character actors

1. Marvin Kaplan

Marvin Kaplan was born on January 24, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Wild at Heart (1990) and The Great Race (1965). He was married to Rosa Felsenburg. He died on August 25, 2016 in Tarzana, California, USA.

2. Clarence Kolb

Actor | His Girl Friday

Contrary to his familiar image, Clarence Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy act, Kolb and Dill. He made a few shorts in 1916 and a feature in 1917, but went back to vaudeville and the stage immediately thereafter, and did not return to films until the late 1930s. His stern, ...

3. Rhys Williams

Actor | How Green Was My Valley

Moviegoers can be forgiven if they thought that stocky, jaunty Rhys Williams was a jovial Irishman, as he often played that type of character, but his role as a Welsh miner in John Ford's classic How Green Was My Valley (1941) (his film debut) was much closer to home for him, as he was born and ...

4. Ray Teal

Actor | Ace in the Hole

Most familiar to TV audiences as no-nonsense Sheriff Roy Coffee on the long-running western series Bonanza (1959), Ray Teal was one of the most versatile character actors in the business. In his almost 40-year career he played everything from cops to gunfighters to sheriffs to gangsters to a judge ...

5. Beulah Bondi

Actress | It's a Wonderful Life

Character actress Beulah Bondi was a favorite of directors and audiences and is one of the reasons so many films from the 1930s and 1940s remain so enjoyable, as she was an integral part of many of the ensemble casts (a hallmark of the studio system) of major and/or great films, including The Trail...

6. John Qualen

Actor | Casablanca

One of the best and most familiar character actors of the first four decades of sound films, although few who knew his face also knew his name, John Qualen was born in Canada to Norwegian parents. His father was a minister. The family moved to the United States and Qualen (whose real name was ...

7. Howard Da Silva

Actor | The Lost Weekend

Howard da Silva was one of 324 actors, writers and directors who fell victim to the Hollywood blacklisting of the early 1950s, and had his career halted in the blink of an eye. Originally was a steelworker before making his stage debut at age 20 in New York. He made a name for himself on Broadway ...

8. Henry Silva

Actor | The Manchurian Candidate

Henry Silva was born on September 23, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He quit public school to attend drama classes at age 13, supporting himself as a dishwasher in a Manhattan hotel. By 1955, Silva had moved up from dishwasher to waiter, and felt ready to audition for the Actors Studio. He was one of ...

9. Eugene Pallette

Actor | The Adventures of Robin Hood

This eminently recognizable, bulbous, beetle-browed character actor left Culver Military Academy and began acting in repertory companies before becoming a Hollywood extra and stunt man. Eugene's father had also been a thespian at one time but eventually ended his career as an insurance salesman. In...

10. Percy Helton

Actor | The Set-Up

One of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood films of the 1950s. Percy Helton acted almost from infancy, appearing in his father's vaudeville act. The famed Broadway producer David Belasco cast Helton in a succession of child roles over several years, giving the boy an invaluable ...

11. Fritz Weaver

Actor | Creepshow

Fritz Weaver, the American actor, was born on January 19, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served in Civilian Public Service as a conscientious objector during World War II, breaking into acting in the early 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in October 1955 in "The Chalk Garden," which ...

12. Edward Andrews

Actor | Sixteen Candles

The son of a Georgia minister, Edward Andrews debuted on stage in 1926 at age 12 and by 1935 had landed on Broadway. A solid character actor, his large physique and amiable demeanor made him a natural for the jovial, grandfatherly type or genial, small-town businessman which he often played, but ...

13. Joe Maross

Actor | Sometimes a Great Notion

Joe Maross was born on February 7, 1923 in Barnesboro, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Sometimes a Great Notion (1971), The Time Tunnel (1966) and Dallas (1978). He was married to Lucille Rita Everin and Carol Kelly. He died on November 7, 2009 in Glendale, California, USA.

14. Edward Binns

Actor | 12 Angry Men

Gravel-voiced, authoritative American character actor, a reliable presence on screen for more than four decades.

Edward Thomas Binns was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Esther (Bracken) and Edward Thoms Binns. His family were Quakers. He was a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and ...

15. Jon Polito

Actor | The Crow

A veteran of nearly 100 films, Jon Polito is most recognized for his work with The Coen brothers, as well as his many television appearances as a series regular and guest star. Notable motion picture roles include: Millers Crossing, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Crow, Blankman, and The...

16. Ken Lynch

Actor | North by Northwest

If ever there was an actor born to play a tough Irish cop, it was Ken Lynch, and he played so many of them in his long career that he could probably do it in his sleep. His suspicious manner, aggressive attitude, steely eyes and snarling voice broke down many a quavering suspect. He also played ...

17. Sid Melton

Actor | Captain Midnight

Sid Melton was born on May 22, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Captain Midnight (1954), The Golden Girls (1985) and The Steel Helmet (1951). He was married to Jody Lee Myers. He died on November 3, 2011 in Burbank, California, USA.

18. Vic Tayback

Actor | Alice

Vic Tayback was born on January 6, 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Alice (1976), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). He was married to Sheila McKay Barnard. He died on May 25, 1990 in Glendale, California, USA.

19. Edward Everett Horton

Actor | Arsenic and Old Lace

It seemed like Edward Everett Horton appeared in just about every Hollywood comedy made in the 1930s. He was always the perfect counterpart to the great gentlemen and protagonists of the films. Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Isabella S. (Diack) and Edward Everett Horton, a ...

20. Tom Helmore

Actor | Vertigo

Helmore served as an apprentice in his father's accounting firm while working as an extra in movies. He subsequently pursued acting as a career, working predominantly on the stage. The 1945 Broadway musical "The Day Before Spring" led to Helmore's Hollywood career. In British and American films, ...

21. Herbert Anderson

Actor | Battleground

Herbert Anderson was born on March 30, 1917 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Battleground (1949), The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) and Dennis the Menace (1959). He was married to Mary Virginia Palmer. He died on June 11, 1994 in Palm Springs, California, USA.

22. Hugh Marlowe

Actor | All About Eve

Marlowe was born Hugh Hipple in Philadelphia, and began his stage career in the 1930s at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. He performed extensively on radio, stage, television and film with credits including off-Broadway productions of "The Deer Park" in 1967 and "All My Sons" in 1974.

23. Robert Horton

Actor | The Green Slime

Robert Horton was born on July 29, 1924 into a Mormon family in Los Angeles, California as Meade Howard Horton Jr. He began his contract career at MGM in 1952 and adopted the acting name of Robert Horton.

Following his final role (as a guest star on Murder, She Wrote (1984)), Horton retired from ...

24. Cecil Kellaway

Actor | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Though a native of South Africa, Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author and director in Australian live theatre until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to Australia. Then William Wyler called and ...

25. Harry Bellaver

Actor | From Here to Eternity

Harry Bellaver was born on February 12, 1905 in Hillsboro, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for From Here to Eternity (1953), Another Thin Man (1939) and Miss Sadie Thompson (1953). He was married to Gertrude Dudley Vaughan Smith. He died on August 8, 1993 in Nyack, New York, USA.

26. Willis Bouchey

Actor | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Willis Bouchey appeared in almost 150 movies and television shows over a 30-year period from 1951 to 1979. He was one of those wonderful character actors who would be a crooked judge in one film and a humorous cavalry officer in another. He appeared in many of John Ford's movies as well as James ...

27. Jay C. Flippen

Actor | The Killing

Jay C. Flippen could probably be characterized these days as one of those craggy, distinctive faces you know but whose name escapes you while viewing scores of old 1950s and 1960s films and television series. Playing both sides of the law throughout his career, his huge cranium, distinctive bulldog...

28. James Westerfield

Actor | On the Waterfront

James Westerfield was born on March 22, 1913 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for On the Waterfront (1954), True Grit (1969) and Hang 'Em High (1968). He was married to Alice Gertrude Fay (Fay Tracey) and Rosemary Doris Deveson. He died on September 20, 1971 in Woodland Hills, ...

29. Albert Salmi

Actor | The Brothers Karamazov

Albert Salmi was born on March 11, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish parents. After serving in the Army during WWII, he used the GI Bill to study at the Dramatic Workshop of the American Theater Wing and the prestigious Actors Studio. He became a stage actor, very soon landing on Broadway, ...

30. Frank Overton

Actor | To Kill a Mockingbird

Perpetually serious-looking New York-born character actor, who showed up to good effect in many TV shows of the 1950s and '60s. His quietly authoritarian demeanor lent itself ideally to portraying characters with badges or uniforms: Sheriff Heck Tate in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), General Bogan ...

31. Walter Burke

Actor | Support Your Local Sheriff!

Highly recognizable Irish-American character actor whose small stature and wizened features made him resemble a leprechaun (a role which he played on more than one occasion). Probably best known as Willie Stark's bodyguard in All the King's Men (1949).

32. Russell Collins

Actor | The Enemy Below

Russell Collins was born on October 11, 1897 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Enemy Below (1957), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) and Fail Safe (1964). He died on November 14, 1965 in West Hollywood, California, USA.

33. Ida Moore

Actress | Johnny Belinda

Ida Moore was born on March 1, 1882 in Altoona, Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Johnny Belinda (1948), The Egg and I (1947) and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950). She died on September 26, 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

34. Jack Weston

Actor | Dirty Dancing

In a 40-year stage, film, and television career, Weston played sleazy villains to hapless men going through midlife crises to clumsy comics. He was one of the bad guys who victimize a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 cult classic Wait Until Dark (1967) but meets his end at the hands of the number ...

35. Franklin Pangborn

Actor | Hail the Conquering Hero

Franklin Pangborn - a name more befitting a fictionalized bank president rather than a great comedic actor - was a singular character actor but little is known of his early years. He spent some time in developing acting talent prior to appearing on Broadway by March of 1911, and would do six plays ...

36. William Demarest

Actor | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

A stocky, serious-looking character, Carl William Demarest started off in vaudeville in 1905 along with two older brothers. At one time he also performed in a stage act with his wife Estelle Collette (billed as 'Demarest and Collette') and then moved on to Broadway. He entered movies in 1926 and ...

37. Carmen Mathews

Actress | Daniel

Carmen Mathews' film credits include BUtterfield 8 (1960), A Rage to Live (1965), Sounder (1972) Daniel (1983). She also appeared in several TV movies and is still seen in reruns as Col. Lillian Rayborn in an episode of the TV series M*A*S*H (1972). She has teamed on the Broadway stage with such ...

38. Charles Lane

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Mean, miserly and miserable-looking, they didn't come packaged with a more annoying and irksome bow than Charles Lane. Glimpsing even a bent smile from this unending sourpuss was extremely rare, unless one perhaps caught him in a moment of insidious glee after carrying out one of his many nefarious...

39. David White

Actor | Bewitched

American stage actor who appeared frequently on television and occasionally but impressively in films. A Marine Corps veteran of the Second World War, he worked on Broadway and on tour in stage productions after the war. In the late 1950s, he became an increasingly familiar face on American ...

40. Arthur Hill

Actor | The Andromeda Strain

Canadian-born actor Arthur Hill was raised in the Saskatchewan town of Melfort. The son of a lawyer, he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII before receiving his college education at the University of British Columbia. Intending on following in his father's footsteps in the field of...

41. Kevin McCarthy

Actor | Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Handsome, chisel-jawed character actor Kevin McCarthy appeared in nearly 100 movies in a career that spanned seven decades. He also had some starring roles, most notably the horror cult classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). He played the disillusioned son Biff Loman in the 1951 screen ...

42. Edgar Stehli

Actor | Executive Suite

Edgar Stehli was born on July 12, 1884 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was an actor, known for Executive Suite (1954), 4D Man (1959) and Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961). He was married to Emeline C Greenough. He died on July 25, 1973 in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA.

43. Elliott Reid

Actor | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Elliott Reid was born on January 16, 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Inherit the Wind (1960) and Vicki (1953). He died on June 21, 2013 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA.

44. Philip Coolidge

Actor | North by Northwest

Philip Coolidge was born on August 25, 1908 in Concord, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for North by Northwest (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960) and The Tingler (1959). He died on May 23, 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

45. Fred Clark

Actor | Sunset Blvd.

This popular, baggy-eyed, bald-domed, big lug of a character actor had few peers when called upon to display that special "slow burn" style of comedy few others perfected. But perfect he did -- on stage, film and TV. In fact, he pretty much cornered the market during the 50s and 60s as the dour, ...

46. Shepperd Strudwick

Actor | All the King's Men

Actor Shepperd Strudwick had dark, dignified, matinée-styled good looks but with a slightly shady countenance that may have prevented him from attaining top "leading man" stardom in films. Nevertheless he earned distinguished marks in a number of films and returned most frequently to his first love...

47. James Daly

Actor | Planet of the Apes

Distinguished character player James Firman Daly first appeared on stage in his home town of Wisconsin Rapids in 1928. He was set on acting from an early age, and was strongly encouraged by his parents. His father was in the fuel business and his mother at one time a CIA employee. Upon leaving ...

48. John McIntire

Actor | Psycho

John McIntire possessed the requisite grit, craggy features and crusty, steely-eyed countenance to make for one of television and film's most durable supporting players in western settings and film noir. Born in Spokane, Washington in 1907 and the son of a lawyer, he grew up in Montana where he ...

49. Henry Jones

Actor | Vertigo

Henry Burk Jones was born in New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Helen (Burk) and John Francis Xavier Jones, and the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk, a Prussian immigrant. He graduated from St. Joseph's College. His Broadway debut was in 1938 in ...

50. Raymond Bailey

Actor | The Beverly Hillbillies

Raymond Bailey was a great example of "If at first you don't succeed..." After high school, Bailey headed for Hollywood with the intent on becoming a movie star, but soon found it tougher than he thought. Instead Bailey went into a high finance career working as stockbroker and banker. He made a ...

51. Emile Meyer

Actor | Paths of Glory

Emile Meyer was born on August 18, 1910 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Paths of Glory (1957), Shane (1953) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). He died on March 19, 1987 in Covington, Louisiana, USA.

52. Warner Anderson

Actor | The Caine Mutiny

Starting out as a child actor in silent films--he made his film debut at five years of age in The Sunbeam (1916), but didn't make another film for almost 30 years, in 1943's This Is the Army (1943)--Warner Anderson appeared in burlesque and vaudeville as a teenager, and enjoyed a career in Broadway...

53. Fred Stuthman

Actor | Escape from Alcatraz

Fred Stuthman was born on June 27, 1919 in Long Beach, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Escape from Alcatraz (1979), Marathon Man (1976) and Network (1976). He died on July 7, 1982 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

54. John Schuck

Actor | MASH

Of English and German heritage, lumbering, oval-faced John Schuck was born Conrad John Schuck, Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1940, the son of an English professor who taught at, among others, both Princeton College and SUNY Buffalo while John was growing up. Following graduation from ...

55. Timothy Carey

Actor | The Killing

Timothy Carey had one of the most unusual careers of all Hollywood character actors, obtaining full cult status for his portrayals of the doomed, the psychotic and the plain crazy. Carey's career was an "only in America" type of story, and he retains his status as a great American original many ...

56. Dean Jagger

Actor | White Christmas

Dean Jagger was born in Lima, Ohio, on November 7, 1903. He dropped out of high school twice before finally graduating from Wabash College. Working first as a school teacher, he soon became interested in acting and enrolled at Chicago's "Lyceum Art Conservatory". Mr. Jagger made his first movie and...

57. George Mathews

Actor | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Burly, craggy-faced tough guy actor George Mathews was brought up in Manhattan and educated in Brooklyn. He had an extensive career on stage, which began in the early 1930s, after he failed to get a job with the US Post Office. Instead, he joined the WPA (Works Progress Administration) Theatre ...

58. Philip Bruns

Actor | Flashdance

Philip Bruns was born on May 2, 1931 in Pipestone, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Flashdance (1983), Return of the Living Dead II (1988) and The Stunt Man (1980). He was married to Laurie Franks and Jill Owens. He died on February 8, 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

59. Bruno Kirby

Actor | City Slickers

Native New Yorker and Italianate Bruno Kirby tended towards assertive, pushy, streetwise characters and was armed with a highly distinctive scratchy tenor voice that complemented his slim eyes and droopy puss and accentuated his deadpan comedic instincts on film and TV. The well-regarded character ...

60. Joe Sawyer

Actor | The Petrified Forest

Joe Sawyer's familiar mug appeared everywhere during the 1930s and 1940s, particularly as a stock player for Warner Bros. in its more standard college musicals, comedies and crime yarns. He could play both sides of the fence, street cops and mob gunmen, with equal ease. He was born Joseph Sauers in...

61. Harold J. Stone

Actor | The Wrong Man

Never a big name but always a reliable staple on TV crime shows during the 1960s and 1970s, Harold J. Stone usually was seen in a strong, unsympathetic vein -- an unyielding father or husband, corrupt businessman, menacing crime figure, etc. A sober-looking gent with a block jaw, Romanesque-styled ...

62. Stephen Tobolowsky

Actor | Groundhog Day

Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951 in Dallas, Texas. Over the past three decades, Tobolowsky has racked up a lengthy list of roles in movies and television across many different genres.

While Tobolowsky initially attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with ...

63. David Huddleston

Actor | The Big Lebowski

David Huddleston was born on September 17, 1930 in Vinton, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The Big Lebowski (1998), Blazing Saddles (1974) and The Producers (2005). He was married to Sarah C. Koeppe and Carole Ann Swart. He died on August 2, 2016 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

64. Henry Travers

Actor | It's a Wonderful Life

British-born Henry Travers was a veteran of the English stage before emigrating to the U.S. in 1917. He gained more stage experience there on Broadway working with the Theatre Guild, and began his long film career with Reunion in Vienna (1933). Travers' kindly, grandfatherly demeanor became ...

65. Byron Foulger

Actor | Sullivan's Travels

One of those wonderfully busy character actors whose face is familiar if not his name, mild-mannered actor Byron Foulger began performing with community theater, and stock and repertory companies after graduating from the University of Utah. He met his future wife, character actress Dorothy Adams, ...

66. Marjorie Bennett

Actress | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Marjorie Bennett was an Australian actress, who spend most of her career working in the United Kingdom and the United States. She was born in York, Western Australia, a town that was an important stop for miners and travelers during the Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century. York is ...

67. Paul Stewart

Actor | Citizen Kane

Esteemed character actor Paul Stewart had a pair of the coldest orbs in town and made his living for decades playing dark, callous, shiftless villains, including a vast number of mobsters. Not a well-known name per se, he was nevertheless a reliable actor who seemed to have been born for the film ...

68. Victor Moore

Actor | Swing Time

Victor Moore was born on February 24, 1876 in Hammonton, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Swing Time (1936), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947). He was married to Shirley Paige and Emma Littlefield. He died on July 23, 1962 in East Islip, Long ...

69. Eric Blore

Actor | Sullivan's Travels

Born in London, Eric Blore came out of college and started his working life as an insurance agent. But while touring in Australia he took an interest in the stage and theater. He gave up his insurance job and turned to acting after returning to England. With his elfish long, straight nose, ...

70. Jonathan Hale

Actor | The Saint's Double Trouble

Canadian-born character actor Jonathan Hale had a long and distinguished film career, appearing in over 260 pictures and television programs.

He was a member of the diplomatic service prior to his film career, and his stately bearing stood him in good stead for the large variety of corporate ...

71. John Doucette

Actor | True Grit

Stocky, balding American character actor with a rich, deep voice, equally adept at Western bad guys and Shakespeare. He began his career in films in minor roles, primarily as gangland henchmen, and progressed to become widely familiar as a figure in a variety of dramas and occasional comedies. ...

72. Lionel Stander

Actor | The Transformers: The Movie

Lionel Stander, the movie character actor with the great gravelly voice, was born on January 11th, 1908 in The Bronx borough of New York City. Stander's acting career was derailed when he was blacklisted during the 1950s after being exposed as a Communist Party member during the House Un-American ...

73. Douglass Dumbrille

Actor | The Ten Commandments

Distinguished character villain Douglass (R.) Dumbrille, whose distinctive stern features, beady eyes, tidy mustache, prominent hook nose and suave, cultivated presence graced scores of talking films, was born on October 13, 1889, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was first employed as a bank clerk ...

74. Raymond Walburn

Actor | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Stalwart character Raymond Walburn is one of those actors whose name may have slipped through the memory cracks over time, but whose valued contribution to 30s and 40s comedy films certainly warrants a reminder. Somewhat reminiscent of the "Mr. Monopoly" character, Walburn was the archetypal ...

75. Gene Lockhart

Actor | His Girl Friday

Gene Lockhart was born on July 18, 1891, in London, Ontario, Canada, the son of John Coates Lockhart and Ellen Mary (Delany) Lockhart. His father had studied singing and young Gene displayed an early interest in drama and music. Shortly after the 7-year-old danced a Highland fling in a concert ...

76. Sterling Holloway

Actor | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Popular American character actor of amusing appearance and voice whose long career led from dozens of highly enjoyable onscreen performances to world-wide familiarity as the voice of numerous Walt Disney animated films. Born in the American Deep South to grocer Sterling P. Holloway Sr. and Rebecca ...

77. John Randolph

Actor | You've Got Mail

Veteran performer John Randolph was a Tony Award-winning character actor whose union and social activism in the '40s and '50s caused him to be blacklisted during the McCarthy era. The balding performer may not have been a household name, but he was a regular face in movies and TV for over four ...

78. Don Gordon

Actor | The Towering Inferno

Don Gordon was born on November 13, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Towering Inferno (1974), Papillon (1973) and Bullitt (1968). He was married to Denise Farr, Bek Nelson, Nita Talbot and Helen Westcott. He died on April 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, ...

79. Bill Macy

Actor | The Jerk

Bill Macy was born on May 18, 1922 in Revere, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Jerk (1979), Maude (1972) and Analyze This (1999). He was married to Samantha Harper and Judith Janus. He died on October 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

80. S.Z. Sakall

Actor | Casablanca

Hungarian-born S.Z. Sakall was a veteran of German, Hungarian and British films when he left Europe because of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. In Hollywood from shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Sakall began appearing in comedies and musicals, often playing a lovable if ...

81. Barbara Rhoades

Actress | The Goodbye Girl

Barbara Rhoades was born on March 23, 1946 in Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for The Goodbye Girl (1977), Harry and Tonto (1974) and Busting Loose (1977). She has been married to Bernie Orenstein since February 18, 1979. They have one child.

82. Jerome Cowan

Actor | Miracle on 34th Street

Jerome Cowan was one of Hollywood's most prolific and instantly recognizable character actors. His trademark pencil-thin mustache and slicked back hair, immaculate suits and sophisticated manner were his stock-in-trade for impersonating an assortment of rejected husbands, shifty politicians, ...

83. Bob Dishy

Actor | Along Came Polly

Bob Dishy was born on January 12, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Along Came Polly (2004), The Wackness (2008) and Don Juan DeMarco (1994). He has been married to Judy Graubart since 1986. They have two children.

84. Nicholas Colasanto

Actor | Cheers

Nicholas Colasanto, the actor and television director who achieved his greatest success as "Coach" on the TV series Cheers (1982) at the end of his career, was born January 19, 1924 in Providence, Rhode Island, one of seven children. He attended Providence's Central High School but did not graduate...

85. Ned Glass

Actor | Charade

Veteran Polish-born character actor Ned Glass grew up in New York. After working in vaudeville he started acting in small parts on Broadway from the early 1930s. He gained further experience in the capacity of theatrical production supervisor before entering motion pictures in 1937 as an MGM ...

86. Bartlett Robinson

Actor | Sleeper

Bartlett Robinson was born on December 9, 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Sleeper (1973), The Fortune Cookie (1966) and The Spirit of St. Louis (1957). He was married to Margaret White Ballantine. He died on March 26, 1986 in Fallbrook, California, USA.

87. John Fiedler

Actor | 12 Angry Men

Typical of busy character actors, Fiedler made his face (and voice) recognizable to millions. Many know the bald-pated Fiedler as therapy patient "Mr. Peterson" on The Bob Newhart Show (1972); others might first recognize him for the 1968 movie, The Odd Couple (1968), and spin-off TV show, The Odd ...

88. Willard Waterman

Actor | Auntie Mame

Willard Waterman was born on August 29, 1914 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Auntie Mame (1958), The Apartment (1960) and Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958). He was married to Mary Anna Theleen. He died on February 2, 1995 in Burlingame, California, USA.

89. Jesse White

Actor | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Lovable, laid-back Jesse White made acting seem fun and easy. He was born Jesse Marc Weidenfeld in Buffalo, New York, and was raised in Akron, Ohio. He made his first amateur appearance on the local stage at age 15. Before breaking into professional theater in the 1940s, he held many different jobs...

90. Robert Strauss

Actor | Stalag 17

Burly American character actor with a deep gravelly voice who was equally adept at comedy and drama. The son of a theatrical costume designer, Strauss worked as a salesman and also as a singing waiter and busboy before finding success in the stage version of "Detective Story" on Broadway. He ...

91. Jessie Royce Landis

Actress | North by Northwest

Jessie Royce Landis was called "an international star" in her New York Times obituary. She was 20 when she made her stage debut at the Playhouse in Chicago as the young countess in "The Highwayman". Soon she was on Broadway. In 1950 she went to London for "Larger Than Life", a dramatization of W. ...

92. Peter Whitney

Actor | The Big Heat

Peter Whitney's over-powering frame, swarthy looks, bushy brows and maniacal look in his eye made him one of the most fearsome character actors to lump around in 1940s-60s film and TV.

Born on May 24, 1916 in New Jersey of German ancestry, Peter King Engle was educated at Exeter Academy. He ...

93. Paul Benedict

Actor | This Is Spinal Tap

Genial, pleasant-voiced character actor Paul Benedict was born in New Mexico on September 17, 1938, and made hosts of stage, film and TV appearances in a career lasting five decades. The son of a doctor, he was diagnosed with acromegaly by an endocrinologist who happened to catch the nascent actor ...

94. Barbara Nichols

Actress | Sweet Smell of Success

She was the archetypal brassy, bosomy, Brooklynesque blonde with a highly distinctive scratchy voice. Barbara Nichols started life as Barbara Marie Nickerauer in Queens, New York on December 10, 1928, and grew up on Long Island. Graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School, she changed her ...

95. Dub Taylor

Actor | The Getaway

Dub Taylor was born on February 26, 1907 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Getaway (1972), The Wild Bunch (1969) and You Can't Take It with You (1938). He was married to Florence Gertrude Heffernan. He died on October 3, 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

96. William Hopper

Actor | Perry Mason

William Hopper was born on January 26, 1915 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Perry Mason (1957), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955). He was married to Jeanette Juanita Ward and Jane Gilbert. He died on March 6, 1970 in Palm Springs, ...

97. John Hoyt

Actor | When Worlds Collide

John Hoyt was born on October 5, 1905 in Bronxville, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for When Worlds Collide (1951), Spartacus (1960) and Brute Force (1947). He was married to Dorothy Marion Oltman and Marion Virginia Burns. He died on September 15, 1991 in Santa Cruz, California, ...

98. Robert Emhardt

Actor | 3:10 to Yuma

Robert Emhardt looked and sounded as if he had intentionally been created by some perverse god to play villains. Though rotund, he had hooded, lizard-like eyes and a drawling whine in his voice. The real Robert Emhardt, however, was a well-educated, cultured, generous man, not at all like the ...

99. Virginia Christine

Actress | Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Virginia has a long career as a character actress on the screen, but she will always be best remembered as the Swedish "Mrs. Olsen", who somehow knew everything about making coffee, and we somehow always found her in the kitchen of some hapless young housewife who just couldn't seem to make good ...

100. Jack Kruschen

Actor | The Apartment

Canadian-born Jack Kruschen entered films after years on the stage, and became a dependable character actor both in movies and on television. Often cast as ethnic comedy relief, Kruschen occasionally landed a role as a villain, but was more often the volatile, emotional Italian or Jewish neighbor ...