Robert Middleton

Born: 1911-05-13

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Middleton, born Samuel G. Messer (May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977), was an American film and television actor known for his large size and beetle-like brow. With a deep, booming voice, Middleton trained for a musical career at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked steadily as a radio announcer and actor. One of his early works was as the narrator of the educational film "Duck and Cover". After appearing on the Broadway stage and live television, Middleton began appearing in films in 1954. He's also remembered on television as the boss Mr. Marshall on The Jackie Gleason Show and in film opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Desperate Hours (1955), Gary Cooper in Friendly Persuasion (1956), Richard Egan and Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender (1956), Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack in The Tarnished Angels (1958), and Dean Martin in Career (1959). A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Middleton appeared in many television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure. He was cast as "The Tichborne Claimant" in the NBC anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show. He appeared in ten episodes of ABC's family Western The Monroes, with costars Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey. Among his several appearances in the long-running Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he portrayed a gangster in high places, Mr. Koster, in the 1956 episode "The Better Bargain". In 1958, he played the villain in the first episode of Bat Masterson. In 1961, he appeared in the episode "Accidental Tourist" on the James Whitmore ABC legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones. That same year, he portrayed the highly sympathetic but fiercely dedicated state executioner in an episode of Thriller (U.S. TV series) entitled "Guillotine". He also appeared in at least one episode of Bonanza (1964). In the early 1950s, Middleton appeared on Broadway in Ondine. Other significant film roles include The Court Jester (1956) as a grim and determined knight who jousts with Danny Kaye in the famous "pellet with the poison" sequence, and as a sinister politician in The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). Betwixt and between were an array of brutish mountain daddies, corrupt, cigar-chomping town bosses and lynch mob leaders. Occasionally he showed a bit of levity, as in his recurring role as Jackie Gleason's boss on The Honeymooners (1955) sketches. Middleton died of congestive heart failure in Hollywood at the age of sixty-six. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Middleton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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The Court Jester

as Sir Griswold
Released: 1955-12-24

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper...

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Friendly Persuasion

as Sam Jordan
Released: 1956-11-25

The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religious sect is strongly opposed to...

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The Desperate Hours

as Sam Kobish
Released: 1955-10-05

Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.

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Even Angels Eat Beans

as Angelo
Released: 1973-03-22

Two mismatched buddies are mistaken for mob enforcers in Depression-era America.

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The Cheyenne Social Club

as Barkeeper - Great Plains Saloon
Released: 1970-06-12

Two cowboys inherit a "social club" specializing in satisfying men.

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The Tarnished Angels

as Matt Ord
Released: 1957-11-21

In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming...

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Love Me Tender

as Mr. Siringo
Released: 1956-11-15

At the end of the Civil War, a Confederate team is ordered to rob a Union payroll train but the...

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The Big Combo

as Police Capt. Peterson
Released: 1955-02-13

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to...

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The Proud Ones

as Honest John Barrett
Released: 1956-05-15

Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town....

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The Great Impostor

as R.C. Brown
Released: 1960-12-23

Fictionalized account of Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., who stole or created fictional identities...

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A Big Hand for the Little Lady

as Dennis Wilcox
Released: 1966-06-08

A naive traveler in Laredo gets involved in a poker game between the richest men in the area,...

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Red Sundown

as Rufus Henshaw
Released: 1956-03-01

When his life is saved in a shootout by a fellow gunman whose life he in turn had saved, Alex...

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For Those Who Think Young

as Burford Sanford Cronin
Released: 1964-06-01

A wealthy young man tries to woo a university student, while her two uncles work to popularize a...

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The Law and Jake Wade

as Ortero
Released: 1958-06-06

Jake Wade breaks Clint Hollister out of jail to pay off an old debt, though it's clear there is...

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The Mark of Zorro

as Don Luis Quintero
Released: 1974-10-29

The swishing fop Don Diego de la Vega becomes the swashbuckling masked hero Zorro when tyranny...

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Gold of the Seven Saints

as Amos Gondora
Released: 1961-02-18

Fur-trapping partners stumble across a cache of gold, but their discovery quickly attracts every...

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The Harrad Experiment

as Sidney Bower
Released: 1973-05-11

At fictional Harrad College students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other. Based...

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Don't Give Up the Ship

as Vice Adm. Philo Tecumseh Bludde
Released: 1959-07-03

The Navy expects a veteran to pay for the ship he commanded, as they have no record of its return.

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Hell Bent for Leather

as Ambrose
Released: 1960-02-01

When Clay Santell stops in the town of Sutterville after having his horse stolen, he is mistaken...

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The Silver Chalice

as Idbash
Released: 1954-12-20

A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim...

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Career

as Robert Kensington
Released: 1959-10-08

Playwright James Lee adapted his off-Broadway play for the screen in this high-strung...

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Cattle King

as Clay Mathews
Released: 1963-07-08

A rich landowner of Wyoming fights to prevent the Texas herds from trampling his rich meadows.

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The Lonely Man

as Ben Ryerson
Released: 1957-06-21

Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies...

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Which Way to the Front?

as Colonico
Released: 1970-09-03

Brendan Byers III, one of the richest men in America, has been pronounced 4-F and can't serve...

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Day of the Badman

as Charlie Hayes
Released: 1958-01-29

Judge Jim Scott must contend with the vicious relatives of a murderer he's about to...

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Trial

as A.A. "Fats" Sanders
Released: 1955-10-07

A Mexican boy accused of rape and murder becomes a pawn for Communists and red-baiters. A...

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Duck and Cover

as Narrator
Released: 1952-01-07

An instructional short aimed at school-aged children of the early 1950s that combines animation...

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The Death of Manolete

as Perea
Released: 1957-09-12

The story of the last hours in the life of Spain's most celebrated matador.

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Company of Killers

as Owen Brady
Released: 1970-08-26

A gunman working for a crime ring is hunted by both the police and his employers after a cop is...

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Witchcraft: The Doll in Brambles

as Martin Plomb
Released: 1961-01-01

Madame Tirelou is a witch who will not allow her daughter Marie to marry her one true love...

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No Place to Land

as Buck LaVonne
Released: 1958-10-03

A cropduster pilot finds himself caught between two women—one who loves him and the other, who...

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Fair Play

as Jova Purvis
Released: 1972-01-01

A young man arrives at the town of Fair Play to see his uncle. What he finds upon arriving is a...

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The Lincoln Conspiracy

as Edwin M. Stanton
Released: 1977-10-01

Speculative hokum about John Wilkes Booth, murderer of Abraham Lincoln, escaped to Canada...

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The Adventures of Gallegher

as Dutch Mac
Released: 1964-01-24

An energetic newspaper copyboy in 1889 wants to become a reporter, and he is soon more deeply...

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Something For An Empty Briefcase

as Sloane
Released: 1953-07-17

Joe wants a different future than one as a petty hoodlum and when he attempts to rob an aspiring...

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Bitter Heritage

as Luke Crocker
Released: 1958-08-07

A powerful story of the son of America's most famous outlaw: Jesse James. Jesse, Jr. struggles...

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Remember When

as Kraus, the butcher
Released: 1974-03-23

An uncle's (Jack Warden) memories give strength to a New England family with four sons fighting...

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Columbo

as Victor Norris
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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Perry Mason

as Judge Daniel Redmond
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

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Bonanza

as Sam Bryant
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

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Bonanza

as C.J. Shasta
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

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Bonanza

as Grizzly Martingale
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

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The Big Valley

as Judge Tyrone
First aired: 1965-09-15

The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15,...

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The Big Valley

as Sidney Glover
First aired: 1965-09-15

The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15,...

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Climax!

as Sheriff
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Matinee Theater

as uncredited
First aired: 1955-10-31

Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of...

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Get Smart

as The Whip
First aired: 1965-09-18

Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created...

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Mission: Impossible

as Clavering
First aired: 1966-09-17

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by...

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The Untouchables

as Mayer Wartel
First aired: 1959-10-15

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in...

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The Untouchables

as Barney Loomis
First aired: 1959-10-15

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in...

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The Untouchables

as Mayor Anton J. Cermak
First aired: 1959-10-15

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in...

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Daniel Boone

as Simon Brasher
First aired: 1964-09-24

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel...

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Burke's Law

as Ezekiel Kindworth aka 'Rocky Mountain'
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

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Burke's Law

as Jed Hawkes
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

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Burke's Law

as Ragnar Windsor
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

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Mannix

as Jake Coryell
First aired: 1967-09-16

Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS....

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The Wild Wild West

as Emir El Emid
First aired: 1965-09-17

The Wild Wild West is an American television series. Developed at a time when the television...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Whitney 'Whit' Gaynor
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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McCloud

as uncredited
First aired: 1970-02-17

Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico is assigned to the...

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Bat Masterson

as Big Keel Roberts
First aired: 1958-10-08

Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of...

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Rawhide

as Josh Green
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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Rawhide

as Matt Harger
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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Rawhide

as Judge John Jefferson Hogan
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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Rawhide

as Duke Aberdeen
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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The Detectives

as 'Big Jim'
First aired: 1959-10-16

The Detectives is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons,...

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Thriller

as Ohrback
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

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Thriller

as Monsieur de Paris
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

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The Rebel

as Arthur Sutro
First aired: 1959-10-04

The Rebel is a 76-episode American western television series starring Nick Adams that debuted on...

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Adventures in Paradise

as Howard Bailey
First aired: 1959-10-05

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on...

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Alias Smith and Jones

as uncredited
First aired: 1971-01-05

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to...

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The Tall Man

as Paul Mason
First aired: 1960-09-10

The Tall Man is a half-hour American western television series about Sheriff Pat Garrett and the...

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Gunsmoke

as Jake Worth
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Gunsmoke

as Dutch George
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Gunsmoke

as Dorf
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Suspense

as Bill West
First aired: 1949-01-06

An anthology series adapted from the radio program of the same name. Like the radio program,...

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Telephone Time

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-04-08

Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from...

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Sam Klinker
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Louis Koster
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Cato Stone
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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The Walter Winchell File

as Aaron Benjamin
First aired: 1957-10-02

The Walter Winchell File is the title of a television crime drama series that initially aired...

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The New Breed

as Stanley Mannis
First aired: 1961-10-03

The New Breed is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from October 3, 1961 to June...

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Tales of Tomorrow

as Dr. John Borrow
First aired: 1951-08-03

Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and...

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Target: The Corruptors!

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-09-29

Target: The Corruptors! is an American crime drama series starring Stephen McNally which aired...

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Cavalcade of America

as William Harper
First aired: 1952-10-01

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company,...

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The Monroes

as uncredited
First aired: 1966-09-07

The Monroes is a 26-segment Western television series which originally aired on ABC during the...

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Wichita Town

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-30

Wichita Town is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos...

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The Wonderful World of Disney

as Frank Davis
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

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The Wonderful World of Disney

as Dutch Mac
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

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Hunter

as uncredited
First aired: 1977-02-18

Global espionage with an American agent and his sexy partner.

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Letter to Loretta

as Henry Tremaine
First aired: 1953-09-20

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...

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The Americans

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-01-23

The Americans is a 17-episode American drama television series that aired on NBC from January to...

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Man Against Crime

as Joseph Merko
First aired: 1949-10-07

Man Against Crime, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the...

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Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as Sheriff Ed Mullen
First aired: 1951-10-05

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....

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Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as uncredited
First aired: 1951-10-05

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....

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General Electric Theater

as Lt. Toler
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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General Electric Theater

as Innkeeper
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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Kung Fu

as Marshal Ford
First aired: 1972-10-14

The adventures of a Shaolin Monk as he wanders the American West armed only with his skill in...

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