This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2019) |
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.
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 |
Movie career
editLike many actors in New York, Kemper worked in short comedies filmed at the Astoria Studios. In 1937 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 mid-1938.
Kemper pursued a career in Hollywood, beginning in 1945, as a character actor. 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.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |