Charles Kemper
Charles Kemper | |
|---|---|
 Charles Kemper in On Dangerous Ground, 1951 | |
| Born | September 6, 1900 Hennessey, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 1950 (aged 49) Burbank, California, U.S. |
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Plot: Section C, Lot 206, Grave 1 |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1929–1950 |
Charles Kemper (September 6, 1900 – May 12, 1950) was an American character actor born in Oklahoma. The heavy-set actor was for decades a successful stage actor.
Movie career
Like many actors in New York, Charles Kemper worked in short comedies filmed at the Pathé, Vitaphone, and Paramount studios, beginning in 1929. In 1936 he was featured in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1936, and he was signed by Educational Pictures as a leading comic, playing timid characters in the tradition of Educational's silent-era star Lloyd Hamilton. He soon became a foil for Educational's newest find Danny Kaye, who was then a dialect comedian. Kemper and Kaye might have continued in these miniature sketches, but the studio ceased production in 1937; the last of the Kemper comedies was released in mid-1938.
In 1945 Kemper returned to films as a character actor in Hollywood. Kemper had memorable supporting roles in films including The Southerner (1945), Scarlet Street (1945), Gallant Journey (1946), The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), and the film noir On Dangerous Ground (as Pop Daley, his last film role).
Kemper died at the age of 49 when he was involved in a car accident in Burbank, California.[1]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Wednesday at the Ritz | Drunk | leading role in short comedy |
| 1935 | The Officer's Mess | Sarge | Shemp Howard short |
| 1937-1938 | Two-reel comedies for Educational Pictures | various | |
| 1941 | Waiting for Baby | Mr. Theakstis | Robert Benchley short |
| 1945 | The Southerner | Tim | |
| 1945 | An Angel Comes to Brooklyn | Phineas Aloysius Higby | |
| 1945 | Scarlet Street | Homer Higgins | |
| 1946 | Gallant Journey | Father 'Dickie' Ball | |
| 1946 | Sister Kenny | Mr. McIntyre | |
| 1947 | The Shocking Miss Pilgrim | Herbert Jothan | |
| 1947 | King of the Wild Horses | Rudy | |
| 1947 | Gunfighters | Sheriff Kiscaden | |
| 1947 | That Hagen Girl | Jim Hagen | |
| 1948 | Fury at Furnace Creek | Peaceful Jones | |
| 1948 | Fighting Father Dunne | Emmett Mulvey | |
| 1948 | Belle Starr's Daughter | Deputy Gaffer | |
| 1948 | Yellow Sky | Walrus | |
| 1949 | Adventure in Baltimore | Mr. Steuben | |
| 1949 | The Doolins of Oklahoma | Thomas 'Arkansas' Jones | |
| 1949 | Intruder in the Dust | Crawford Gowrie | |
| 1950 | The Nevadan | Sheriff Dyke Merrick | |
| 1950 | Stars in My Crown | Prof. Sam Houston Jones | |
| 1950 | A Ticket to Tomahawk | Chuckity | |
| 1950 | Wagon Master | Uncle Shiloh Clegg | |
| 1950 | Where Danger Lives | Police Chief | |
| 1950 | Mr. Music | Mr. Danforth | |
| 1950 | California Passage | Sheriff Willy Clair | |
| 1951 | On Dangerous Ground | Pop Daley | (final film role) |
References
- ↑ "Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES". The New York Times. 1950-05-15. p. 19. Retrieved 19 July 2025.