Robert J. Wilke
| Robert J. Wilke | |
|---|---|
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Robert J. Wilke in Bonanza
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| Born |
May 18, 1914 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1989 (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film and television actor |
| Years active | 1936–1981 |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Wilke (?-1989, his death) 1 son |
Robert J. Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns. Prior to his film and television career, Wilke was a star left half-back for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was the rushing leader for Notre Dame in 1936 and 1937. He was an All-Star Game Participant in 1937. On November 21, 1936, Wilke scored two touchdowns, both by way of Notre Dame's famous "Sucker Play" or "Perfect Play", versus then #1-ranked Northwestern, crushing Northwestern's Championship hopes. This game was ranked the #2 Greatest Victory in Notre Dame Stadium.
After his collegiate football career, Wilke started as a stuntman in the 1930s and his first appearance on screen was in San Francisco (1936). He soon began to acquire regular character parts, mainly as a heavy, and made his mark when, along with Lee Van Cleef and Sheb Wooley, he played one of the "three men waiting at the station" in High Noon (1952).
Unlike Lee Van Cleef, Wilke never got the "big break" but did appear in many, if not most television westerns, including seven episodes each of NBC's Laramie and CBS's Gunsmoke.
Wilke appeared eight times from 1951 to 1953 on the syndicated western series The Range Rider, starring Jock Mahoney and Dick Jones. He was a guest star five times thereafter on Cheyenne, five times on Bonanza, four times on Wagon Train and Death Valley Days, and three times on Clint Eastwood's Rawhide, Duncan Renaldo's The Cisco Kid, Pat Conway's Tombstone Territory, and Fess Parker's Daniel Boone. He appeared twice on The Virginian, Cimarron Strip, and The Guns of Will Sonnett, and once on Barry Sullivan's The Tall Man, Kirby Grant's Sky King, Andrew Duggan's Lancer, Robert Conrad's The Wild Wild West, and the ABC family western The Monroes.
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