From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874) [some sources 1870] Berlin, Prussia, Germany – July 15, 1947, Los Angeles, California) was an American stage and film actor and director.
Kolker came to America at the age of five and his family settled in Quincy, Illinois. Kolker, like fellow actors Richard Bennett and Robert Warwick, had a substantial stage career behind him before entering silent films.
On stage he appeared opposite such leading ladies as Edith Wynne Matthison, Bertha Kalich and Ruth Chatterton. Kolker is best remembered for his motion picture appearances and for appearing with Barbara Stanwyck in the ground-breaking Pre-Code film Baby Face (1933) as the elderly CEO of the company whom Stanwyck's character seduces. Another well remembered part is as Mr. Seton, father of Katharine Hepburn and Lew Ayres in the 1938 film Holiday directed by George Cukor.
Kolker entered films as an actor in 1915 and eventually ended up trying his hand at directing. Kolker's best known directorial effort is Disraeli (1921), starring George Arliss which is now a lost film with only one reel remaining. Prints however exist in Europe and Russia.
Known For
Baby Face
(1933)
J.R. Carter
Holiday
(1938)
Edward Seton
Abraham Lincoln
(1930)
New Englander (uncredited)
Union Pacific
(1939)
Asa M. Barrows
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Court Aide (uncredited)
Bullets or Ballots
(1936)
Mr. Hollister
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Dr. Preston (uncredited)
Mad Love
(1935)
Prefect Rosset
A Woman's Face
(1941)
Judge
I Live My Life
(1935)
Relative at Mrs. Gage's (Uncredited)
Romeo and Juliet
(1936)
Friar Laurence
Full Filmography
Acting
How Molly Malone Made Good
(1915)
Himself
Gloria's Romance
(1916)
Dr. Stephen Royce
The House of Mirth
(1918)
Lawrence Selden
Social Hypocrites
(1918)
Dr. Frank Simpson
The Brat
(1919)
A Dandy
Any Woman
(1925)
Egbert Phillips
Sally, Irene and Mary
(1925)
Marcus Morton
Hell's Four Hundred
(1926)
The Palace of Pleasure
(1926)
A Kiss in a Taxi
(1927)
Leon Lambert
Midnight Rose
(1928)
Corbin
The Beautiful Spy
(1928)
Viceroy Cisneros
Soft Living
(1928)
Rodney S. Bowen
Don't Marry
(1928)
General Willoughby
The Valiant
(1929)
Judge
Coquette
(1929)
Jasper Carter
Love, Live & Laugh
(1929)
Enrico
One Heavenly Night
(1930)
Prefect of Police
Abraham Lincoln
(1930)
New Englander (uncredited)
The Bad One
(1930)
Prosecutor
East Is West
(1930)
Mr. Benson
Good Intentions
(1930)
Butler
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
(1930)
D'Aiguillon
The Way of All Men
(1930)
Sharp
Don't Bet on Women
(1931)
Butterfield (uncredited)
The Yellow Ticket
(1931)
Passport Clerk
I Like Your Nerve
(1931)
Areal Pacheco
The Unholy Garden
(1931)
Col. Lautrac
Indiscreet
(1931)
Mr. Woodward
Quick Millions
(1931)
District Attorney (uncredited)
The Spy
(1931)
Tchijinski
Rasputin and the Empress
(1932)
Chief of Secret Police (uncredited)
The Devil and the Deep
(1932)
Hutton
The Crash
(1932)
John Fair
The Washington Masquerade
(1932)
Stapleton
Faithless
(1932)
Mr. Carter
The First Year
(1932)
Peter Barstow
Jewel Robbery
(1932)
Baron Franz Hohenfels
Meet the Baron
(1933)
Baron Munchausen
The Narrow Corner
(1933)
Mr. Blake, Fred's Father
The Keyhole
(1933)
Schuyler Brooks
Gigolettes of Paris
(1933)
Police Interrogator
I Loved a Woman
(1933)
Mr. Sanborn
The Power and the Glory
(1933)
Mr. Borden
Golden Harvest
(1933)
Henry Flint
Baby Face
(1933)
J.R. Carter
Bureau of Missing Persons
(1933)
Theodore Arno
Notorious But Nice
(1933)
Defense Attorney Clark
A Bedtime Story
(1933)
Agent de Police
Hello, Sister!
(1933)
Jameson Brewster - Bank President
Blood Money
(1933)
Newspaper Managing Editor (uncredited)
Love Time
(1934)
Emperor Francis I
The Ghost Walks
(1934)
Dr. Kent
A Lost Lady
(1934)
John Ormsby
Let's Talk It Over
(1934)
Doctor
Sing Sing Nights
(1934)
Kurt Nordon
Success at Any Price
(1934)
Hatfield
Bedside
(1934)
Maritza's Manager
The Girl from Missouri
(1934)
Senator Titcombe
Blind Date
(1934)
J.W. Hartwell Sr.
I've Got Your Number
(1934)
Lawyer Robert Kirkland
Whom the Gods Destroy
(1934)
Carlo - the Puppeteer
Let's Try Again
(1934)
Mr. Blake
The Bands Plays On
(1934)
Professor Hackett
Lady by Choice
(1934)
Opper
The Hell Cat
(1934)
C.W. Sloane
Wonder Bar
(1934)
R. H. Renaud
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Dr. Preston (uncredited)
Black Moon
(1934)
The Psychiatrist
Million Dollar Ransom
(1934)
Dr. Davis (Uncredited)
Name the Woman
(1934)
Judge Adams
Now and Forever
(1934)
Mr. Clark
She Loves Me Not
(1934)
Charles M. Lawton
Journal of a Crime
(1934)
Henri Marcher
One Exciting Adventure
(1934)
Customer, Oscar
Red Hot Tires
(1935)
Martin Sanford
One New York Night
(1935)
Arthur Carlisle
Society Doctor
(1935)
Dr. Harvey
Times Square Lady
(1935)
Mr. Fielding
Reckless
(1935)
Mr. Gearhart (uncredited)
Spring Tonic
(1935)
Mr. Enix
Honeymoon Limited
(1935)
Mr. Randall
Shipmates Forever
(1935)
Doctor (uncredited)
A Dog of Flanders
(1935)
Monsieur LaTour, Art Critic (uncredited)
The Mystery Man
(1935)
Ellwyn A. 'Jo-Jo' Jonas
Mad Love
(1935)
Prefect Rosset
The Florentine Dagger
(1935)
Auctioneer
The Black Room
(1935)
Baron de Berghman
Charlie Chan in Paris
(1935)
Paul Lamartine
Go Into Your Dance
(1935)
Doctor
The Last Days of Pompeii
(1935)
Warder (uncredited)
I Live My Life
(1935)
Relative at Mrs. Gage's (Uncredited)
The Case of the Curious Bride
(1935)
District Attorney Stacey
Red Salute
(1935)
Dean
3 Kids and a Queen
(1935)
Crippet
Here Comes the Band
(1935)
Simmon's Attorney
Frisco Waterfront
(1935)
District Attorney
Diamond Jim
(1935)
J.C. Randolf - Bank President
Theodora Goes Wild
(1936)
Jonathan Grant
Sitting on the Moon
(1936)
Worthington
Collegiate
(1936)
Mr. MacGregor
The Man Who Lived Twice
(1936)
Judge Henry Treacher
Great Guy
(1936)
Abel Canning
Bullets or Ballots
(1936)
Mr. Hollister
Romeo and Juliet
(1936)
Friar Laurence
My Marriage
(1936)
Maj. Vaile
Green Light
(1937)
Dr. Lane
Under Cover of Night
(1937)
District Attorney Pritchard
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
(1937)
"Doc" Godfrey
Once a Doctor
(1937)
Bruce Nordland
Maid of Salem
(1937)
Crown Chief Justice Laughton
The Devil Is Driving
(1937)
Charles Stevens
They Wanted to Marry
(1937)
Mr. Hunter
Let Them Live
(1937)
Judge Lederer
Love Is a Headache
(1938)
Mr. Sam Ellinger (uncredited)
The Invisible Menace
(1938)
Col. Hackett
Safety in Numbers
(1938)
Dr. Lawrence Edmonds
Too Hot to Handle
(1938)
Pearly Todd
The Adventures of Marco Polo
(1938)
Nicolo Polo
The Cowboy and the Lady
(1938)
Horace Smith
Holiday
(1938)
Edward Seton
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Court Aide (uncredited)
Main Street Lawyer
(1939)
Donnelly, District Attorney
Parents on Trial
(1939)
James Wesley
These Glamour Girls
(1939)
Philip S. Griswold II (uncredited)
The Real Glory
(1939)
The General
Union Pacific
(1939)
Asa M. Barrows
Here I Am a Stranger
(1939)
R.J. Bennett
Let Us Live
(1939)
Chief of Police
Hidden Power
(1939)
Weston
Money and the Woman
(1940)
Mr. Rollins
Grand Ole Opry
(1940)
William C. Scully
The Man Who Lost Himself
(1941)
T.J. Mulhausen
The Parson of Panamint
(1941)
Judge Arnold Mason
A Woman's Face
(1941)
Judge
The Great Swindle
(1941)
Stewart Cordell
Las Vegas Nights
(1941)
William Stevens Sr.
Sing for Your Supper
(1941)
Myron T. Hayworth
Reunion in France
(1942)
General Bartholomew (uncredited)
Sarong Girl
(1943)
Jefferson Baxter
Bluebeard
(1944)
Deschamps
Writing
Directing