Charles Lane (actor)
| Charles Lane | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Charles Gerstle Levison January 26, 1905 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 9, 2007 (aged 102) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Home of Peace Cemetery and Emanu-El Mausoleum in Colma, California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1930–2007 |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Covell Lane (m. 1931–2002; her death); 2 children |
Charles Lane (born Charles Gerstle Levison; January 26, 1905 – July 9, 2007) was an American character actor whose career spanned 77 years. Lane gave his last performance at the age of 101 as a narrator in 2006. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). He was a favored supporting actor of Lucille Ball, who often used him as a no-nonsense authority figure and comedic foe of her scatterbrained TV character on her TV series I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour and The Lucy Show. His first film of more than 250 was as a hotel clerk in Smart Money (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney.
Lane spent a short time as an insurance salesman before taking to the stage at the Pasadena Playhouse. Actor/director Irving Pichel first suggested that Lane go into acting in 1929, and four years later Lane was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He became a favorite of director Frank Capra, who used him in several films. In It's a Wonderful Life, Lane played a seemingly hard-nosed rent collector for the miserly Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore), who tried to explain to his employer that many of his tenants were moving out, taking advantage of affordable mortgage loans provided by the film's protagonist, George Bailey (James Stewart). Lane also appeared in the film Mighty Joe Young (1949) as one of the reporters cajoling Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) for information about the identity of "Mr. Joseph Young", the persona given featured billing on the front of the building, on opening night.
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