Jimmy Conlin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started out in vaudeville, where he and his first wife Myrtle Glass played the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuits billed as "Conlin & Glass", a song-and-dance team. They also starred together in two short films, Sharps and Flats (1928) and Zip! Boom! Bang! (1929) for Vitaphone.
Conlin made another comedy short without Glass in 1930 (A Tight Squeeze), but his film career started for good in 1933, and for the next 27 years, with the single exception of 1951, every year saw the release of at least one film in which Conlin appeared – at the height of his career, often more than a dozen of them. Recognizable by his small size and odd appearance, Conlin played all sorts of small roles and bit parts, many times not receiving an onscreen credit.
In the 1940s, Conlin was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in nine films written and directed by Sturges. His roles in Sturges' films were often sizable and often came with good billing. One of his best performances came in Sturges' The Sin of Harold Diddlebock in 1946, when he played "Wormy", the racetrack tout who convinces Harold Lloyd to have his first drink, setting off the events of the film. The loyalty between Sturges and Conlin ran both ways, and when the former golden boy of Hollywood fell on hard times, Conlin remained a friend, stayed in contact, and helped out in any way he could.
Conlin did not make many television appearances, but he did have a regular role as a bartender on Duffy's Tavern, a syndicated series from 1954. He made his final film in 1959, when he played a habitual criminal in Anatomy of a Murder.
Known for
And Sudden Death
Mr. Tweets
Blondes at Work
Coroner (uncredited)
Lost in a Harem
Arab Follower (uncredited)
The Bride Comes Home
Len Noble
On Dangerous Ground
Doc Hyman (uncredited)
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
Tour Bus Barker
Idiot's Delight
Stagehand
Comet Over Broadway
Burlesque Comic (uncredited)
Edison, the Man
Waiter
Knock on Any Door
Kid Fingers Carnahan (uncredited)
Slightly Dangerous
Bartender at opera (uncredited)
What, No Cigarettes
Uncle Wilbur
Operation Haylift
Ed North
Fallen Angel
Walton Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
The Amazing Mr. Williams
Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
Living on Love
Man with Monkey (uncredited)
The Lady Is Willing
Bum (uncredited)
The Seven Little Foys
Stage Doorman
Broadway
Newsman (uncredited)
It Happens Every Thursday
Matthew
Anatomy of a Murder
Clarence "One-Shot" "Smoky" Madigan
Hitler's Madman
Dvorak - the Shopkeeper
Calling Philo Vance
Dr. Doremus - Coroner
Rose Marie
Joe - Piano Player (uncredited)
Captains Courageous
Martin (uncredited)
The Bowery
Enlistee (uncredited)
Sullivan's Travels
Trusty
Over the Wall
Davis' Handler
My Little Chickadee
Squawk Mulligan - Bartender (uncredited)
The Gay Falcon
Bartender (uncredited)
The Accusing Finger
(scene deleted)
The Town Went Wild
Lemuel Jones, Justice of the Peace
Let's Make Music
Tim
City Limits
Napoleon, Second Hobo
Hail the Conquering Hero
Judge Dennis
Prison Farm
Dave, the Grocer
Crashing Hollywood
Crisby
The Jazz Singer
Mr. Demming, Photographer
And the Angels Sing
Messenger (uncredited)
Summer Storm
Man Mailing Letter (uncredited)
Tulsa
Homer Triplette
Rolling Home
Grandpa Crawford
Blue Skies
Jeffrey - Valet (uncredited)
Prejudice
Young Joe
Footlight Parade
Uncle in 'Honeymoon Hotel' (uncredited)
Mannequin
Elevator Operator (Uncredited)
Ridin' on a Rainbow
Joe
Swing Shift Maisie
Man at Meeting (Uncredited)
Petticoat Larceny
Jitters
It's a Joke, Son!
Senator Alexander P. Leeds
Madame Spy
Caretaker Winston
The Lady Eve
Third Steward (uncredited)
Second Chorus
Mr. Dunn
It Happened Tomorrow
Boarding House Tenant (uncredited)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Mayor (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
Mr. Asweld
Florian
Stock Guard
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Little Thief
Obliging Young Lady
Mr. McIntyre - Linda's Neighbor (uncredited)
Dick Tracy's Dilemma
Sightless
Dixie
Publisher (uncredited)
College Humor
Dr. Mandel
Sideshow
Johnny
The Forest Rangers
Otto Hanson
Taxi, Mister
Disgruntled Former Baseball Player for Bay Ridge Turtles
Handy Andy
Henry (uncredited)
Christmas in July
Arbuster (uncredited)
Cross Country Cruise
Sid
Whistle Stop
Al - the Barber
The Great Rupert
Joe Mahoney
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
Wormy
Woman of the Year
Reporter at Bar (uncredited)
The Hucksters
Blake - Blue Penguin Inn Proprietor
New York Town
Burt (uncredited)
She Learned About Sailors
Irate Neighbor
Out of the Fog
The Inspector General
Turnkey (uncredited)
The Great McGinty
The Lookout - At Felgman's
The Man Who Found Himself
Nosey Watson
Bring on the Girls
Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
King of the Lumberjacks
Jimmy, the Piano Player (uncredited)
Hazard
Manager, Nevada Rest Motel (uncredited)
The Adventurous Blonde
Dr. Bolger, coroner
The Shining Hour
Man Shaving on Plane (uncredited)
Old Acquaintance
Frank - Photographer (uncredited)
Torchy Blane in Panama
Botkin (as James Conlon)
$1,000 a Touchdown
Sheriff (uncredited)
Nancy Drew... Reporter
Newspaper Morgue-Keeper (uncredited)
Advice to the Lovelorn
The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Magruder
Rose Bowl
Browning Hills
Mourning Becomes Electra
Abner Small
A Shot in the Dark
Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Broadway Musketeers
Hobart Skinner
Two Girls on Broadway
Poem Vendor (uncredited)
Two Sisters from Boston
Grandpa Chandler (uncredited)
Angels Over Broadway
Pawn Shop Proprietor (uncredited)
Seven Keys to Baldpate
Pete the Hermit
The Way of All Flesh
Second Hobo
Smashing the Rackets
Witness
Hard to Get
Dour Diner (uncredited)
The Remarkable Andrew
Private Henry Bartholowmew Smith
Grand Slam
Oscar Smelt
He Couldn't Say No
Ambulance Driver
Cocoanut Grove
Motel Proprietor
Torchy Runs for Mayor
Coroner (uncredited)
No Place to Go
Rivers
Sharps and Flats
Self
Find the Witness
Swifty Mullins (uncredited)