From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Sawyer gained acting experience in the Pasadena Playhouse. Popular roles that he portrayed included Sergeant Biff O'Hara in the Rin Tin Tin television program, a film, and on radio. On Stories of the Century in 1954, he portrayed Butch Cassidy, a role which he repeated in the 1958 episode "The Outlaw Legion" of the syndicated western series Frontier Doctor starring Rex Allen, with Doris Singleton and Michael Ansara as fellow guest stars. Sawyer also appeared on ABC's, Maverick, Sugarfoot, Peter Gunn, and Surfside 6 as well as NBC's Bat Masterson.
Sawyer died April 21, 1982, in Ashland, Oregon from liver cancer. He was 75. His interment was in Oregon.
Known For
Gilda
(1946)
Casey
The Killing
(1956)
Mike O'Reilly
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Riverboat Officer (uncredited)
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Bookkeeper
Sergeant York
(1941)
Sergeant Early
The Public Enemy
(1931)
Pool Player (uncredited)
North to Alaska
(1960)
Land Commissioner
The Roaring Twenties
(1939)
The Sergeant
The Outlaw
(1943)
Charley Woodruff
They Died with Their Boots On
(1941)
Sgt. Doolittle
Santa Fe Trail
(1940)
Kitzmiller
Jimmy the Gent
(1934)
Mike (uncredited)
It Came from Outer Space
(1953)
Frank Daylon
A Double Life
(1947)
Pete Bonner
Belle Starr
(1941)
John Cole
Buckskin Frontier
(1943)
Brannigan
Full Filmography
Acting
Maker of Men
(1931)
Bennett the Monroe Coach (uncredited)
The Public Enemy
(1931)
Pool Player (uncredited)
Huddle
(1932)
Slater
Arsène Lupin
(1932)
Leroux (uncredited)
Three-Cornered Moon
(1933)
Head Lifeguard
Ace of Aces
(1933)
Captain Daly
Son of a Sailor
(1933)
Slug
Golden Harvest
(1933)
Farmhand (uncredited)
College Humor
(1933)
Tex Roust
College Coach
(1933)
Holcomb
Saturday's Millions
(1933)
Coach
Eskimo
(1933)
Sergeant Hunt (uncredited)
The Stranger's Return
(1933)
Thresher
The Case of the Howling Dog
(1934)
Carl Trask (uncredited)
Jimmy the Gent
(1934)
Mike (uncredited)
The Bands Plays On
(1934)
Mr. Thomas
Sing and Like it
(1934)
Gunner - Hood
Death on the Diamond
(1934)
"Dunc" Spencer
Gridiron Flash
(1934)
Coach Eversmith
College Rhythm
(1934)
Spud Miller
Prescott Kid
(1934)
Marshal Willoughby
Looking for Trouble
(1934)
Max Stanley
Special Agent
(1935)
Rich - Chief Henchman
Frisco Kid
(1935)
Slugs Crippen (as Joseph Sawyer)
The Informer
(1935)
Bartly Mulholland
I Found Stella Parish
(1935)
Chuck (as Joseph Sawyer)
Car 99
(1935)
Whitey, burly henchman
Moonlight on the Prairie
(1935)
Luke Thomas
The Arizonian
(1935)
Henchman Keeler
Sequoia
(1935)
Forest Ranger (uncredited)
Man of Iron
(1935)
Crawford
The Whole Town's Talking
(1935)
Mannion's Thug (uncredited)
Little Big Shot
(1935)
Doré's Henchman
Broadway Gondolier
(1935)
'Red'
The Petrified Forest
(1936)
Jackie
Special Investigator
(1936)
Jim Plummer
Big Brown Eyes
(1936)
Jack Sully
The Accusing Finger
(1936)
Father Reed, chaplain
Pride of the Marines
(1936)
Tennessee
Freshman Love
(1936)
Coach Kendall
Great Guy
(1936)
Joe Burton
Two in a Crowd
(1936)
Bonelli's Henchman
Crash Donovan
(1936)
Henchman (uncredited)
High Tension
(1936)
Terry Madden
The Leathernecks Have Landed
(1936)
Sgt. Regan
The Walking Dead
(1936)
'Trigger' Smith
A Son Comes Home
(1936)
First Truck Driver
And Sudden Death
(1936)
Police Sgt. Sanborn
Rose Bowl
(1936)
Announcer
The Country Doctor
(1936)
Joe, the Logger Lifting Log (uncredited)
Murder with Pictures
(1936)
Inspector Tom Bacon
San Quentin
(1937)
'Sailor Boy' Hansen
They Gave Him a Gun
(1937)
Doyle - Gangster (uncredited)
Behind the Criminal
(1937)
Red Manders
Black Legion
(1937)
Cliff Summers
The Lady Fights Back
(1937)
Swede Jannsen
Navy Blues
(1937)
Chips
Reported Missing
(1937)
'Brad' Martin
Midnight Madonna
(1937)
Wolfe
A Dangerous Adventure
(1937)
Dutch
Always in Trouble
(1938)
Buster Mussendorfer
Gambling Ship
(1938)
Tony Garzoni
The Storm
(1938)
Kelly
Heart of the North
(1938)
Red Crocker
Passport Husband
(1938)
Duke Selton
Stolen Heaven
(1938)
Bako
Tarzan's Revenge
(1938)
Olaf Punch
You Can't Get Away with Murder
(1939)
Red
The Man from Montreal
(1939)
Biff Anders (as Joseph Sawyer)
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
(1939)
Werner Renz
Frontier Marshal
(1939)
Curley Bill
Union Pacific
(1939)
Shamus (uncredited)
I Stole a Million
(1939)
Billings
The Roaring Twenties
(1939)
The Sergeant
Inside Information
(1939)
Detective Grazzi
Sabotage
(1939)
Gardner
The Lady and the Mob
(1939)
Blinky Mack
Wildcat Bus
(1940)
Burke
Lucky Cisco Kid
(1940)
Bill Stevens
The Long Voyage Home
(1940)
Davis
Melody Ranch
(1940)
Jasper Wildhack
The House Across the Bay
(1940)
Charlie
Honeymoon Deferred
(1940)
Detective James
The Border Legion
(1940)
Jim Gulden
The Grapes of Wrath
(1940)
Bookkeeper
Santa Fe Trail
(1940)
Kitzmiller
Dark Command
(1940)
Bushropp
Women Without Names
(1940)
Principal Keeper Grimley
King of the Lumberjacks
(1940)
Jigger
Down Mexico Way
(1941)
Allen
Down in San Diego
(1941)
Dutch
Belle Starr
(1941)
John Cole
Tanks a Million
(1941)
Sgt. William Ames
Swamp Water
(1941)
Hardy Ragan
They Died with Their Boots On
(1941)
Sgt. Doolittle
Sergeant York
(1941)
Sergeant Early
You're in the Army Now
(1941)
Sergeant Madden
Last of the Duanes
(1941)
Bull Lossomer
The Lady from Cheyenne
(1941)
Sheriff 'Noisy' Burkett, Henchman
Fall In
(1942)
Sgt. Ames
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
(1942)
Eddie Corbett
Wrecking Crew
(1942)
Fred Bunce
A Letter From Bataan
(1942)
Roy - John's Brother-in-Law
Brooklyn Orchid
(1942)
Eddie Corbett
Hay Foot
(1942)
Sergeant Ames
About Face
(1942)
Sgt. William Ames
Sundown Jim
(1942)
Ben Moffitt
Prairie Chickens
(1943)
Albertson
Yanks Ahoy
(1943)
Sgt. Ames
Cowboy in Manhattan
(1943)
Louie
Alaska Highway
(1943)
Roughhouse
Sleepy Lagoon
(1943)
Lumpy
Tornado
(1943)
Charlie Muscles
Taxi, Mister
(1943)
Eddie Corbett
Buckskin Frontier
(1943)
Brannigan
Let's Face It
(1943)
Sgt. Wiggins
Tarzan's Desert Mystery
(1943)
Karl Straeder
Hit the Ice
(1943)
Buster - Silky's Henchman
The Outlaw
(1943)
Charley Woodruff
The Singing Sheriff
(1944)
Squint
Moon Over Las Vegas
(1944)
Joe
Hey, Rookie
(1944)
Sergeant
Raiders of Ghost City
(1944)
Idaho Jones
South of Dixie
(1944)
Ernest Hatcher
High Powered
(1945)
Spike Kenny
Brewster's Millions
(1945)
Hacky Smith
The Naughty Nineties
(1945)
Bailey
Inside Job
(1946)
Police Capt. Thomas
The Runaround
(1946)
Hutchins
G.I. War Brides
(1946)
Sgt. Frank Moraski
Deadline at Dawn
(1946)
Babe Dooley
Gilda
(1946)
Casey
Joe Palooka, Champ
(1946)
Lefty
Christmas Eve
(1947)
Private Detective
Big Town After Dark
(1947)
Monk
Roses Are Red
(1947)
Police Lt. Rocky Wall
A Double Life
(1947)
Pete Bonner
The Untamed Breed
(1948)
Hoy Keegan
Fighting Back
(1948)
Police Sergeant Scudder
Fighting Father Dunne
(1948)
Steve Davis
If You Knew Susie
(1948)
Zero Zantini
Half Past Midnight
(1948)
Det. Lt. Joe Nash
Here Comes Trouble
(1948)
Officer Ames
Coroner Creek
(1948)
Frank Yordy
Tucson
(1949)
Tod Bryant
The Gay Amigo
(1949)
Sergeant McNulty
Deputy Marshal
(1949)
Eli Cressett
Kazan
(1949)
Sandz Jepson
The Lucky Stiff
(1949)
Tony
Stagecoach Kid
(1949)
Thatcher
The Traveling Saleswoman
(1950)
Cactus Jack
The Flying Missile
(1950)
Fuss Payne
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
(1950)
Jake
Operation Haylift
(1950)
George Swallow
Blondie's Hero
(1950)
Sergeant Gateson
As You Were
(1951)
Sgt. Ames
Comin' Round the Mountain
(1951)
Kalem McCoy
Indian Uprising
(1952)
Sgt. Maj. Phineas T. Keogh
Mr. Walkie Talkie
(1952)
Sgt. Ames
Red Skies of Montana
(1952)
R. A. 'Pop' Miller
Deadline - U.S.A.
(1952)
Whitey Franks (uncredited)
It Came from Outer Space
(1953)
Frank Daylon
Taza, Son of Cochise
(1954)
Sgt. Hamma
Johnny Dark
(1954)
Carl Svenson
Riding Shotgun
(1954)
Tom Biggert
The Kettles in the Ozarks
(1956)
Bancroft Baines
The Killing
(1956)
Mike O'Reilly
The Challenge of Rin Tin Tin
(1958)
Sgt. 'Biff' O'Hara
North to Alaska
(1960)
Land Commissioner
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Riverboat Officer (uncredited)
Rin-Tin-Tin: Hero of the West
(1991)
Sgt. Biff O'Hara
Legends of the West
(1992)
Curley Bill in 'Frontier Marshall'
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey
(1995)
Frank Daylon (archive footage) (uncredited)
Writing
Production