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
Mad Love
(1935)
Prefect Rosset
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Dr. Preston (uncredited)
Rasputin and the Empress
(1932)
Chief of Secret Police (uncredited)
Reunion in France
(1942)
General Bartholomew (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Court Aide (uncredited)
The Black Room
(1935)
Baron de Berghman
The Real Glory
(1939)
The General
Union Pacific
(1939)
Asa M. Barrows
Bullets or Ballots
(1936)
Mr. Hollister
Theodora Goes Wild
(1936)
Jonathan Grant
Abraham Lincoln
(1930)
New Englander (uncredited)
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
Sally, Irene and Mary
(1925)
Marcus Morton
Any Woman
(1925)
Egbert Phillips
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
Coquette
(1929)
Jasper Carter
The Valiant
(1929)
Judge
Love, Live & Laugh
(1929)
Enrico
East Is West
(1930)
Mr. Benson
One Heavenly Night
(1930)
Prefect of Police
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
(1930)
D'Aiguillon
Abraham Lincoln
(1930)
New Englander (uncredited)
The Bad One
(1930)
Prosecutor
Good Intentions
(1930)
Butler
The Way of All Men
(1930)
Sharp
Indiscreet
(1931)
Mr. Woodward
The Unholy Garden
(1931)
Col. Lautrac
I Like Your Nerve
(1931)
Areal Pacheco
The Yellow Ticket
(1931)
Passport Clerk
Don't Bet on Women
(1931)
Butterfield (uncredited)
Quick Millions
(1931)
District Attorney (uncredited)
The Spy
(1931)
Tchijinski
Faithless
(1932)
Mr. Carter
The Washington Masquerade
(1932)
Stapleton
The Crash
(1932)
John Fair
Jewel Robbery
(1932)
Baron Franz Hohenfels
The Devil and the Deep
(1932)
Hutton
The First Year
(1932)
Peter Barstow
Rasputin and the Empress
(1932)
Chief of Secret Police (uncredited)
Baby Face
(1933)
J.R. Carter
The Power and the Glory
(1933)
Mr. Borden
I Loved a Woman
(1933)
Mr. Sanborn
Gigolettes of Paris
(1933)
Police Interrogator
The Keyhole
(1933)
Schuyler Brooks
The Narrow Corner
(1933)
Mr. Blake, Fred's Father
Hello, Sister!
(1933)
Jameson Brewster - Bank President
A Bedtime Story
(1933)
Agent de Police
Notorious But Nice
(1933)
Defense Attorney Clark
Blood Money
(1933)
Newspaper Managing Editor (uncredited)
Meet the Baron
(1933)
Baron Munchausen
Golden Harvest
(1933)
Henry Flint
Bureau of Missing Persons
(1933)
Theodore Arno
Black Moon
(1934)
The Psychiatrist
Bedside
(1934)
Maritza's Manager
Wonder Bar
(1934)
R. H. Renaud
Sing Sing Nights
(1934)
Kurt Nordon
A Lost Lady
(1934)
John Ormsby
Success at Any Price
(1934)
Hatfield
The Ghost Walks
(1934)
Dr. Kent
I've Got Your Number
(1934)
Lawyer Robert Kirkland
Whom the Gods Destroy
(1934)
Carlo - the Puppeteer
Blind Date
(1934)
J.W. Hartwell Sr.
The Hell Cat
(1934)
C.W. Sloane
The Girl from Missouri
(1934)
Senator Titcombe
Lady by Choice
(1934)
Opper
Let's Try Again
(1934)
Mr. Blake
The Bands Plays On
(1934)
Professor Hackett
Journal of a Crime
(1934)
Henri Marcher
She Loves Me Not
(1934)
Charles M. Lawton
One Exciting Adventure
(1934)
Customer, Oscar
Now and Forever
(1934)
Mr. Clark
Let's Talk It Over
(1934)
Doctor
Million Dollar Ransom
(1934)
Dr. Davis (Uncredited)
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Dr. Preston (uncredited)
Name the Woman
(1934)
Judge Adams
Love Time
(1934)
Emperor Francis I
Charlie Chan in Paris
(1935)
Paul Lamartine
The Black Room
(1935)
Baron de Berghman
Mad Love
(1935)
Prefect Rosset
The Florentine Dagger
(1935)
Auctioneer
The Mystery Man
(1935)
Ellwyn A. 'Jo-Jo' Jonas
Honeymoon Limited
(1935)
Mr. Randall
Reckless
(1935)
Mr. Gearhart (uncredited)
One New York Night
(1935)
Arthur Carlisle
Society Doctor
(1935)
Dr. Harvey
Red Hot Tires
(1935)
Martin Sanford
Times Square Lady
(1935)
Mr. Fielding
A Dog of Flanders
(1935)
Monsieur LaTour, Art Critic (uncredited)
Here Comes the Band
(1935)
Simmon's Attorney
Red Salute
(1935)
Dean
The Case of the Curious Bride
(1935)
District Attorney Stacey
I Live My Life
(1935)
Relative at Mrs. Gage's (Uncredited)
Diamond Jim
(1935)
J.C. Randolf - Bank President
Frisco Waterfront
(1935)
District Attorney
Shipmates Forever
(1935)
Doctor (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
(1935)
Warder (uncredited)
Go Into Your Dance
(1935)
Doctor
3 Kids and a Queen
(1935)
Crippet
Spring Tonic
(1935)
Mr. Enix
Bullets or Ballots
(1936)
Mr. Hollister
Great Guy
(1936)
Abel Canning
The Man Who Lived Twice
(1936)
Judge Henry Treacher
Sitting on the Moon
(1936)
Worthington
Theodora Goes Wild
(1936)
Jonathan Grant
Romeo and Juliet
(1936)
Friar Laurence
Collegiate
(1936)
Mr. MacGregor
My Marriage
(1936)
Maj. Vaile
They Wanted to Marry
(1937)
Mr. Hunter
The Devil Is Driving
(1937)
Charles Stevens
Maid of Salem
(1937)
Crown Chief Justice Laughton
Once a Doctor
(1937)
Bruce Nordland
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry
(1937)
"Doc" Godfrey
Under Cover of Night
(1937)
District Attorney Pritchard
Green Light
(1937)
Dr. Lane
Let Them Live
(1937)
Judge Lederer
Holiday
(1938)
Edward Seton
The Cowboy and the Lady
(1938)
Horace Smith
The Adventures of Marco Polo
(1938)
Nicolo Polo
Too Hot to Handle
(1938)
Pearly Todd
The Invisible Menace
(1938)
Col. Hackett
Love Is a Headache
(1938)
Mr. Sam Ellinger (uncredited)
Safety in Numbers
(1938)
Dr. Lawrence Edmonds
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Court Aide (uncredited)
Let Us Live
(1939)
Chief of Police
Here I Am a Stranger
(1939)
R.J. Bennett
Union Pacific
(1939)
Asa M. Barrows
The Real Glory
(1939)
The General
These Glamour Girls
(1939)
Philip S. Griswold II (uncredited)
Main Street Lawyer
(1939)
Donnelly, District Attorney
Parents on Trial
(1939)
James Wesley
Hidden Power
(1939)
Weston
Money and the Woman
(1940)
Mr. Rollins
Grand Ole Opry
(1940)
William C. Scully
A Woman's Face
(1941)
Judge
The Parson of Panamint
(1941)
Judge Arnold Mason
The Man Who Lost Himself
(1941)
T.J. Mulhausen
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