Years active (secured) 1918-1948 Name Charles Wilson | Role Character actor | |
Full Name Charles Cahill Wilson Born 29 July 1894 ( 1894-07-29 ) New York City, U.S. Died January 7, 1948, Los Angeles County, California, United States Movies It Happened One Night, Crime on Their Hands, Escape from Crime, Little Miss Thoroughbred, Blazing Across the Pecos Similar People Edward Bernds, Frank Capra, Ray Nazarro, Norman Taurog, Lloyd Bacon | ||
Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American character actor of the early sound film.
The white-haired, burly actor was often typecast as an earnest police officer, newspaper editor or principal. He appeared in over 250 films between 1928 and 1948, mostly playing small supporting roles with a few sentences. Charles Wilson began his acting career at the theatre, including roles in six Broadway plays between 1918 and 1931. In 1928, he directed the Hollywood comedy Lucky Boy (1928), where he also made his film debut. According to the Internet Movie Database, Lucky Boy was Wilson's only film as a director.
His most notable role was probably Clark Gable's "wonderfully aggravated" newspaper boss in Frank Capra's comedy It Happened One Night, which won five Academy Awards in 1935. He was also cast in small roles in other Capra movies such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Shortly before his death, Wilson appeared as the boss of the Three Stooges in the two-reel comedy Crime on Their Hands (1948).
He died at the age of 53 of esophageal varices.