Robert Dudley

Born: 1889-09-12

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Dudley (September 13, 1869 – September 15*, 1955) was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in more than 115 films. Dudley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was educated at Lake Forest College in Evanston, Illinois and Chicago, where he majored in oral surgery. In 1917 he appeared in his first film, Seven Keys to Baldpate, and then made three other silent films through 1921. After 1922 he worked consistently, appearing in three or four films a year, and making the transition to sound films in 1929 with The Bellamy Trial. Dudley often played characters with a quick temper, including jurors, shopkeepers, ticket agents, court clerks and justices of the peace, as well as an occasional farmer, hobo, or laborer. His performances in these small parts were frequently uncredited. In the 1940s, Dudley was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges. His most distinctive and memorable role for Sturges was the "Wienie King" in 1942's The Palm Beach Story, the funny little self-made rich man with a big hat who spontaneously bankrolls Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea on their escapade. The 5' 9" Dudley, who was the founder of the "Troupers Club of Hollywood", was married to Elaine Anderson, and they had two girls, Jewell and Patricia Lee. He made his final film, As Young as You Feel, in 1951, and died in 1955 in San Clemente, California. *[TMDb note: The California Death Index indicates that Mr. Dudley died on 12 November 1955. That date should therefore be considered accurate and official.]


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Citizen Kane

as Photographer (uncredited)
Released: 1941-04-17

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a...

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as Reporter (uncredited)
Released: 1939-10-19

After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his...

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The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

as Man (uncredited)
Released: 1943-12-12

A small-town girl with a soft spot for American soldiers wakes up the morning after a wild...

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The Lady Eve

as Husband on Ship (uncredited)
Released: 1941-02-25

It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set...

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The Palm Beach Story

as Wienie King
Released: 1942-08-28

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife,...

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Stranger on the Third Floor

as Postman (uncredited)
Released: 1940-08-16

Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence"...

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The House of the Seven Gables

as Jury Foreman
Released: 1940-04-12

In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain...

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Sleep, My Love

as Bar Patron at The Maples
Released: 1948-02-18

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got...

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Son of Dracula

as Justice of the Peace Jonathan Kirby (uncredited)
Released: 1943-11-05

Carpathian Count Alucard is invited to the U.S. by a young heiress. Her boyfriend and local...

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All That Money Can Buy

as Lem (uncredited)
Released: 1941-10-17

Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr....

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San Antonio

as uncredited
Released: 1945-12-29

Rancher Clay Hardin arrives in San Antonio to search for and capture Roy Stuart, notorious...

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Fury

as Store Owner (uncredited)
Released: 1936-06-05

Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to...

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Midnight Mary

as Mannering's Night Watchman (uncredited)
Released: 1933-06-30

While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with...

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Lady on a Train

as uncredited
Released: 1945-08-03

While watching from her train window, Nikki Collins witnesses a murder in a nearby building....

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When the Daltons Rode

as Pete Norris - Juror
Released: 1940-08-23

Young lawyer Tod Jackson arrives in pioneer Kansas to visit his prosperous rancher friends the...

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The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

as uncredited
Released: 1945-08-17

George Sanders stars in this engrossing melodrama about a very domineering sister who holds a...

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San Quentin

as Fuller (uncredited)
Released: 1946-12-16

An ex-con sets up a program to straighten out hard-core prisoners. Things don't go as planned.

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The Jackpot

as Simpkins (uncredited)
Released: 1950-11-01

Bill Lawrence wins a bevy or prizes from a radio program, but ends up having to sell them all in...

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It Happened Tomorrow

as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Released: 1944-03-31

A young turn-of-the-century newspaper man finds he can get hold of the next day's paper. This...

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Frisco Kid

as Vigilante Leader (uncredited)
Released: 1935-11-30

After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him...

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Zenobia

as Court Clerk
Released: 1939-04-21

A modest country doctor in the antebellum South has to contend with his daughter's upcoming...

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Casanova Brown

as Justice Of The Peace
Released: 1944-08-23

Cass Brown is about to marry for the second time; his first marriage, to Isabel was annulled....

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Magic Town

as Dickey
Released: 1947-10-07

Rip Smith's opinion-poll business is a failure...until he discovers that the small town of...

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The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

as Robert McDuffy
Released: 1947-04-04

Twenty-three years after scoring the winning touchdown for his college football team...

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Mourning Becomes Electra

as Chemist (uncredited)
Released: 1947-11-19

Near the end of the Civil War, the proud residents of Mannon Manor await the return of shipping...

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For Heaven's Sake

as Harold's Secretary (uncredited)
Released: 1926-04-05

An irresponsible young millionaire changes his tune when he falls for the daughter of a downtown...

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Broken Lullaby

as uncredited
Released: 1932-01-19

A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who,...

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The Toast of New York

as Janitor
Released: 1937-07-22

After the American Civil War, Jim Fisk, a former peddler and cotton smuggler, arrives in New...

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Belle of the Yukon

as Storekeeper (uncredited)
Released: 1944-12-27

Left by a con man, Belle De Valle, a dancer, finds him again in gold-rush Alaska running an...

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Paddy O'Day

as Robert - Chauffeur
Released: 1936-01-17

A wealthy, eccentric collector of stuffed birds and a beautiful Russian singer provide refuge to...

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An American Tragedy

as Juror (uncredited)
Released: 1931-08-22

A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder.

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Race Street

as Pop (Watchman) (uncredited)
Released: 1948-09-11

A night club owner takes on the crooks who killed his best friend.

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Almost a Gentleman

as Farmer
Released: 1939-03-31

Saving a dog from the pound gets a man mixed up in murder.

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3 Kids and a Queen

as Shopkeeper
Released: 1935-10-21

An eccentric, wealthy spinster, 'Queenie' Baxter is erroneously presumed to be kidnapped. She...

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Haunted House

as Hank Edwards
Released: 1940-07-21

Teenagers try to clear a friend accused of murder.

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Conspiracy

as Mr. Christopher (uncredited)
Released: 1930-08-10

Margaret Holt and her brother Victor set out to smash a narcotics ring responsible for their...

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Face in the Sky

as Minister (uncredited)
Released: 1933-01-15

Joe and Lucky travel around New England painting barns in exchange for an advertisement on one...

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The Ghost and the Guest

as Ben Bowron
Released: 1943-04-19

Newlyweds Webster and Jackie Frye spend their honeymoon in a sinister old country house. Before...

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Lucky Partners

as Bailiff (uncredited)
Released: 1940-08-02

Two strangers split a sweepstake prize to go on a fake honeymoon with predictable results.

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The Extra Girl

as Financier
Released: 1923-10-28

Sue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when...

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Living in a Big Way

as Carpenter
Released: 1947-06-10

A World War II pilot (Gene Kelly) comes home to a bride (Marie McDonald) who, spoiled by her...

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Christmas Eve

as Robert - Matilda's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Released: 1947-10-31

The greedy nephew of eccentric Matilda Reid seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can...

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Seven Keys to Baldpate

as Clerk
Released: 1917-10-16

A writer bets a publisher friend that he can write a 10,000-word novel in 24 hours. The...

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Wide Open

as Office Worker
Released: 1930-02-01

An eccentric, fluttery bachelor is dismayed to discover an undressed woman in his apartment.

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The Doughgirls

as Hotel Waiter
Released: 1944-11-25

Arthur and Vivian are just married, but when the get to their honeymoon suite in Washington...

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Main Street Today

as Frank Hostetter (uncredited)
Released: 1944-03-25

This patriotic short film promotes America's war effort at home. The story looks at a fictional...

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The Ninety and Nine

as Abner Blake
Released: 1922-12-17

Melodramatic thriller, presented in 9.5mm format

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Wild Gold

as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Released: 1934-06-08

A young man desperately in love with a nightclub singer sees an opportunity to spend some time...

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The Mighty Treve

as Rancher at Auction
Released: 1937-01-17

Story of a dog that is fanatically devoted to its master.

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Three Wise Girls

as Lem - the Druggist
Released: 1932-02-10

Romantic comedy drama about three friends in New York. Cassie has come to New York and goes to...

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A Woman of the World

as French-speaking party guest
Released: 1925-12-28

A European countess, after being betrayed by her lover, goes to live in small town Middle...

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The Marriage Clause

as Secretary
Released: 1926-09-12

A Broadway actress becomes a star due to the guidance of her director. The two fall in love, but...

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Shanghai Rose

as Reformer
Released: 1929-01-01

Shanghai Rose is the proprietress of a gin mill which doubles as a bordello. A murder occurs,...

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Scandal Sheet

as Flint's Secretary
Released: 1931-01-31

Confirming his principle that no one escapes the news, a tabloid editor prints a scathing story...

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Dames Ahoy

as Parson
Released: 1930-02-09

Three sailors go searching for a girl who swindled one of them out of half his pay.

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Yankee Doodle Goes to Town

as Shopkeeper (uncredited)
Released: 1939-06-17

Made just before America would be forced into the Second World War, this short subject is a...

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Casey at the Bat

as Farmer (uncredited)
Released: 1927-03-08

Casey is a slovenly junk man in a turn of the twentieth century hick town who has a remarkable...

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Happy Land

as Old Man Bowers (uncredited)
Released: 1943-11-10

An Iowa drugstore owner becomes embittered when his son is killed in World War II. The druggist...

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The Perfect Set-Up

as Theatre Employee Shooting Victim (uncredited)
Released: 1936-02-01

In this MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series short, a radio and television engineer falls into a life...

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One a Minute

as Rogers' Attorney (uncredited)
Released: 1921-06-19

An excellent silent comedy starring unjustly forgotten star Douglas MacLean. Its indictment of...

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The Fourteenth Man

as Tidmarsh
Released: 1920-09-01

This adaption of F. Anstey's play, The Man from Blankley's was remade a decade later with sound...

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Singin' in the Corn

as Gramp McCoy
Released: 1946-12-26

Judy McCoy, a fortune teller with a circus, learns she has inherited some property and heads...

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The Night Flyer

as Freddy
Released: 1928-02-05

Jimmy Bradley, a fireman on the old locomotive No. 99, loves Kate Murphy, daughter of the...

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Burning Up

as Sheriff
Released: 1930-02-01

Racecar-driver Lou Larrigan gets mixed up with a crooked gang of racetrack promoters, and is in...

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Strike It Rich

as Pop
Released: 1948-12-01

When not drinking and fighting, three wildcatters in search of a gusher are enthusiastically...

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The Tiger's Claw

as Army Officer
Released: 1923-04-22

Jack Holt plays Sam Sandell, an American engineer working in India who rescues a pretty...

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Big News

as Telegraph Editor
Released: 1929-09-06

A reporter's marriage is jeopardized by his drinking and he finds himself accused of a murder he...

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Honeymoon Lodge

as Elderly Man
Released: 1943-07-23

Honeymoon Lodge is a musical variation on the old Awful Truth plotline. Divorce-bound Bob and...

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Traveling Salesman

as Pierce Gill
Released: 1921-06-05

A practical joke makes a man get off before his intended stop, leading to all sorts of trouble.

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The Last Edition

as Yes Man
Released: 1925-11-08

A twenty-year veteran of the printing room of The San Francisco Chronicle is passed up for a...

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Fools for Luck

as Jim Simpson
Released: 1928-06-11

Wealthy Sam Hunter is approached by scheming Richard Whitehead about investing in oil. There...

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