Max Wagner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit. Newspaper gossip columnists noted his rise from playing "Gangster #4", with no lines, and not carrying a gun, to "Gangster #2", with both lines and a gun.
Wagner was one of five children, all boys, of William Wallace Wagner, a railroad conductor, and Edith Wagner, a writer who provided dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor during the Mexican Revolution. When he was 10 years old, his father was killed by rebels and the family moved to Salinas, California, where he met John Steinbeck, who became a lifelong friend. Steinback based the character of the boy in his novel The Red Pony on Wagner.
Under the name "Max Baron", Wagner acted in many Spanish-language versions of English-language films, which studios made as a matter of course in the early days of sound films, He also served as a Spanish language coach for other actors, and appeared in many of the "Mexican Spitfire" films starring Lupe Vélez, where he also served to monitor Velez's Spanish ad-libs for profanity.
Other series that Wagner appeared in include the Charlie Chan films, and Tom Mix serials, as well as others made by Mascot Pictures Corporation. In the 1940s, Wagner was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges, beginning with The Palm Beach Story
In 1940 during the filming of "The Mad Doctor", Wagner was credited for driving 50,000 miles as an on-screen taxi driver on the studio back lots of Hollywood. Since his appearance as a cab driver in Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935), producers often cast him as a wise-cracking or henchman taxi driver. "I was cast as a taxi driver about five years ago", Wagner told a reporter. "And I was typed."
In 1952, Wagner began to appear on television, in episodes of such shows as The Cisco Kid, Zane Grey Theater and Perry Mason, playing much the same kind of parts he played in the movies.
He was a regular cast member on the western television series Gunsmoke, making nearly 80 appearances between 1959 and 1973. He also appeared in many episodes of The Rifleman, Bonanza, Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West and Maverick, including a guest-starring role in the 1959 Rifleman episode "Blood Brother." He also had roles in the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone series. He appeared in more than 200 television episodes between 1952 and 1974.
Notable film roles for Wagner include a supporting role in the cult science fiction classic Invaders from Mars (1953), an actor playing a gangster in the film-within-a-film segment of Bullets or Ballots (1936), and the bull farm attendant in the Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters (1945).
Late in his career, he appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also occasionally composed music, such as the Mexican folk ballad "Pedro, Rudarte y Simon" in the Western film The Last Trail (1933).
Wagner died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1975.
Known for
Columbo
Derelict (uncredited)
The Twilight Zone
Roller Coaster Operator
The Rifleman
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Gambler (uncredited)
The Abbott and Costello Show
First Workman
It's a Wonderful Life
Cashier / Nick's Assistant Bouncer (uncredited)
Young Frankenstein
Villager (uncredited)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
True Grit
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Rosemary's Baby
Man in Dream Sequence (uncredited)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Spectator (uncredited)
Sabotage Squad
Recruiting Sergeant
Suicide Fleet
Radio Operator (uncredited)
Pressure Point
Painted Desert
Henchman Kincaid
Cafe Society
Guest
The Relay
Sophomore
Sunrise at Campobello
Convention Delegate (uncredited)
Hang 'em High
Prisoner
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Townsman (uncredited)
Two in Revolt
Davis
Reign of Terror
Citizen (uncredited)
Overland to Deadwood
Buck
Fallen Angel
Bartender (uncredited)
Cyclone on Horseback
Jamison
East of Eden
Workman (uncredited)
Arizona to Broadway
Pete
Walking on Air
Sam, Second Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
Caught
Projectionist (uncredited)
Night Waitress
Diner Trying to Date Helen
The Great Race
Barfly (uncredited)
The Girl from Mandalay
Drunken Brawler
Wings of the Navy
Boss Mechanic
We Who Are About to Die
Cell Block E Convict (uncredited)
The Roaring Twenties
Gangster (uncredited)
Bullets or Ballots
Actor Impersonating Kruger in Newsreel (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
Moving Man (uncredited)
Black Legion
Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)
The Grapes of Wrath
Guard (uncredited)
Before Dawn
Policeman in Car (uncredited)
Border Cafe
Shakey
Stage Door
Baggage Man (uncredited)
The Spoilers
Deputy (uncredited)
Buck Benny Rides Again
Cowboy
The Lost Weekend
Mike (uncredited)
Sinbad the Sailor
Assistant Overseer (uncredited)
Shenandoah
Church Member
Illegal
Bartender (uncredited)
Panama Hattie
Jailer (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
Tom's Best Man (uncredited)
They Drive by Night
Sweeney, Driver (uncredited)
The Miracle of the Bells
Baggage Man
The Racket
Durko (uncredited)
Texas
Fats Delaney
The Conqueror
Mongul Guard (uncredited)
4 for Texas
Blackjack Dealer
The Red Pony
Bartender
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Truck Driver
Dr. Socrates
Gangster
Dancing Pirate
Pirate (uncredited)
Flaxy Martin
Charles McMahon
Cock of the Air
Military Policeman
Our Leading Citizen
Workman
Donovan's Brain
Station Agent (uncredited)
Invaders from Mars
Army Sgt. Rinaldi
Tycoon
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Cashier (uncredited)
The Spirit of St. Louis
Reporter (uncredited)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
Sailor at Wrestling Match
The Ghost Breakers
Ship Porter (uncredited)
Tarnished Angel
Tough Casino Decoy
The Secret of Convict Lake
Jack Purcell (uncredited)
The Daring Young Man
Reporter
Charlie Chan in Panama
Soldier
Millionaire Playboy
Highway Patrol Officer
Flaming Feather
Moontide
Fisherman (uncredited)
Professor Beware
Chinatown Barker
Sons o' Guns
Soldier
Possessed
Man in Café (uncredited)
Blind Date
Evans - Bob's Chauffeur
Charlie Chan in Shanghai
Taxi Driver Henchman
The Country Girl
Expressman (uncredited)
Cocoanut Grove
Brakeman
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Townsman Watching Fight (uncredited)
Ice Palace
Party Guest (uncredited)
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Military Police Driver (uncredited)
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
Thug
Pier 23
Bar Patron (uncredited)
You Only Live Once
Dan - Corridor Guard (uncredited)
The Great O'Malley
School Bus Driver (uncredited)
The Great Diamond Robbery
Policeman (uncredited)
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Reporter (uncredited)
Hi, Beautiful
Sailor (uncredited)
The Arkansas Traveler
Hobo
Mexican Spitfire
Headwaiter - Mexican Pete's
The Crime Patrol
Bennie
Frenchie
Drunk (uncredited)
I Died a Thousand Times
Deputy Charlie (uncredited)
Circumstantial Evidence
Truck Driver
The Girl from Mexico
Headwaiter
Maid's Night Out
Sam Johnson - Milk Man (uncredited)
Terror in the Wax Museum
Music Hall Drunk (Uncredited)
3 Kids and a Queen
Reporter
A Night to Remember
Policeman Temple (uncredited)
Return of the Gunfighter
Barfly (uncredited)
Wildcat Bus
Bus Driver Jackson (uncredited)
Boss of Boomtown
Sergeant George Dunne
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
Grip
The Bank Dick
Shirtless Ditchdigger (uncredited)
The Personality Kid
Max
Lucky Partners
Waiter (uncredited)
Gunpoint
The Sainted Sisters
Townsman (uncredited)
It Happens Every Spring
Umpire (uncredited)
Rhythm on the River
Cherry's Cabbie
The House of a Thousand Candles
Henchman
Pop Always Pays
Bill - Policeman in Car 43
The House Across the Bay
Jim
The Fighting Marines
Gibson
Evil Roy Slade
Townsman (uncredited)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
Bartender (uncredited)
Born to Be Wild
Jake - Trucker in Cafe (uncredited)
San Quentin
Prison Runner
Hired Wife
Streetcar Conductor
Robbery Under Arms
Sergeant Goring
Smart Blonde
Chuck Cannon
Fifth Avenue Girl
Policeman (uncredited)
The First Auto
Bartender
Money to Loan
Hanley's Strong-Arm Man
Alcatraz Island
Party Guest (uncredited)
Shed No Tears
Second Investigating Detective (Uncredited)
Men Against the Sky
Max - Radioman
Scouts to the Rescue
Joe - Truck Driver-Henchman
Half Past Midnight
Mike
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
Barfly (uncredited)
The World and the Flesh
Vorobiov
The Girl on the Front Page
Fireman
Name the Woman
Reporter
Hell Bent for Love
Ernest Dallas
Public Pigeon No. 1
Police Detective (uncredited)
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
Bartender
Numbered Men
Convict Road Laborer (extra)
God's Country and the Woman
Gus
The Last of the Vargas
A Medal for Benny
Jake (uncredited)
Chatterbox
Himself (uncredited)
That Brennan Girl
Moving Man (uncredited)
The Lost Jungle
Slade
Gridiron Flash
Convict Football Player
The Wife Takes a Flyer
Sergeant
Off the Record
Visitor (uncredited)
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Pug O'Leary
You Can't Fool Your Wife
Burglar
Fast and Loose
Nolan's Henchman (uncredited)
Come on Danger
Tough Guy
Ride on Vaquero
Partner
Obliging Young Lady
Jack - Diner Counterman (uncredited)
The Miracle Rider
Morley
Love on a Bet
Reporter
Love Begins at Twenty
Lester - O'Bannion's Driver
The Day the Bookies Wept
Bet Placing Taxi Driver (uncredited)
She Had to Choose
Hold-Up Man
The Oil Raider
Simmons
Wings Over Honolulu
Marine
The Return of the Cisco Kid
Brings in Rustler
The Big Game
Man Outside Hotel
Radio Stars on Parade
George
Paddy O'Day
Milkman's Helper on Dock
Rockabye
Reporter (uncredited)
The Mad Doctor
Cab Driver (Uncredited)
I'll Tell the World
Salesman
Reno
Police Lt. Joe Wilson
Many Unhappy Returns
Ernie - Counter Girl's Boyfriend
Step Lively, Jeeves!
Joey
Renegades of the West
Bob
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines
Rudy the Sailor
Trail of the Vigilantes
Joe
Going Wild
Ferguson - Pilot
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
Villa Luigi Headwaiter
The Truth About Murder
Henchman Mike (uncredited)
Mary Burns, Fugitive
Sailor
The Lost Jungle
Slade
Little Tough Guys in Society
Guest
Matri-Phony
Guard (uncredited)
Making Good
Student
Penrod and His Twin Brother
Blackie
The Good Bad Girl
Thug
Flashing Oars
Student
The Thrill Seekers
A Hood