Posted on 07/10/2007 2:26:11 PM PDT by Deo volente
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Rest In Peace, Mr. Lane.
Oh, my goodness. He was everywhere! RIP.
I had no idea he was still alive, but remember him fondly in many shows and movies. May he rest in peace.
102?......God must have really loved his work...........
He was the auditor in It's A Wonderful Life.
He always reminded me of my grandfather. Now he has joined him. R.I.P.
One of the best character actors that ever lived. Incredible career. Rest in peace, Mr. Lane.
Every time we’d see a film or tv show that he was on, we wondered if he was still alive and how old he must be. Here’s to a great career and RIP!
Mr Wheeler?
Hey, I know that guy!
RIP
“It’s no skin off my nose...but one of these days this bright young man will be asking George Bailey for a job!”
Lol.
In the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucille Ball gave birth, Lane played a character he described as “this old guy who is expecting his 10th child or something”, in the waiting room with pacing, nervous father-to-be Desi Arnaz. Lane appeared on several other episodes of I Love Lucy, playing different harried or put-upon characters. On Bewitched, he made at least eight guest appearances, but never played the same character twice. On Petticoat Junction, he player the cost-cutting railroad executive who tried to eliminate Hooterville’s train service. On Dennis the Menace, he was Mr. Finch, the old man who ran the drug store. On Soap, he had a recurring role as Judge Petrillo. On The Beverly Hillbillies, he played Nancy Kulp’s untrustworthy landlord.
All told, Lane appeared in more than 150 films and hundreds of television shows. On his busiest days, Lane said he sometimes played more than one role — getting into costume and filming his two or three lines on one set, then hurrying off to another set for a different costume and a different role. Despite his stern, hardhearted demeanor in films and television, friends and acquaintances seem to unanimously describe Lane as warm, funny, and kind. He has never been arrested, never been fodder for the Hollywood press. He was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933.
http://www.nndb.com/people/242/000027161/
The Music Man (1962) .... Constable Locke ... aka Meredith Willson's The Music Man (USA: complete title)
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