Charlie Ruggles

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For the American politician, see Charles H. Ruggles.

Charlie Ruggles
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 23, 1970(1970-12-23) (aged 84)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Years active1905–68
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1914; div. 1916)​
Barbara Guillan
​
(died 1941)​
Marion LaBarba
​
(m. 1942)​

Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the elder brother of director, producer, and silent film actor Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972).

Career

Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1886. Despite training to be a doctor, Ruggles soon found himself on the stage, appearing in a stock production of Nathan Hale in 1905.

Majestic Theatre, he played Private Jo Files in L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz in 1913.[3]

He moved to Broadway to appear in Help Wanted in 1914. His first screen role came in the silent Peer Gynt the following year.[4] Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Ruggles continued to appear in silent movies, though his passion remained the stage, appearing in long-running productions such as The Passing Show of 1918, The Demi-Virgin, Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath, and Battling Buttler. One of his most famous stage hits was Queen High, one of his last before a nearly 30-year hiatus, produced in 1926. He also played Peter Braley in Spring Is Here, which ran for 104 performances in 1929.[5]

From 1929, Ruggles appeared in talking pictures. His first was

It Happened on Fifth Avenue
.

In 1944, he had a summer radio series, The Charlie Ruggles Show on CBS.[6] In 1949, Ruggles halted his film career to return to the stage and to move into television. He was the headline character in the TV series The Ruggles (1949–52), a family comedy in which he played a character also called Charlie Ruggles and was again the headline character in the daily sitcom The World of Mr. Sweeney, which ran for 345 episodes in 1954–55.

Ruggles returned to the big screen in 1961, playing Charles McKendrick in

Tony Award in 1959. In 1963 he memorably played the grandfather of the silent film star Corinne Griffith in Papa's Delicate Condition
. Griffith had written the book of her early life on which the film is based.

Ruggles made guest appearances in episodes of various television series through the 1950s and 1960s, such as a time-traveling librarian in "

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
.

One of Ruggles' last television appearances before his death was a starring role in the syndicated television special The Wonder Circus, where he played Charlie Wonder, a retired ringmaster who talked about his life leading a circus.[8]

Personal life

His marriage to Adele Rowland (1914–1916) ended in divorce after two years.[9][10] He then married Barbara Guillan and they remained married until her death in 1941.[11][12] He married Marion LaBarba in 1942; the couple remained wed until his death in 1970.[13]

Death

Ruggles died of cancer at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on December 23, 1970, at the age of 84.[14][15]

He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California in the Garden of Memory near his brother Wesley Ruggles.[16][17][18][19]

Legacy

Charlie Ruggles has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for his contributions to motion pictures on 6200 Hollywood Boulevard, one for his radio work on 6300 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for television on 1600 Vine Street.[20]

Complete filmography

Television credits

  • Father Knows Best (1960) (1 episode) as Jim's co-worker
  • Rocky and His Friends (1960–1961) as Voice of Aesop (uncredited)
  • The Bullwinkle Show (1961) as Voice of Aesop (uncredited)
  • The Real McCoys (1961) as Mr. Deveraux
  • Burke's Law (1963–1964) as O.B. Danberry / Charles Wingfield / I.A. Bugg / Mr. Gregory
  • My Living Doll (1964, "I'll Leave It to You") as Jonas Clay
  • Beverly Hillbillies
     (1964) as Mrs. Drysdale's father
  • Bewitched as Mr. Caldwell (1964, episode: "Help Help, Don't Save Me") and Hedley Partridge (1965, episode: "Aunt Clara's Old Flame")
  • Wagon Train as Mr. Caldwell (1965, episode:"Herman")
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965) (1 episode) as Governor Callahan
  • The Andy Griffith Show (1965) (episode "Aunt Bee, The Swinger") as John Canfield
  • The Munsters (1965) (1 episode, "Herman's Driving Test") as Charlie Wiggens
  • Bonanza (1966) (1 episode, "Horse of a Different Hue") as Col. Robert Fairchild
  • The Wonder Circus (1966) (television special) as Charlie Wonder[8]
  • The Danny Thomas Hour (1968) (1 episode, "One for My Baby") as Stimson

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1942 Suspense The Burning Court[21]
1942 Philip Morris Playhouse Friendly Enemies[22]

References

  1. ^ Parker, John, editor. “RUGGLES, Charles.” Who's Who In the Theatre, 9th ed., Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1939, p. 1309.
  2. Newsbank
    .
  3. ^ Colby, F.H. “'Tik-Tok Man' Delights. Great Audience at Majestic for Premiere of Extravaganza--Magnificent Stage Pictures, Good Music and Girls, Girls, Girls.” Los Angeles Express, 1 Apr. 1913, p. 4.
  4. ^ Denig, Lynde (October 2, 1915). "Moving Picture World". Archive.org. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Spring is Here – Broadway Musical – Original". IBDb.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "Charlie Ruggles Show .. episodic log". Otrsite.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Bewitched, 'Help, Help, Don't Save Me' (ABC, 1964), script by Danny Arnold & Sol Saks
  8. ^ a b "Museum of Broadcast Communications". Museumtv.pastperfectonline.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  9. ^ “Adele Rowland and Charles Ruggles Wed.” New York Evening World, March 10, 1914, p. 15.
  10. ^ “Actress Divorces Well-Known Actor. Adele Rowland, Charles Ruggles Parted.” The Los Angeles Times, August 21, 1916, p. 8.
  11. ^ "Charley Ruggles' Wife Dies in East". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. December 6, 1941. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Nunan, Thomas (March 26, 1918). "Ruggles and Webb's Last Week at Alcazar". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  13. ^ “Veteran Actor Dies.” Santa Cruz Sentinel, 23 Dec. 1970, pp. 1–2.
  14. ^ "Archives: Story". Filmsofthegoldenage.com. April 29, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  15. ^ "Eugene Register-Guard – Google News Archive Search". Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  16. ^ "Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, CA". Nndb.com. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  17. ^ "Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)". Museum.escubes.com. August 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  18. ^ "Forest Lawn Memorial Park". Bguthriephotos.com. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  19. ISBN 9780786450190
    . Retrieved February 3, 2022 – via Google Books.
  20. ^ "Charles Ruggles". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  21. ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 38 (3): 32–39. Summer 2012.
  22. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links

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