Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

performer and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect.

Biography

Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team,

Kolb and Dill Kolb and Dill was the stage name of the vaudeville team founded by Clarence Kolb and Max Dill. Background Kolb and Dill were born in Cleveland, Ohio, and were boyhood friends who decided to go into show business together. The book ''Vaudeville O ...

, with

Max Dill Max M. Dill (September 15, 1876 – November 21, 1949) was an American vaudeville comedian who starred briefly in film between 1916 and 1917. Dill was part of the vaudeville team Kolb and Dill, partnering with Clarence Kolb. Dill's short care ...

. They styled their act on the famous team of

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

and Fields. In addition to their stage work, they appeared in a series of

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s and a

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

movie in 1917. Afterwards, Kolb made a return to vaudeville, only returning to the movies in the late 1930s. In 1935, Kolb left the act to work in films as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to ...

, eventually appearing in 75 feature films. 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 ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper ed ...

'' (1940), and as Mr. Honeywell in the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

'' My Little Margie'' (1952). 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). They were still married when he died. Kolb died at age 90 of a stroke at the Orchard Gables Sanitarium in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

.Social Security Death Index, Name: Clarence Kolb, Birth: July 31, 1875, Issued: California, Death: Nov 1964, Last Residence: (California). He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents ac ...

Partial filmography

*''A Million for Mary'' (1916) - Louie *''The Three Pals'' (1916) - Louie *''Bluff'' (1916) - Louie *''Peck o' Pickles'' (1916) - Rudolph Schlitz *''Lonesome Town'' (1916) - Louie *''Glory'' (1917) - Louie Bohn *''Beloved Rogues'' (1917) - Louie Vandergriff *'' Two Flaming Youths'' (1927) - Kolb - as Kolb and Dill *'' Fury'' (1936) - Durkin's Friend (uncredited) *''

After the Thin Man ''After the Thin Man'' is a 1936 American murder mystery comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and James Stewart. A sequel to the 1934 feature ''The Thin Man'', the film presents Powell and Loy as Dashi ...

'' (1936) - Cousin Lucius (uncredited) *'' Maid of Salem'' (1937) - Town Crier (uncredited) *'' The Toast of New York'' (1937) - Cornelius Vanderbilt *'' Portia on Trial'' (1937) - John Condon *''

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...

'' (1937) - John Butterfield *'' Gold Is Where You Find It'' (1938) - Senator Walsh *'' Merrily We Live'' (1938) - Mr. Kilbourne *'' Give Me a Sailor'' (1938) - CaptainTallant *'' Carefree'' (1938) - Judge Travers *''

The Law West of Tombstone ''The Law West of Tombstone'' is a 1938 Western film. It was an early Western for Tim Holt. Plot A Judge Roy Bean figure dispenses justice in Arizona. He teams up with the Tonto Kid to fight the McQuinn gang. Cast * Harry Carey as Bill Barker ...

'' (1938) - Sam Kent *''

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

'' (1939) - Mr. Horace Grayson *'' I Was a Convict'' (1939) - John B. Harrison *'' Society Lawyer'' (1939) - Mr. Leonard *'' It Could Happen to You'' (1939) - Alfred Wiman *'' Good Girls Go to Paris'' (1939) - Ted Dayton Sr. *'' Five Little Peppers and How They Grew'' (1939) - Mr. King *'' Our Leading Citizen'' (1939) - Jim Hanna * ''

Beware Spooks! ''Beware Spooks!'' is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Joe E. Brown, Mary Carlisle and Clarence Kolb.Gehring p.100 Synopsis Rookie cop Roy L. Gifford is kicked off the force after he accidentally assists a b ...

'' (1939) - Commissioner Lester Lewis *''

The Amazing Mr. Williams ''The Amazing Mr. Williams'' is a 1939 American screwball comedy film produced by Everett Riskin for Columbia Pictures and directed by Alexander Hall. The film stars Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell and Clarence Kolb. It was written by Dwight Tayl ...

'' (1939) - Police Captain McGovern *''

'' (1940) - Mayor *'' Five Little Peppers at Home'' (1940) - Mr. King *'' The Man Who Talked Too Much'' (1940) - E.A. Smith *'' No Time for Comedy'' (1940) - Richard Benson *'' Tugboat Annie Sails Again'' (1940) - J.B. Armstrong *''

Michael Shayne, Private Detective ''Michael Shayne, Private Detective'' is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver and Joan Valerie.Backer p.106 It is based on Brett Halliday's novel '' The Private Practice of Michael Shayn ...

'' (1940) - Brighton *''

Caught in the Draft ''Caught in the Draft'' is a 1941 comedy/ war film with Bob Hope directed by David Butler. Plot Famous Hollywood actor Don Bolton (Hope) is a vain movie star whose biggest fear is to be drafted into the US Army. He definitely lacks the qualit ...

'' (1941) - Col. Peter Fairbanks *'' Blossoms in the Dust'' (1941) - Texas Senator T.R. Cotton (uncredited) *'' Nothing But The Truth'' (1941) - Mr. Van Dusen *'' The Night of January 16th'' (1941) - Tilton *'' Bedtime Story'' (1941) - Collins *'' You're in the Army Now'' (1941) - General Winthrop *'' Hellzapoppin''' (1941) - Andrew Rand *'' True to the Army'' (1942) - Gen. Marlowe *'' The Sky's the Limit'' (1943) - Harvey J. Sloan (uncredited) *'' The Falcon in Danger'' (1943) - Stanley Harris Palmer *'' True to Life'' (1943) - Mr. Huggins *'' Standing Room Only'' (1944) - Glen Ritchie *'' Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' (1944) - Leo Betz *''

Something for the Boys ''Something for the Boys'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical. ...

'' (1944) - Colonel Grubbs (uncredited) *'' Three Is a Family'' (1944) - Mr. Steele *'' What a Blonde'' (1945) - Charles DaFoe *'' Road to Alcatraz'' (1945) - Philip Angreet *'' The Kid from Brooklyn'' (1946) - Mr. Austin *'' White Tie and Tails'' (1946) - Mr. Arkwright *'' The Pilgrim Lady'' (1947) - Prof. Rankin *''

Lost Honeymoon ''Lost Honeymoon'' is a 1947 American screwball comedy film directed by Leigh Jason and starring Franchot Tone, Ann Richards and Tom Conway. The working title of the film was ''Amy Comes Across''.''AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in ...

'' (1947) - Mr. Evans *'' Fun on a Weekend'' (1947) - Quigley Quackenbush *''The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival'' (1947) - Cornelius Belmont Sr., in 'Fabulous Joe' *''

The Fabulous Joe ''The Fabulous Joe'' is a 1947 American comedy film in the Hal Roach's Streamliners series. It was directed by Harve Foster and written by Arnold Belgard and Jack Jevne. The film stars Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, Marie Wilson (American actress) ...

'' (1947) - Cornelius Belmont, II *'' Blondie in the Dough'' (1947) - J.T. Thorpe *''

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

'' (1947) - Judge Alston *'' Impact'' (1949) - Darcy *''

Adam's Rib ''Adam's Rib'' is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in ...

'' (1949) - Judge Reiser *'' The Rose Bowl Story'' (1952) - 'Gramps' Burke *'' Shake, Rattle & Rock!'' (1956) - Judge McCombs *'' Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) - Clarence Kolb (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolb, Clarence 1874 births 1964 deaths American male film actors Vaudeville performers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) American people of Austrian descent 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Cleveland American male television actors 20th-century comedians