Remembering Actor Robert J. Wilke

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Robert J. Wilke. 1914-1989.

Robert J. Wilke's autograph.

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Blog Created: 7-31-2026

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Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns.

Early years ~

Wilke was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. Before going into acting, he had a variety of jobs, including working in a high-dive act at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933–1934

Career ~

Wilke started as a stuntman in the 1930s and his first appearance on screen was in San Francisco (1936). He soon began to acquire regular character parts, mainly as a heavy, and made his mark when, along with Lee Van Cleef and Sheb Wooley, he played one of the "three men waiting at the station" in High Noon (1952).

High Noon.

Westerns ~

Wilke appeared in many television Westerns, including seven episodes each of NBC's Laramie and CBS's Gunsmoke.

Wilke played a hired gun in The Far Country (1954) and continued to work steadily in films and television over the next 20 years. More Western credits followed in Man of the West (1958) and numerous lesser-known films.

In 1957 he played the role of the Marshall of a town named Ansara in the Wagon Train episode "The Jud Steele Story".

In 1960 Wilke appeared in The Magnificent Seven as the railroad bully, Wallace, who was quickly killed off by James Coburn. He also appeared in Days of Heaven (1978) as the farm foreman.

Wilke guest-starred on many other television Westerns, including Maverick, Tales of Wells Fargo, Have Gun – Will Travel, Bronco, The Westerner, Lawman, Wanted Dead or Alive, Zorro, The Rifleman, and Rango.

Robert J. Wilke and Warren Oates in The Rifleman (1958).

Other roles ~

Outside of Westerns, Wilke appeared in From Here to Eternity (1953) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). In the former film, Wilke's character tells Maggio he has guard duty, which begins a series of events leading to the plot's climax. In the later film, he was cast as the first mate of the Nautilus. It is Wilke who, in the film, warns Captain Nemo that a giant squid is approaching the ship, and who utters the line "We understand, sir, and we're with you", when Nemo announces his final intentions.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).

His drama/adventure roles included U.S. Marshal, Peter Gunn, Tarzan, Bourbon Street Beat, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Untouchables. In 1953 Wilke, playing a henchman for an East European counterfeiter, shoved John Hamilton and George Reeves into side-by-side steam cabinets, locked them in, turned up the thermostat and left them to bake in "Perry White's Scoop", an episode of the Adventures of Superman.

Wilke played Deputy Sheriff Connors in the 1963 episode "The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito" on CBS' Perry Mason. He portrayed golf professional Danny Donnigan in a 1962 episode, "Robbie the Caddie", on the ABC sitcom My Three Sons. In 1964 Wilke played Tom Carter, the golf instructor of Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball), in The Lucy Show episode "Lucy Takes Up Golf".

Wilke's final film role was Gen. Barnicke in the 1981 comedy Stripes.

Golf ~

Wilke was an excellent golfer. Author Dan Jenkins, in his book The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate, describes a golf match at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles:

"Mr. Wilke joined Mr. Jenkins, Vic Damone, James Garner, Jack Ging, Glen Campbell, Donald O'Connor, and Lindsay Crosby in the first and only Sports Illustrated Open Invitation at Riviera. The pro at Riviera at the time, Mac Hunter, is quoted as saying, "Bob Wilke used to be head and shoulders better than any of the actors and personalities. And he's still very good. A solid four handicap, but his putting is deteriorating. Wilke must have won more celebrity tournaments than you can count."

Robert-J-Wilke-plays-golf-with-James-Garner.

Ging edged out Bob Wilke for the win that day. James Garner also said that Wilke was the best golfer among the showbiz crowd at the Riviera in his book The Garner Files.

In 1966, Wilke was rated the best amateur golfer in Hollywood. In 1960, 1963, and 1964, he won the World Entertainment Championship golf title.

Private life ~

He married Laura Elizabeth Conroy in 1946, by whom he had one son. After their divorce, he remarried, to Patricia Kesinger in 1973. Wilke died of lung cancer.