Acting · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA · Born May 18, 1914
Prolific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in Le train sifflera trois fois (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Les moissons du ciel (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989. -
MovieJames Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
as Self (archive footage)
MovieStripes
1981
as Gen. Barnicke
MovieThe Sweet Creek County War
1979
MovieDays of Heaven
1978
as The Farm Foreman
TVDallas
1978
as Tom Owens
MovieWild and Wooly
1978
as Demas Scott
TVHow the West Was Won
1977
as Appleton
TVStarsky & Hutch
1975
as Mac Johnson
TVRun, Joe, Run
1974
MovieSantee
1973
as Deaks (as Robert Wilke)
MovieThe Boy Who Cried Werewolf
1973
as The Sheriff
TVKung Fu
1972
as Sgt. Bridger
MovieThe Rookies
1972
as Officer Shaw
MovieThey Call It Murder
1971
as Sheriff Rex Brandon
MovieThe Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler
1971
as Hugh Fielding
MovieA Gunfight
1971
as Marshal Tom Cater
MovieThe Cheyenne Social Club
1970
as Corey Bannister
MovieThe Desperate Mission
1969
as Gant
TVLancer
1968
TVThe Outcasts
1968
MovieTony Rome
1967
as Ralph Turpin
TVThe Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
as Sheriff Dan Butler
TVCimarron Strip
1967
TVRango
1967
TVTarzan
1966
as Spooner
TVThe Monroes
1966
MovieThe Magnificent Stranger
1966
as Sheriff McVey
MovieSmoky
1966
as Jeff Nicks
TVThe Wild Wild West
1965
as Maj. Gen. Titus Ord Baldwin
TVThe Legend of Jesse James
1965
as Marshal Sam Corbett
MovieThe Hallelujah Trail
1965
as Chief Five Barrels
MovieFate Is the Hunter
1964
as Stillman
TVDaniel Boone
1964
as Toff
MovieShock Treatment
1964
as Technician Mike Newton (as Robert Wilke)
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Lou Sirotta
TVThe Fugitive
1963
as Johnny
MovieThe Gun Hawk
1963
as Johnny Flanders
TVThe Dakotas
1963
TVThe Lucy Show
1962
as Tom Carter
TVThe Virginian
1962
as Conrad
TVSam Benedict
1962
as Lt. Mike Radich
The Beachcomber
1962
as Bill Winters
TVTarget: The Corruptors!
1961
MovieThe Long Rope
1961
as Ben Matthews
MovieSpartacus
1960
as Guard captain
MovieThe Magnificent Seven
1960
as Wallace
TVStagecoach West
1960
as Taylor Norman
TVThe Westerner
1960
as Murdo
TVMy Three Sons
1960
as Danny Donnigan
TVOutlaws
1960
TVThe Tall Man
1960
as Marshal Ben Hartley
MovieThe Slowest Gun in the West
1960
as Billy the Kid Blake
TVThe Untouchables
1959
as George 'Bugs' Moran
TVBourbon Street Beat
1959
TVAdventures in Paradise
1959
as Riker
TVThe Third Man
1959
as Vince Gabriel
TVLaw of the Plainsman
1959
as Amos Cameron
TVWichita Town
1959
TVLaramie
1959
TVRiverboat
1959
as Bolesy
TVBonanza
1959
as Charlie Sheppard
TVThe Deputy
1959
as Ace Gentry
MovieNever Steal Anything Small
1959
as Lennie
TVRawhide
1959
as Sheriff McVey
TV77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Vern Reece
TVBat Masterson
1958
as Bull Kirby
TVLawman
1958
as Marshal Tom Haddon
MovieMan of the West
1958
as Ponch
TVThe Rifleman
1958
as Flory Sheltin
TVThe Texan
1958
as Marshal Bart Pennock
TVBronco
1958
TVPeter Gunn
1958
TVWanted: Dead or Alive
1958
as Virgil
MovieReturn to Warbow
1958
as Red
MovieThe Tarnished Angels
1957
as Hank
TVTombstone Territory
1957
as Burt Foster
TVZorro
1957
as Capt. Salvador Mendoza
TVThe Walter Winchell File
1957
as Fisher
TVMaverick
1957
as McCabe
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Deputy Sheriff Connors
TVThe Thin Man
1957
TVWagon Train
1957
as Sgt. Wick
TVHave Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Will Tybee
MovieNight Passage
1957
as Concho
MovieHot Summer Night
1957
as Tom Ellis (as Robert Wilke)
MovieGun the Man Down
1956
as Matt Rankin
MovieWritten on the Wind
1956
as Dan Willis
TVThe Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
MovieCanyon River
1956
as Joe Graycoe
MovieThe Rawhide Years
1956
as Neal (as Robert Wilke)
MovieRaw Edge
1956
as Sile Doty
MovieBacklash
1956
as Jeff Welker
MovieThe Lone Ranger
1956
as Cassidy
TVScreen Director's Playhouse
1955
as Zecca
TVCheyenne
1955
as Bob Manson
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Hickock
MovieWichita
1955
as Ben Thompson
MovieShotgun
1955
as Bentley (as Robert Wilke)
MovieStrange Lady in Town
1955
as Karg
MovieSmoke Signal
1955
as Daly
Movie20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as First Mate of the Nautilus
TVThe Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Jed - Outlaw
TVLassie
1954
as Mr. Corey
MovieTwo Guns and a Badge
1954
as Moore - Outlaw
MovieThe Lone Gun
1954
as Hort Moran (as Robert Wilke)
MovieThe Far Country
1954
as Madden
MovieWar Paint
1953
as Trooper Grady
MovieFrom Here to Eternity
1953
as Sgt. Henderson (uncredited)
MovieArrowhead
1953
as Sgt. Stone
MovieCow Country
1953
as Sledge
MovieThe Maverick
1952
as Massey
TVThe Abbott and Costello Show
1952
as Mike Brodie
MovieWyoming Roundup
1952
as Wyatt - Henchman
TVCavalcade of America
1952
TVFour Star Playhouse
1952
as George
TVAdventures of Superman
1952
as Bingham
MovieFargo
1952
as Link - Henchman
MovieCattle Town
1952
as Keeno
MovieHellgate
1952
as Sgt. Maj. Kearn
MovieHigh Noon
1952
as Jim Pierce
MovieRoad Agent
1952
as Slab Babcock
MovieThe Las Vegas Story
1952
as Clayton (as Robert Wilke)
MovieOverland Telegraph
1951
as Bellew - Henchman (as Robert Wilke)
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Red Fischer
MovieHot Lead
1951
as Stoney Dawson
TVBoston Blackie
1951
as Edgar
MoviePistol Harvest
1951
as Andy Baylor
MovieCyclone Fury
1951
as Henchman Bunco (as Bob Wilke)
MovieBest of the Badmen
1951
as Jim Younger
MovieGunplay
1951
as Henchman Winslow
MovieSaddle Legion
1951
as Henchman Hooker
MovieVengeance Valley
1951
as Cowhand (uncredited)
MovieFrontier Outpost
1950
as Krag Benson
MovieAcross the Badlands
1950
as Duke Jackson / Keno Jackson (as Bob Wilke)
The Cisco Kid
1950
as Henchman Vic
MovieThe Desert Hawk
1950
as Camel Driver
TVThe Gene Autry Show
1950
as Henchman Cody
MovieOutcasts of Black Mesa
1950
as Curt - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
MovieMule Train
1950
as Bradshaw - Henchman (uncredited)
MovieThe Blonde Bandit
1949
as Police Det. Walker
MovieCoyote Canyon
1949
as Deputy Sheriff Ed (as Bob Wilkie)
TVThe Lone Ranger
1949
as Henchman (uncredited)
MovieFlaming Fury
1949
MovieThe Wyoming Bandit
1949
as Sam
MovieLaramie
1949
as Cronin (uncredited)
MovieHomicide for Three
1948
as Policeman
MovieDaredevils of the Clouds
1948
as Joe
MovieCarson City Raiders
1948
as Ed Noble
MovieThe Ghost Goes Wild
1947
as Burglar
MovieBlackmail
1947
as Policeman
MovieWeb of Danger
1947
as Station Wagon Driver
MovieLaw of the Canyon
1947
as Knife-Throwing Henchman (uncredited)
MovieBuck Privates Come Home
1947
as GI Buddy (uncredited)
MovieTwilight on the Rio Grande
1947
as Henchman
MovieWhite Tie and Tails
1946
as Starter (uncredited)
MovieThe Inner Circle
1946
as Police Officer Cummings (as Bob Wilke)
MovieRendezvous with Annie
1946
as MP (uncredited)
MovieTraffic in Crime
1946
as Hogan's Driver
MoviePasskey to Danger
1946
as Police Sergeant
MovieBadman's Territory
1946
as Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
MovieThe Catman of Paris
1946
as The Catman (uncredited)
MovieRough Riders of Cheyenne
1945
as Smoke - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
MovieSunset in El Dorado
1945
as Curley Roberts
MovieBandits of the Badlands
1945
as Keller
MovieHitchhike to Happiness
1945
as Stage Hand (uncredited)
MovieTrail of Kit Carson
1945
as Dave MacRoy (as Bob Wilke)
MovieSanta Fe Saddlemates
1945
as Rawhide
MovieLone Texas Ranger
1945
as Henchman (uncredited)
MovieCorpus Christi Bandits
1945
as Henchman Steve
MovieEarl Carroll Vanities
1945
as Cab Driver
MovieSheriff of Cimarron
1945
as Henchman Dobie
MovieFaces in the Fog
1944
as Photographer
MovieVigilantes of Dodge City
1944
as Bill
MovieSheriff of Sundown
1944
as Bradley - Henchman (as Bob Wilke)
MovieCode of the Prairie
1944
MovieSan Antonio Kid
1944
as Henchman
MovieBordertown Trail
1944
as Henchman
MovieCall of the Rockies
1944
as Deputy Jim
MovieCowboy and the Senorita
1944
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieHidden Valley Outlaws
1944
as Rancher (uncredited)
MovieThe Fighting Seabees
1944
as Arriving Construction Worker (uncredited)
MovieWhispering Footsteps
1943
as Bank Customer
MovieDick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.
1941
as Cutter Helmsman
MovieSierra Sue
1941
as Carnival Spectator (uncredited)
MovieAdventures of Red Ryder
1940
as Henchman
MovieGrand Ole Opry
1940
as Hillbilly (uncredited)
MovieIn Old Missouri
1940
as Hillbilly
MovieIn Old Monterey
1939
as Man on Wagon
MovieDaredevils of the Red Circle
1939
as G-Man
MovieS.O.S Tidal Wave
1939
as Man in TV Studio
MovieStar Reporter
1939
as Reporter
MovieThe Fighting Devil Dogs
1938
as Marine in Shanghai (uncredited)
MovieSan Quentin
1937
as Young Convict in Yard (uncredited)
MovieThat Man's Here Again
1937
as (uncredited)
