Richard Edward Botiller (October 26, 1896 – March 24, 1953) was an American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. While most of his roles were un-credited, many of them nameless as well, he was given more substantial roles occasionally.

Life and career

Botiller was born on October 26, 1896, in

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, California. He entered the film industry in 1933, debuting with an unnamed, un-credited role in the western, '' Silent Men''. During the 1930s and 1940s Botiller appeared in over 150 films, film shorts, and

film serials A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

. He frequently played a henchman, and sometimes an Indian. Some of his more notable roles include: as Little Feather in ''

Range Warfare ''Range Warfare'' is a 1934 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby. Cast *Lafayette Russell as Reb Russell, aka The Whistler *Rebel as Rebel, Reb's Horse * Lucille Lund as Sue Callahan *Hal Taliaferro as Tommy Lord *Roger Williams as ...

'' (1934); as Felipe Farley in the 1935 western ''Cheyenne Tornado''; as Bald Eagle in 1936's '' West of Nevada''; as Hernandez in ''

Torrid Zone The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

'' (1940); as Nardo in the 1940 crime drama ''

Dark Streets of Cairo ''Dark Streets of Cairo'' is a 1940 American mystery film directed by László Kardos and starring Sigrid Gurie, Ralph Byrd, Eddie Quillan, George Zucco and Katherine DeMille. The central plot of the film concerns " group ofjewel smugglers in ...

''; and as Indian Pete in '' The Yellow Rose of Texas''; Other notable films in which Botiller appeared include: the classic war drama, ''

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...

'', starring

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

, in which he played a native; as an Indian in

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

's historical drama, ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

'', starring

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he beca ...

; as a tourist in the 1939 drama, ''

Only Angels Have Wings ''Only Angels Have Wings'' is a 1939 American adventure drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks. Its plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a remote South ...

'', starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

, which is considered to be one of

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

' finest films; as a warrior in the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

comedy classic, ''

Road to Morocco ''Road to Morocco'' is a 1942 American comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, and featuring Anthony Quinn and Dona Drake. The film, which was written by Frank Butler and Don Hartman and directed by David Butler for Para ...

'' (1942); in the classic World War I drama, ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'' (1943), starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

, in which he played a sergeant; as a native officer in the classic World War II romance, ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

'', starring

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

and Ingrid Bergman; as an aide in the 1944 version of '' Kismet'', starring

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

; and in as an unnamed character in one of his final roles in Humphrey Bogart's 1951 drama, ''

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

''. Botiller's final appearance was as a cattleman (un-credited) in the 1952 western ''Smoky Canyon'', one of

Charles Starrett Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...

's Durango Kid films. In addition to his feature work, Botiller also appeared in numerous film serials, including: in several different roles in 1934's ''

The Return of Chandu ''The Return of Chandu'' is a 1934 American 12-episode fantasy film serial based on the radio series '' Chandu the Magician''. It was produced by Sol Lesser and directed by Ray Taylor, and starred Béla Lugosi as Frank Chandler (aka Chandu the M ...

'', starring

Béla Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic Dracula (1931 English-lan ...

; as Cottonwood in ''

The Miracle Rider ''The Miracle Rider'' is a 1935 American Western film serial directed by B. Reeves Eason and Armand Schaefer for Mascot. It stars silent movie cowboy star Tom Mix in his last major film role. Plot summary Zaroff ( Charles Middleton), a rancher ...

'' (1935), starring

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

; as a phantom raider in ''

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' (1938) is a Columbia Pictures movie serial. It was the fourth of the 57 serials released by Columbia and the studio's first Western serial. The serial was the first to be produced by Columbia personn ...

'' (1938), starring

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

; as Yellow Snake in '' The Oregon Trail'' (1939), starring

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western (genre), Western films. Early lif ...

; as Krause in the 1942 serial ''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a United States, U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into ...

'', starring Dave O'Brien. Botiller died on March 24, 1953, in Ridgecrest, California.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Man Trailer ''The Man Trailer'' is a 1934 American pre-Code western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Buck Jones and Cecilia Parker. It was a remake of the 1930 film ''The Lone Rider'' which had also starred Jones.Pitts p.207 It was shot at the Iv ...

'' (1934) * ''

Wild Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

'' (1935) *''

Lightning Triggers ''Lightning Triggers'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and starring Reb Russell, Yvonne Pelletier and Fred Kohler.Pitts p. 212-13 Plot Cast * Reb Russell as Reb Russell * Yvonne Pelletier as Marion * Fred Kohl ...

'' (1935) * ''

Outlaw Rule ''Outlaw Rule'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by S. Roy Luby and starring Reb Russell, Betty Mack and Al Bridge.Pitts p.213 Cast * Reb Russell as Reb Russell * Betty Mack as Kay Lathrop * Al Bridge as Deputy Bat Lindstrom * Yakima ...

'' (1935) * ''

Gun Play ''Gun Play'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by Albert Herman and starring Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Marion Shilling and Frank Yaconelli.Pitts, p. 53. Plot summary Cast * Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as Bill Williams * Marion Shilling ...

'' (1935) * '' Million Dollar Haul'' (1935) * ''

The Cheyenne Tornado ''The Cheyenne Tornado'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by William A. O'Connor and starring Reb Russell, Victoria Vinton and Roger Williams.Pitts p.212 Cast * Reb Russell as Red - Cheyenne Kid * Victoria Vinton as Jane Darnell * Rog ...

'' (1935) * '' Arizona Bad Man'' (1935) * '' The Traitor'' (1936) * '' Gun Smoke'' (1936) * '' South of Arizona'' (1938) * '' Pioneer Trail'' (1938) * '' The Pinto Kid'' (1941) * ''

Dizzy Detectives ''Dizzy Detectives'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 68th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...

'' (1943) * ''

The Return of the Durango Kid ''The Return of the Durango Kid'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Derwin Abrahams and written by J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Charles Starrett, Tex Harding, Jean Stevens and John Calvert. The film was released on April 19, 1945 ...

'' (1945) * ''

Smoky Canyon ''Smoky Canyon'' is a 1952 American Western musical film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Charles Starrett, Jock Mahoney, Danni Sue Nolan, Tris Coffin, and Larry Hudson. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on January 31, 1952. Pl ...

'' (1952)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Botiller, Dick 1896 births 1953 deaths Male actors from Bakersfield, California 20th-century American male actors