Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was an American stage and film actor.
Early life
Dingle was born December 28, 1887 in Wabash, Indiana.[citation needed]
Career
Dingle made his Broadway debut in the short-lived drama Killers in 1928. Better roles followed including Duke Theseus in the 1932 revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sheriff Cole in Let Freedom Ring in 1935. He made his musical debut in Irving Berlin’s Miss Liberty in 1950.
A veteran of over 50 feature films, he was best known for portraying hard edged businessmen and villains, such as Ben Hubbard, the crafty eldest member of the Hubbard family in The Little Foxes on both stage and screen, and Senator Brockway in the film version of Call Me Madam.
Critic Bosley Crowther wrote of his performance in The Little Foxes in The New York Times of August 22, 1941: “Charles Dingle as brother Ben Hubbard, the oldest and sharpest of the rattlesnake clan, is the perfect villain in respectable garb”.[citation needed]
His last stage appearance was in 1954’s The Immoralist co-starring Louis Jourdan, Geraldine Page and James Dean; it was also Dean’s last Broadway appearance.
Personal life and death
He was married to actress Dorothea White (1896-1972). He died of a sudden heart attack at age 68 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in Germany.
Partial filmography
Du Barry Did All Right (1937, Short) – John Wainwright
…One Third of a Nation… (1939) – Mr. Rogers
The Little Foxes (1941) – Ben Hubbard
Unholy Partners (1941) – Clyde Fenton
Johnny Eager (1941) – Marco
Are Husbands Necessary? (1942) – Duncan Atterbury
Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) – Dr. Ward O. Kenwood
The Talk of the Town (1942) – Andrew Holmes
Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942) – George L. Stafford
George Washington Slept Here (1942) – Mr. Prescott
Tennessee Johnson (1942) – Senator Jim Waters
Edge of Darkness (1943) – Kaspar Torgerson
Lady of Burlesque (1943) – Inspector Harrigan
Someone to Remember (1943) – Jim Parsons
She’s for Me (1943) – Crane
The Song of Bernadette (1943) – Jacomet
Home in Indiana (1944) – Godaw Boole
The National Barn Dance (1944) – Mr. Garvey
Together Again (1944) – Morton Buchanan
Here Come the Co-Eds (1945) – Jonathan Kirkland
A Medal for Benny (1945) – Zach Mibbe
Guest Wife (1945) – Arthur Truesdale Worth
Cinderella Jones (1946) – Minland
The Wife of Monte Cristo (1946) – Danglars
Centennial Summer (1946) – J.P. Snodgrass
Three Wise Fools (1946) – Paul Badger
Sister Kenny (1946) – Michael Kenny
The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) – Raymond Arlington
Duel in the Sun (1946) – Sheriff Hardy
My Favorite Brunette (1947) – Major Simon Montague
Welcome Stranger (1947) – Charles ‘C.J.’ Chesley
The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) – John Dessark
If You Knew Susie (1948) – Mr. Whitley
State of the Union (1948) – Bill Nolard Hardy
A Southern Yankee (1948) – Col. Weatherby
Big Jack (1949) – Mathias Taylor
Never Wave at a WAC (1953) – Sen. Tom Reynolds
Call Me Madam (1953) – Sen. Brockway
The President’s Lady (1953) – Capt. Irwin
Half a Hero (1953) – Mr. Bascomb
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) – Sen. Fullerton (final film role)
External Links
Actor Charles Dingle – Wikipedia
