CHARACTER ACTORS

[williamlayton]

I love character actors as much as I like the stars--they make a movie come together.
I have a favorite---Strothers martin
But there are so many.
Who is yours.
Blessings

 

[Cobroller]

Jeanette Nolan--Dirty Sally on Gunsmoke.

 

[jlrhiner]

Victor McLaglan.

 

[Joewisc]

Ned Beatty, William H. Macy, J.T. Walsh, Charles Durning, Brian Keith, Ed Lauter, Richard Lynch, Harry Dean Stanton -- to name a few. Google em and you'll recognize their faces.

 

[Damn Yankee]

Al 'Fuzzy' St.John

Al 'Fuzzy' St. John

 

[Frank237]

The half a dozen or so Italians who seem to be background guys in EVERY Mob movie you ever see.

 

[6thtexas]

We can't forget Jack Elam, either

 

[red14]

Victor McLaglan.

Oh yeah.

These guys too.

Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Harry Dean Stanton, Arthur Hunnicutt,
too many to remember.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Bob Balaban, Catherine Keener.

 

[red14]

I love character actors as much as I like the stars--they make a movie come together.
I have a favorite---Strothers martin
But there are so many.
Who is yours.
Blessings

''What we have here is, fail-ure, to commu-nicate.''

 

[Foodfuzz]

I would have to add Ken Curtis from Gunsmoke. He played a few other characters on the show before he became "Festus" He was also in a few John Wayne movies. Strother Martin was on a Marshall Dillon episode yesterday as a constable with no gun. He was great in "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Wild Bunch"

 

[cmort666]

Hurd Hatfield. Just saw him on "The Wild Wild West" recently.

He was actually the lead in "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

 

[6thtexas]

There's a bunch of great character actors just in the old John Ford movies. A bunch have been named but there were also Andy Devine, Pedro Armendariz, Jarry Carey, Jr. John Qualen, Hank Worden, etc.

You'd always see familiar faces in Ford's movies and a lot of these actors were in Wayne's later stuff as well.

It just dawned on me, I can't believe no one has mentioned Slim Pickens!

 

[MP1983]

Chill Wills...E Emmit Walsh are two good ones...and has Warren Oates been mentioned? L Q Jones too...

 

[williamlayton]

Just the tip of an iceberg.
A Strothers story.
He was signed to do a picture with gregory Peck (to kill a mocking bird ???) and Peck inquired about a scene they were to do together. He asked what props Strother would be allowed. The director said he was scheduled to have a newpaper, a cigarette and apiece of string.
peck wanted the director to take away the string---said "he's gonna steal the scene anyway--let's don't give him too much help."
Blessings

 

[Len]

Ward Bond. He started out in earlier movies as a villain, then became the nice guy.

Did a stellar job in "The Searchers."

Len

 

[samwood]

Christopher Walken

 

[bloo]

Dub Taylor. Lots of westerns

 

[A10]

Abe Vigoda, consumate mobster. There is also Iron Mike Mazurki and, of course, George Raft.....

 

[Straightshooter2]

One of my favorites is S. Z. Sakall who played Carl (the waiter) in "Casablanca." People hated working with him because he was a master at stealing scenes.

Victor McLaglan of course because he played so well with John Wayne. (His son Andrew V. McLaglan directed most of the episodes of "Have Gun-Will Travel")

Barry Fitzgerald (another master scene stealer). Only actor ever nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same role in the same movie (Father Fitzgibbon in "Going My Way") And of course he was Michaleen Oge Flynn in "The Quiet Man."

Arthur Shields, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson to name a few more.

How many people knew that Ken Curtis, was John Ford's son-in-law and that he not only sang with the Sons of the Pioneers but also with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, temporarily replacing Frank Sinatra.

CW

 

[41 fan]

Barry Corbin was great in Lonesome Dove.

 

[Joewisc]

"Easy Andy" in Taxi Driver selling guns to Travis Bickel.
Two Smiths, a Colt and a Walther with a free holster, all for 700 bucks.
Taxi Driver - gun salesman scene - YouTube

 

[Eminence]

Royal Dano

 

[amazingflapjack]

Take a look at the line up on "Rawhide" and you'll see some greats' that haven't been mentioned.

 

[wbraswell]

Slim Pickens, Woody Strode, and I'm trying to think of another guy. But this thread is about actors whose names we didn't know for years.
Oh, yeah, Bruce Dern.

 

[David LaPell]

Jack Elam, Walter Brennan, Lee Van Cleef, Victor French, there were so many.

 

[44 special Dave]

Since I don't think anyone has said it.......

Gabby Hayes.... Are you ready Roy......193 movie titles (IMDB)

 

[armadillo]

Burgess Meredith. Bemis on the Twilight Zone, Micky in Rocky and with John Wayne in In Harms Way - just a few of his 174 mentions on imdb.

 

[chud333]

How about Richard Boone, George Kennedy,
and who can forget Ben Johnson ??

Chuck

 

[Badkarma 1]

What? No Eli Wallach?! Dale