Posted on 07/10/2007 1:50:50 PM PDT by lunarbicep
Charles Lane, the prolific character actor whose name was little known, but whose bespectacled face and crotchety persona made him instantly recognizable to generations of movie-goers, has died, his son said Tuesday. He was 102.
The actor's son, Tom Lane, said he was talking with his father Monday evening. "He was lying in bed with his eyes real wide open," the younger Lane said. "Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing."
Lane, whose career spanned more than 60 years, appeared in such film classics as "It's a Wonderful Life," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Twentieth Century."
He also had a recurring role as the scheming railroad man, Homer Beadle, on the 1960s TV sitcom "Petticoat Junction" and appeared often on television's "I Love Lucy."
His crisp, stage-trained voice and no-nonsense appearance made him a natural for playing authority figures. He was a judge in "God is My Partner," a prosecutor in "Call Northside 777," a priest in "Date With an Angel" and a member of Clark Gable's newspaper editorial board in "Teacher's Pet."
In 1934, Frank Capra, then on his rise to eminence, cast Lane in a horse racing film, "Broadway Bill." Capra liked the actor's work so much he included him in nine more movies, including "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "You Can't Take It with You."
In Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," he was a rent collector who shocks his boss, the evil Lionel Barrymore character, by telling him that hero James Stewart's character is a good businessman.
One of Lane's most cherished possessions was a letter from the fabled director declaring, "Well, Charlie, you've been my No. 1 crutch."
Lane continued to act into his 90s, and when he accepted an award from cable television's TV Land channel in honor of his 100th birthday, he made a point of saying he was still available for work.
In the 1931 film "Manhattan Parade," shown last month on Turner Classic Movies, Lane could be glimpsed in one of the opening scenes, playing a desk clerk waiting on a customer. The brief, uncredited bit was one of his first film appearances.
He was especially fond of his role in the "I Love Lucy" episode in which Lucy Ricardo gave birth to her son, Little Ricky. Papa Ricky (Ball's real-life husband, Desi Arnaz) was all nerves while Lane, as a fellow expectant father, was the picture of calm.
"This old guy was expecting his 10th child or something, and this nervous young man was expecting his first," Lane recalled in 2005. "It was a marvelous scene, and Desi was a fine actor."
That film was originallly restored to more scene with Charley Lane
102,, good for him! RIP!
I don’t remember him ever playing a bad guy.
Requiem aeterna dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pacem. Amen.
Trivia
For prime displays of Lane’s acting forte, one may see him as the stage manager (billed as “Charles Levison”) in Howard Hawks’ Twentieth Century (1934), in which he played with John Barrymore, or as the tax assessor in Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It with You (1938), pitted against - coincidentally enough - Lionel Barrymore. Thus may one learn who ordinarily got the better (or the worst) of whom! Years later Lane would again star with Lionel in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), as mean Mr. Potter’s rent collector.
Perhaps remembered as Homer Bedloe, the scheming railwayman in TV’s “Petticoat Junction” (1963).
Made very frequent guest appearances on “I Love Lucy” (1951), almost always playing some sort of unfriendly bureaucrat with no patience for Lucy.
Was honored on March 16, 2005, at the TVLand Awards for his long career and his 100th birthday. When he received his award, he said in his still-booming voice, “In case anyone’s interested, I’m still available!”
January 30th was named “Charles Lane Day” by the Screen Actors Guild in 2005.
One of the founders of the television academy, he was honored at the Emmy Awards in 2005, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, as being its oldest surviving member.
As of 2006, he is one of the few remaining survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Starting on the stage in the late 1920s, he was a founding member of SAG at its first public meeting on October 8, 1933.
Enjoys listening to opera and playing golf.
Began his acting career performing Chekhov, Shakespeare and Noel Coward at the Pasadena Playhouse during the 1930’s.
Personal Quotes
“Having had so many small parts, there was a character I played that showed up all the time and people did get to know him, like an old friend.”
“They’d work you until midnight and get you back at seven in the morning. The actors were taking a terrible licking physically. Generally, as the case with any union, you form it because people are abused.” - regarding the formation of the Screen Actors Guild.
YES.. that Charles Lane :(
How well I remember him. Gosh, I thought he had passed away years ago. A great blast from the past. RIP
Seems like he was in almost everything I ever watched! I think he must have had alot of small parts in sitcoms thru the years as his face is soooo familiar.
Anyway 102 years...he got his nickel’s worth!
susie
I wasn't sure who he was until I read this passage. Now of course we ALL know who he was. A wonderful actor...they don't make 'em like that anymore.
Thanks for a fine body of work - RIP!
RIP, Mr. Bedloe. The quintessential character actor.
Charles Lane, a prolific character actor, sold insurance for a living until his friend, actor Irving Pichel, urged him to try acting. The two friends moved to the Los Angeles area and joined the Pasadena Playhouse. In the 1930s Lane began to take on small roles in movies. His long career included countless roles in movies and television. Lane’s last on-camera role was in a TV movie in 1995, when he was 90 years old.
RIP Mr. Lane.
God bless him for all the wonderful entertainment he leaves us with
Says something like...”I gotta go home and spend Christmas with my family in El Myra” in It’s A Wonderful Life???
We need to give Burt Mustin some sort of holiday. That guy was on TV forever, playing the rascally old guy...
Geez, I figured that guy died years ago.
Rest in peace.
Ping for later reading.
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