Clarence William Kolb,[citation needed] sometimes given as C. William Kolb, (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect.[1]
Biography
Kolb (left) and Max Dill
Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kolb and Dill, with Max Dill. They styled their act on the famous team of Weber and Fields.[2] In addition to their stage work, they appeared in a series of short films and a feature-length movie in 1917. Afterwards, Kolb made a return to vaudeville, only returning to the movies in the late 1930s.[citation needed]
In 1935, Kolb left the act to work in films as a character actor,[2] eventually appearing in 75 feature films.[1] He became famous for portraying the same type of character in many films, namely, a politician or businessman. He is best remembered for his roles as the grumpy father in the multi-Academy Award-nominated hit comedy film Merrily We Live (1938), as the corrupt mayor in the comedy His Girl Friday (1940),[citation needed] and as Mr. Honeywell in the televisionsitcomMy Little Margie (1952).[3] Kolb played himself in his last movie appearance, Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), opposite Danny Beck (who played the late Max Dill).
On September 1, 1917, Kolb married dancer May Cloy (whose birth name was Mabel S. Larsen).[4] They were still married when he died.[5]
Kolb died at age 90 of a stroke at the Orchard Gables Sanitarium in Hollywood.[6][7][8]
^Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 732–733. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
^"Clarence Kolb, Veteran Actor, Dies Here at 90." Los Angeles Times. Nov. 26, 1964. p. A 12.
^California Death Index, Name: Clarence W. Kolb, Birth Date: 07-31-1874, Sex: Male, Birth Place: Ohio, Death Place: Los Angeles (70), Death Date: 11-25-1964, Age: 90 yrs.
^Social Security Death Index, Name: Clarence Kolb, Birth: July 31, 1875, Issued: California, Death: Nov 1964, Last Residence: (California).
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