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To Kill a Mockingbird | Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) | 1962-12-20 |
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Pressure Point | 1962-10-10 | |
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Townsman (uncredited) | 1962-04-13 |
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Ice Palace | Party Guest (uncredited) | 1960-01-02 |
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Sunrise at Campobello | Convention Delegate (uncredited) | 1960-09-28 |
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Robbery Under Arms | Sergeant Goring | 1957-01-10 |
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The Spirit of St. Louis | Reporter (uncredited) | 1957-04-01 |
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Public Pigeon No. 1 | Police Detective (uncredited) | 1957-05-17 |
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The Conqueror | Mongul Guard (uncredited) | 1956-02-02 |
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East of Eden | Workman (uncredited) | 1955-04-10 |
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Illegal | Bartender (uncredited) | 1955-10-09 |
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I Died a Thousand Times | Deputy Charlie (uncredited) | 1955-11-09 |
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The Great Diamond Robbery | Policeman (uncredited) | 1954-01-29 |
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The Country Girl | Expressman (uncredited) | 1954-12-15 |
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Donovan's Brain | Station Agent (uncredited) | 1953-09-30 |
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Invaders from Mars | Army Sgt. Rinaldi | 1953-04-09 |
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Flaming Feather | 1952-02-01 | |
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Pier 23 | Bar Patron (uncredited) | 1951-05-11 |
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The Racket | Durko (uncredited) | 1951-10-25 |
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The Secret of Convict Lake | Jack Purcell (uncredited) | 1951-07-29 |
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Frenchie | Drunk (uncredited) | 1950-12-25 |
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Flaxy Martin | Charles McMahon | 1949-02-15 |
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Reign of Terror | Citizen (uncredited) | 1949-10-15 |
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Caught | Projectionist (uncredited) | 1949-02-17 |
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The Red Pony | Bartender | 1949-03-08 |
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It Happens Every Spring | Umpire (uncredited) | 1949-06-10 |
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The Sainted Sisters | Townsman (uncredited) | 1948-04-30 |
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Shed No Tears | Second Investigating Detective (Uncredited) | 1948-06-09 |
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Half Past Midnight | Mike | 1948-03-01 |
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The Miracle of the Bells | Baggage Man | 1948-03-27 |
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Possessed | Man in Café (uncredited) | 1947-05-29 |
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Sinbad the Sailor | Assistant Overseer (uncredited) | 1947-01-13 |
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Tycoon | 1947-12-27 | |
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It's a Wonderful Life | Cashier / Nick's Assistant Bouncer (uncredited) | 1946-12-20 |
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The Truth About Murder | Henchman Mike (uncredited) | 1946-04-01 |
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That Brennan Girl | Moving Man (uncredited) | 1946-12-23 |
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Dick Tracy vs. Cueball | Bartender (uncredited) | 1946-11-22 |
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The Lost Weekend | Mike (uncredited) | 1945-11-29 |
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A Medal for Benny | Jake (uncredited) | 1945-04-16 |
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Circumstantial Evidence | Truck Driver | 1945-04-20 |
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Fallen Angel | Bartender (uncredited) | 1945-11-15 |
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Radio Stars on Parade | George | 1945-08-01 |
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Boss of Boomtown | Sergeant George Dunne | 1944-05-20 |
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The Miracle of Morgan's Creek | Military Police Driver (uncredited) | 1944-09-18 |
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Hi, Beautiful | Sailor (uncredited) | 1944-12-18 |
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Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines | Rudy the Sailor | 1943-01-01 |
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The Wife Takes a Flyer | Sergeant | 1942-04-28 |
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Obliging Young Lady | Jack - Diner Counterman (uncredited) | 1942-04-01 |
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Overland to Deadwood | Buck | 1942-09-25 |
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Come on Danger | Tough Guy | 1942-06-05 |
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The Spoilers | Deputy (uncredited) | 1942-06-11 |
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Mexican Spitfire's Elephant | Villa Luigi Headwaiter | 1942-09-17 |
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Sabotage Squad | Recruiting Sergeant | 1942-08-27 |
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The Talk of the Town | Moving Man (uncredited) | 1942-08-20 |
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The Palm Beach Story | Tom's Best Man (uncredited) | 1942-08-28 |
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A Night to Remember | Policeman Temple (uncredited) | 1942-12-10 |
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Matri-Phony | Guard (uncredited) | 1942-07-02 |
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Panama Hattie | Jailer (uncredited) | 1942-09-30 |
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Moontide | Fisherman (uncredited) | 1942-05-29 |
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Cyclone on Horseback | Jamison | 1941-06-13 |
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Texas | Fats Delaney | 1941-10-09 |
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Ride on Vaquero | Partner | 1941-04-18 |
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The Mexican Spitfire's Baby | Bartender | 1941-11-28 |
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Hired Wife | Streetcar Conductor | 1940-09-13 |
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Lucky Partners | Waiter (uncredited) | 1940-08-02 |
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The Mad Doctor | Cab Driver (Uncredited) | 1940-12-20 |
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Trail of the Vigilantes | Joe | 1940-12-13 |
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Rhythm on the River | Cherry's Cabbie | 1940-08-28 |
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They Drive by Night | Sweeney, Driver (uncredited) | 1940-07-26 |
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Buck Benny Rides Again | Cowboy | 1940-05-31 |
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The House Across the Bay | Jim | 1940-03-01 |
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Men Against the Sky | Max - Radioman | 1940-09-06 |
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Wildcat Bus | Bus Driver Jackson (uncredited) | 1940-08-23 |
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Pop Always Pays | Bill - Policeman in Car 43 | 1940-06-21 |
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The Bank Dick | Shirtless Ditchdigger (uncredited) | 1940-11-29 |
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The Grapes of Wrath | Guard (uncredited) | 1940-03-15 |
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The Man Who Wouldn't Talk | Truck Driver | 1940-01-11 |
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Millionaire Playboy | Highway Patrol Officer | 1940-03-14 |
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Mexican Spitfire | Headwaiter - Mexican Pete's | 1940-01-12 |
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You Can't Fool Your Wife | Burglar | 1940-05-21 |
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The Ghost Breakers | Ship Porter (uncredited) | 1940-06-21 |
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Charlie Chan in Panama | Soldier | 1940-03-01 |
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Cafe Society | Guest | 1939-03-03 |
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Scouts to the Rescue | Joe - Truck Driver-Henchman | 1939-01-17 |
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Off the Record | Visitor (uncredited) | 1939-01-21 |
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Our Leading Citizen | Workman | 1939-08-23 |
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The Girl from Mexico | Headwaiter | 1939-06-01 |
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Money to Loan | Hanley's Strong-Arm Man | 1939-03-11 |
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Fifth Avenue Girl | Policeman (uncredited) | 1939-09-22 |
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The Gracie Allen Murder Case | Thug | 1939-06-02 |
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Reno | Police Lt. Joe Wilson | 1939-12-01 |
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The Day the Bookies Wept | Bet Placing Taxi Driver (uncredited) | 1939-09-13 |
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The Roaring Twenties | Gangster (uncredited) | 1939-10-28 |
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I'll Tell the World | Salesman | 1939-03-09 |
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The Return of the Cisco Kid | Brings in Rustler | 1939-04-28 |
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Mr. Moto in Danger Island | Sailor at Wrestling Match | 1939-04-07 |
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Wings of the Navy | Boss Mechanic | 1939-02-11 |
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Fast and Loose | Nolan's Henchman (uncredited) | 1939-02-17 |
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Cocoanut Grove | Brakeman | 1938-05-20 |
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Born to Be Wild | Jake - Trucker in Cafe (uncredited) | 1938-02-16 |
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Submarine Patrol | Marine Corporal (uncredited) | 1938-11-25 |
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Professor Beware | Chinatown Barker | 1938-07-29 |
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Painted Desert | Henchman Kincaid | 1938-08-12 |
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Maid's Night Out | Sam Johnson - Milk Man (uncredited) | 1938-03-03 |
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The Arkansas Traveler | Hobo | 1938-10-14 |
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Penrod and His Twin Brother | Blackie | 1938-02-26 |
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Tarnished Angel | Tough Casino Decoy | 1938-10-28 |
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Little Tough Guys in Society | Guest | 1938-11-01 |
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You Only Live Once | Dan - Corridor Guard (uncredited) | 1937-01-23 |
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Black Legion | Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited) | 1937-01-30 |
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Smart Blonde | Chuck Cannon | 1937-01-02 |
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Many Unhappy Returns | Ernie - Counter Girl's Boyfriend | 1937-10-14 |
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God's Country and the Woman | Gus | 1937-01-16 |
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Step Lively, Jeeves! | Joey | 1937-06-30 |
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Alcatraz Island | Party Guest (uncredited) | 1937-10-13 |
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San Quentin | Prison Runner | 1937-05-24 |
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Stage Door | Baggage Man (uncredited) | 1937-10-08 |
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We Who Are About to Die | Cell Block E Convict (uncredited) | 1937-01-08 |
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Border Cafe | Shakey | 1937-06-04 |
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The Great O'Malley | School Bus Driver (uncredited) | 1937-02-13 |
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Wings Over Honolulu | Marine | 1937-05-16 |
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Dancing Pirate | Pirate (uncredited) | 1936-05-22 |
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Paddy O'Day | Milkman's Helper on Dock | 1936-01-17 |
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Love on a Bet | Reporter | 1936-03-06 |
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The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | Pug O'Leary | 1936-01-13 |
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The Crime Patrol | Bennie | 1936-05-12 |
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Bullets or Ballots | Actor Impersonating Kruger in Newsreel (uncredited) | 1936-06-06 |
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The Girl from Mandalay | Drunken Brawler | 1936-04-19 |
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The Big Game | Man Outside Hotel | 1936-10-09 |
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Chatterbox | Himself (uncredited) | 1936-01-17 |
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Night Waitress | Diner Trying to Date Helen | 1936-12-18 |
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The Girl on the Front Page | Fireman | 1936-09-26 |
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Two in Revolt | Davis | 1936-04-03 |
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Walking on Air | Sam, Second Gas Station Attendant (uncredited) | 1936-09-11 |
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Love Begins at Twenty | Lester - O'Bannion's Driver | 1936-08-22 |
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Sons o' Guns | Soldier | 1936-05-13 |
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The House of a Thousand Candles | Henchman | 1936-04-02 |
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Charlie Chan in Shanghai | Taxi Driver Henchman | 1935-10-11 |
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The Miracle Rider | Morley | 1935-04-11 |
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Dr. Socrates | Gangster | 1935-10-19 |
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The Daring Young Man | Reporter | 1935-07-17 |
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Mary Burns, Fugitive | Sailor | 1935-11-15 |
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The Fighting Marines | Gibson | 1935-11-22 |
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3 Kids and a Queen | Reporter | 1935-10-21 |
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The Personality Kid | Max | 1934-06-06 |
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The Lost Jungle | Slade | 1934-06-13 |
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The Lost Jungle | Slade | 1934-03-22 |
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Blind Date | Evans - Bob's Chauffeur | 1934-07-20 |
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Hell Bent for Love | Ernest Dallas | 1934-05-19 |
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The Oil Raider | Simmons | 1934-11-01 |
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Name the Woman | Reporter | 1934-07-25 |
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She Had to Choose | Hold-Up Man | 1934-10-01 |
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Gridiron Flash | Convict Football Player | 1934-10-06 |
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Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen | Grip | 1934-01-12 |
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Before Dawn | Policeman in Car (uncredited) | 1933-08-04 |
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Arizona to Broadway | Pete | 1933-07-22 |
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Renegades of the West | Bob | 1932-11-25 |
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Cock of the Air | Military Policeman | 1932-01-23 |
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Rockabye | Reporter (uncredited) | 1932-11-25 |
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The World and the Flesh | Vorobiov | 1932-04-22 |
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Suicide Fleet | Radio Operator (uncredited) | 1931-11-20 |
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The Good Bad Girl | Thug | 1931-05-20 |
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El último de los Vargas | 1930-10-03 | |
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Going Wild | Ferguson - Pilot | 1930-12-21 |
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Numbered Men | Convict Road Laborer (extra) | 1930-06-07 |
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Flashing Oars | Student | 1927-02-28 |
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The Thrill Seekers | A Hood | 1927-09-01 |
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The Relay | Sophomore | 1927-01-30 |
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The First Auto | Bartender | 1927-06-27 |
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Making Good | Student | 1926-12-06 |
