Arthur Lake

Arthur William Lake (né Silverlake, April 17, 1905 – January 9, 1987) was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio, and television.

Early life and career Arthur William (Silverlake) Lake was born on April 17, 1905, in Corbin, Kentucky, when his father Arthur Adolph Silverlake (né Timberlake) and uncle Archie Glenn Silverlake (né Timberlake) were touring with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying Silverlakes". His mother, Edith Goodwin (née Edith Blanche Fautch) was an actress. His parents later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling throughout the South and Southwest United States. Arthur first appeared on stage as a baby in Uncle Tom's Cabin; his sister Florence and he became part of the act in 1910. but it was Lake's only venture behind the cameras.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1917 Jack and the Beanstalk 1922 The Bride's Play Boy Throwing Roses 1925 California Straight Ahead Camper Uncredited 1925 Sporting Life Peggy's Admirer in Audience 1926 Skinner's Dress Suit Tommy 1927 Cradle Snatchers Oscar 1927 The Irresistible Lover Jack Kennedy 1928 The Count of Ten Betty's Brother 1928 Stop That Man! Tommy O'Brien 1928 Harold Teen Harold Teen 1928 Lilac Time The Unlucky One 1928 The Air Circus Speed Doolittle 1929 On with the Show! Harold Astor 1929 Tanned Legs Bill 1929 Dance Hall Tommy Flynn 1929 Night Owls Arthur 1930 Cheer Up and Smile Eddie Fripp 1930 She's My Weakness Tommy Mills 1931 Indiscreet Buster Collins 1933 Midshipman Jack Allen Williams 1934 The Winnah! Arthur Short 1934 Girl o' My Dreams Bobby Barnes 1934 The Silver Streak Crawford 1935 Women Must Dress Janet's Friend 1935 Orchids to You Joe 1936 New Shoes Boy Short, Uncredited 1936 I Cover Chinatown Insurance Salesman 1937 23 1/2 Hours Leave Sgt. Turner 1937 Topper Elevator boy / bell hop 1937 Annapolis Salute Tex Clemens 1937 Exiled to Shanghai Bud 1937 True Confession Attendant Uncredited 1938 Everybody's Doing It Waldo 1938 Double Danger Roy West 1938 There Goes My Heart Flash Fisher 1938 Blondie Dagwood Bumstead 1939 Blondie Meets the Boss 1939 Blondie Takes a Vacation 1939 Blondie Brings Up Baby 1940 Blondie on a Budget 1940 Blondie Has Servant Trouble 1940 Blondie Plays Cupid 1941 Blondie Goes Latin 1941 Blondie in Society 1942 Blondie Goes to College 1942 Blondie's Blessed Event 1942 Blondie for Victory 1942 Daring Young Man 1943 It's a Great Life 1943 Footlight Glamour 1944 The Ghost That Walks Alone Eddie Grant 1944 Sailor's Holiday 'Marblehead' Tomkins 1944 Three Is a Family Archie Whittaker 1945 The Big Show-Off Sanford 'Sandy' Elliott 1945 The Return of Mr. HookMr. Hookuncredited 1945 Tokyo Woes 1945 The Good Egg 1945 Leave It to BlondieDagwood Bumstead 1945 Life with Blondie 1946 Blondie's Lucky Day 1946 Blondie Knows Best 1947 Blondie's Big Moment 1947 Blondie's Holiday 1947 Blondie in the Dough 1947 Blondie's Anniversary 1948 Blondie's Reward 1948 Sixteen Fathoms Deep Pete 1948 Blondie's SecretDagwood Bumstead 1949 Blondie's Big Deal 1949 Blondie Hits the Jackpot 1950 Blondie's Hero 1950 Beware of Blondie

Personal life

Lake became very friendly with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies. He was a frequent guest at the beach house of Davies, where he met Patricia Van Cleeve, Davies's niece. Lake and Van Cleeve married at San Simeon in 1937.

Patricia Lake's parentage was the subject of much gossip and speculation. However, at the time of her death, Patricia Lake reportedly admitted to being the daughter of Davies and Hearst. Arthur Lake was bequeathed half of Marion Davies's $20,000,000 estate when she died in 1961. This fueled the rumors of an arranged marriage between Van Cleeve and him, providing a method of inheritance without acknowledging her parentage.

In his book about the Black Dahlia murder case, author Donald H. Wolfe asserts that Arthur Lake was questioned by the Los Angeles Police Department as a suspect, having been acquainted with the victim through her volunteer work at the Hollywood Canteen. No charges were filed and Lake was one of many persons of interest in a case that remains unsolved.

Lake died of a heart attack in Indian Wells, California, on January 9, 1987. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Douras family mausoleum, along with actress Marion Davies and her husband, Horace G. Brown. Lake's widow Patricia was interred there upon her death in 1993.