Prolific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in Le train sifflera trois fois (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Les moissons du ciel (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989. -
Known For
Spartacus
(1960)
Guard captain
Stripes
(1981)
Gen. Barnicke
The Magnificent Seven
(1960)
Wallace
High Noon
(1952)
Jim Pierce
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
(1954)
First Mate of the Nautilus
Days of Heaven
(1978)
The Farm Foreman
From Here to Eternity
(1953)
Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
Man of the West
(1958)
Ponch
The Far Country
(1954)
Madden
The Hallelujah Trail
(1965)
Chief Five Barrels
Written on the Wind
(1956)
Dan Willis
The Fighting Seabees
(1944)
Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Wichita
(1955)
Ben Thompson
The Tarnished Angels
(1957)
Hank
The Cheyenne Social Club
(1970)
Corey Bannister
Backlash
(1956)
Jeff Welker
Full Filmography
Acting
San Quentin
(1937)
Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
That Man's Here Again
(1937)
(uncredited)
The Fighting Devil Dogs
(1938)
Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
Star Reporter
(1939)
Reporter
In Old Monterey
(1939)
Man on Wagon
Daredevils of the Red Circle
(1939)
G-Man
S.O.S Tidal Wave
(1939)
Man in TV Studio
Grand Ole Opry
(1940)
Hillbilly (uncredited)
Adventures of Red Ryder
(1940)
Henchman
In Old Missouri
(1940)
Hillbilly
Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
(1941)
Cutter Helmsman
Sierra Sue
(1941)
Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
Whispering Footsteps
(1943)
Bank Customer
Cowboy and the Senorita
(1944)
Townsman (uncredited)
Sheriff of Sundown
(1944)
Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Hidden Valley Outlaws
(1944)
Rancher (uncredited)
Faces in the Fog
(1944)
Photographer
Code of the Prairie
(1944)
Vigilantes of Dodge City
(1944)
Bill
Call of the Rockies
(1944)
Deputy Jim
San Antonio Kid
(1944)
Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
The Fighting Seabees
(1944)
Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
Bordertown Trail
(1944)
Henchman
Bandits of the Badlands
(1945)
Keller
Corpus Christi Bandits
(1945)
Henchman Steve
Earl Carroll Vanities
(1945)
Cab Driver
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
(1945)
Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Santa Fe Saddlemates
(1945)
Rawhide
Trail of Kit Carson
(1945)
Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
Hitchhike to Happiness
(1945)
Stage Hand (uncredited)
Sunset in El Dorado
(1945)
Curley Roberts
Sheriff of Cimarron
(1945)
Henchman Dobie
Traffic in Crime
(1946)
Hogan's Driver
The Catman of Paris
(1946)
The Catman
The Inner Circle
(1946)
Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
White Tie and Tails
(1946)
Starter (uncredited)
Rendezvous with Annie
(1946)
MP (uncredited)
Passkey to Danger
(1946)
Police Sergeant
Badman's Territory
(1946)
Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
Blackmail
(1947)
Policeman
Law of the Canyon
(1947)
Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
The Ghost Goes Wild
(1947)
Burglar
Buck Privates Come Home
(1947)
GI Buddy (uncredited)
Twilight on the Rio Grande
(1947)
Henchman
Web of Danger
(1947)
Station Wagon Driver
Carson City Raiders
(1948)
Ed Noble (as Bob Wilke)
Homicide for Three
(1948)
Policeman
Daredevils of the Clouds
(1948)
Joe
Laramie
(1949)
Cronin (uncredited)
Flaming Fury
(1949)
Coyote Canyon
(1949)
Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
The Wyoming Bandit
(1949)
Sam - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Frontier Outpost
(1950)
Krag Benson
Outcasts of Black Mesa
(1950)
Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
Across the Badlands
(1950)
Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
The Desert Hawk
(1950)
Camel Driver
Saddle Legion
(1951)
Henchman Hooker
Overland Telegraph
(1951)
Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
Best of the Badmen
(1951)
Jim Younger
Hot Lead
(1951)
Stoney Dawson (as Robert Wilke)
Gunplay
(1951)
Henchman Winslow
Pistol Harvest
(1951)
Andy Baylor
Cyclone Fury
(1951)
Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
Road Agent
(1952)
Slab Babcock
Hellgate
(1952)
Sgt. Maj. Kearn
Wyoming Roundup
(1952)
Wyatt - Henchman
Cattle Town
(1952)
Keeno
Fargo
(1952)
Link - Henchman
The Las Vegas Story
(1952)
Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
High Noon
(1952)
Jim Pierce
The Maverick
(1952)
Massey
Cow Country
(1953)
Sledge
From Here to Eternity
(1953)
Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
War Paint
(1953)
Trooper Grady
Arrowhead
(1953)
Sgt. Stone
The Lone Gun
(1954)
Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
The Far Country
(1954)
Madden
Two Guns and a Badge
(1954)
Moore - Outlaw
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
(1954)
First Mate of the Nautilus
Strange Lady in Town
(1955)
Karg
Smoke Signal
(1955)
First Sergeant Daly (as Robert Wilke)
Wichita
(1955)
Ben Thompson
Shotgun
(1955)
Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
The Lone Ranger
(1956)
Cassidy
Canyon River
(1956)
Joe Graycoe
Raw Edge
(1956)
Sile Doty
Gun the Man Down
(1956)
Matt Rankin
Written on the Wind
(1956)
Dan Willis
Backlash
(1956)
Jeff Welker
The Rawhide Years
(1956)
Neal (as Robert Wilke)
Hot Summer Night
(1957)
Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
The Tarnished Angels
(1957)
Hank
Night Passage
(1957)
Concho
Return to Warbow
(1958)
Red
Man of the West
(1958)
Ponch
Never Steal Anything Small
(1959)
Lennie
The Magnificent Seven
(1960)
Wallace
The Slowest Gun in the West
(1960)
Billy the Kid Blake
Spartacus
(1960)
Guard captain
The Long Rope
(1961)
Ben Matthews
The Gun Hawk
(1963)
Johnny Flanders
Shock Treatment
(1964)
Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
Fate Is the Hunter
(1964)
Stillman
The Hallelujah Trail
(1965)
Chief Five Barrels
The Magnificent Stranger
(1966)
Sheriff McVey
Smoky
(1966)
Jeff Nicks
Tony Rome
(1967)
Ralph Turpin
The Desperate Mission
(1969)
Gant
The Cheyenne Social Club
(1970)
Corey Bannister
They Call It Murder
(1971)
Sheriff Rex Brandon
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler
(1971)
Hugh Fielding
A Gunfight
(1971)
Marshal Tom Cater
The Rookies
(1972)
Officer Shaw
Santee
(1973)
Deaks (as Robert Wilke
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
(1973)
The Sheriff
Wild and Wooly
(1978)
Demas Scott
Days of Heaven
(1978)
The Farm Foreman
The Sweet Creek County War
(1979)
Stripes
(1981)
Gen. Barnicke
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
(1988)
Self (archive footage)