Jack Oakie
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Jack Oakie (November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, largely starring in films (but also working on stage, radio, and television). He was born Lewis Delaney Offield in Sedalia, Missouri, but grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, whence he obtained his "Oakie" nickname. His adopted first name, Jack, was the name of the first character he played on stage.
He worked as a runner on Wall Street, New York, and narrowly escaped being killed in the Wall Street bombing of 16 September 1920. While in New York, he started appearing in amateur theatre as a mimic and a comedian, finally making his professional debut on Broadway in 1923 as a chorus boy in a production of "Little Nelly Kelly" by George M. Cohan.
He worked in various musicals and comedies on Broadway from 1923 to 1927, when he moved to Hollywood to start working in movies (just at the end of the silent film era). Oakie appeared in five silent films during 1927 and 1928. As the age of the "talkies" dawned he signed with Paramount Pictures, making his first talking film, The Dummy, in 1929.
After his contract with Paramount ended in 1934, Oakie decided to freelance, and was remarkably successful. He appeared in 87 films, mostly made during the 1930s and 1940s. One of particular interest is the film Too Much Harmony (1933), in which the part of Oakie's on-screen mother was played by his real mother Mary Evelyn Offield. During the 1930s he was known as "The World's Oldest Freshman", as a result of appearing in numerous films with a collegiate theme, between 1931 and 1941. He was also known for refusing to wear screen make-up of any kind, and the frequent use of double-take in his comedy.
Not being tied to a film studio contract, Oakie branched into radio, and had his own radio show between 1936-38.
Jack Oakie is probably most notable for his portrayal of Benzino Napaloni, the boisterous dictator of Bacteria, in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), for which he received an Oscar nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Award. This role was a broad parody of the fascist dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini.
Oakie was married twice, his first marriage to Venita Varden in 1936 ended in divorce in 1945 (she died in 1948 in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624 at Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania). In 1950, he married a second time to actress Victoria Horne with whom he remained until his passing in 1978.
Later in his career he appeared in various individual episodes of a number of television shows, including The Real McCoys (1957), Daniel Boone (1966), and Bonanza (1966).
He died suddenly on 23rd January 1978 in Los Angeles, California from an aortic aneurysm; his remains are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale (top of the hill, Whispering Pines section), in Los Angeles County.
In 1981, the "Jack Oakie Lecture on Comedy in Film" was established as an annual event of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the inaugural presentation, Oakie was described as "a master of comic timing and a beloved figure in the industry."[1]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
| 1961 | Lover Come Back | J. Paxton Miller |
| 1960 | The Rat Race | Mac, Owner of Macs Bar |
| 1959 | The Wonderful Country | Travis Hyte |
| 1956 | Around the World in Eighty Days | Captain of the Henrietta |
| 1951 | Tomahawk (UK title: Battle of Powder River) | Sol Beckworth |
| 1950 | Last of the Buccaneers | Sgt. Dominick |
| 1948 | When My Baby Smiles at Me | Bozo |
| 1948 | Northwest Stampede | Mike Kirby (Clem) |
| 1946 | She Wrote the Book | Jerry Marlowe |
| 1945 | On Stage Everybody | Michael Sullivan |
| 1945 | That's the Spirit | Steve "Slim" Gogarty |
| 1944 | Bowery to Broadway | Michael O'Rourke |
| 1944 | The Merry Monahans | Pete Monahan |
| 1944 | Sweet and Low-Down | Popsy |
| 1944 | It Happened Tomorrow | Uncle Oscar Smith aka Gigolini |
| 1943 | Wintertime | Skip Hutton |
| 1943 | Hello Frisco, Hello | Dan Daley |
| 1943 | Something to Shout About | Larry Martin |
| 1942 | Iceland (UK title: Katina) | Slip Riggs |
| 1942 | Song of the Islands | Rusty Smith |
| 1941 | Rise and Shine | Boley Bolenciecwcz (pronounced Bolenkowitz) |
| 1941 | Navy Blues | Cake O'Hara |
| 1941 | The Great American Broadcast | Chuck Hadley |
| 1940 | Little Men | Willie the Fox |
| 1940 | Tin Pan Alley | Harry Calhoun |
| 1940 | The Great Dictator | Benzino Napaloni |
| 1940 | Young People | Joe Ballantine |
| 1938 | Thanks for Everything | Brady |
| 1938 | Annabel Takes a Tour (aka Annabel Takes a Trip Takes a Trip) |
Lanny Morgan |
| 1938 | The Affairs of Annabel | Lanny Morgan |
| 1938 | Radio City Revels | Harry Miller |
| 1937 | Hitting a New High | Corny Davis |
| 1937 | Fight for Your Lady | Ham Hamilton |
| 1937 | The Toast of New York | Luke |
| 1937 | Super-Sleuth | Willard "Bill" Martin |
| 1937 | Champagne Waltz | Happy Gallagher |
| 1936 | That Girl from Paris | Whammo Lonsdale |
| 1936 | The Texas Rangers | Wahoo Jones |
| 1936 | Florida Special | Bangs Carter |
| 1936 | Colleen | Joe Cork |
| 1936 | Collegiate (UK title: Charm School) | Jerry Craig |
| 1935 | King of Burlesque | Spud Miller |
| 1935 | The Big Broadcast of 1936 | Spud Miller |
| 1935 | The Call of the Wild | Shorty Hoolihan |
| 1934 | College Rhythm | Francis J. Finnegan |
| 1934 | Shoot the Works (UK title: Thank Your Stars) | Nicky Nelson |
| 1934 | Murder at the Vanities | Jack Ellery |
| 1934 | Looking for Trouble | Casey |
| 1933 | Alice in Wonderland | Tweedledum |
| 1933 | Sitting Pretty | Chick Parker |
| 1933 | Too Much Harmony | Benny Day |
| 1933 | College Humor | Barney Shirrel |
| 1933 | The Eagle and the Hawk | Mike Richards |
| 1933 | Sailor Be Good | Kelsey Jones |
| 1933 | From Hell to Heaven | Charlie Bayne |
| 1932 | If I Had a Million | Pvt. Mulligan |
| 1932 | Uptown New York | Eddie Doyle |
| 1932 | Madison Sq. Garden | Eddie Burke |
| 1932 | Once in a Lifetime | George Lewis |
| 1932 | Million Dollar Legs | Migg Tweeny |
| 1932 | Sky Bride | Alec Dugan |
| 1932 | Dancers in the Dark | Duke Taylor |
| 1931 | Touchdown (UK title: Playing the Game) | Babe Barton |
| 1931 | Dude Ranch | Jennifer |
| 1931 | June Moon | Frederick Martin Stevens |
| 1931 | The Gang Buster | "Cyclone" Case |
| 1930 | Sea Legs | Searchlight Doyle |
| 1930 | Let's Go Native | Voltaire McGinnis |
| 1930 | The Sap From Syracuse (aka The Sap from Abroad from Abroad) |
Littleton Looney |
| 1930 | The Social Lion | Marco Perkins |
| 1930 | Hit the Deck | Bilge |
| 1929 | Sweetie | Tap-Tap Thoompson |
| 1929 | Fast Company | Elmer Kane |
| 1929 | Hard to Get | Marty Martin |
| 1929 | Street Girl (USA title: Barber John's Boy) | Joe Spring |
| 1929 | The Man I Love | Lew Layton |
| 1929 | Close Harmony | Ben Barney |
| 1929 | The Wild Party | Al |
| 1929 | The Dummy | Dopey Hart |
| 1929 | Sin Town | "Chicken" O'Toole |
| 1928 | Someone to Love | Michael Casey |
| 1928 | The Fleet's In | Searchlight Doyle |
| 1928 | Road House | Sam |
| 1923 | His Children's Children | ? |
[edit] Bibliography
- Jack Oakie (1980). Jack Oakie's Double Takes. Strawberry Hill Press. ISBN 0-89407-019-3. Autobiography published posthumously by Oakie's widow on 1 January 1980. 240 pages.
