Ralph Dumke

Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in vaudeville on the B. F. Keith Circuit from 1922 to 1932 and then headlining the nationally popular daily afternoon radio program "Sisters of the Skillet" on NBC Radio. In the 1940s Dumke worked as a character actor in Broadway musicals, and from 1949 to 1964 he worked in American film and television.

Biography Dumke was born in South Bend, Indiana. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a varsity football player. The two men became stars on the B. F. Keith Circuit on which they toured for ten years. They became national radio stars on old-time radio, hosting the daily 15 minute afternoon comedy and music program "Sisters of the Skillet" for NBC Radio from 1930 to 1937 in which they performed comedy sketches, jokes, and humorous musical numbers.

In 1942 Dumke made his Broadway debut as Hercules in the original production of Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers's By Jupiter. and was one of the hosts of ABC-TV's Movieland Quiz (1948). He also made guest appearances on several programs during the 1950s and 1960s, including The Bob Cummings Show, I Love Lucy, December Bride, Waterfront, My Little Margie, Perry Mason, and The Andy Griffith Show.

Partial filmography

All the King's Men (1949) - Tiny Duffy Mystery Street (1950) - A Tattooist Where Danger Lives (1950) - Klauber The Breaking Point (1950) - Hannagan The Fireball (1950) - Bruno Crystal When I Grow Up (1951) - Carp The Law and the Lady (1951) - James Horace Caighn The Mob (1951) - Police Commissioner Boots Malone (1952) - Beckett Carbine Williams (1952) - Andrew White The San Francisco Story (1952) - Winfield Holbert We're Not Married! (1952) - Twitchell (uncredited) Holiday for Sinners (1952) - Mike Hennighan Hurricane Smith (1952) - Ben Hawkins She Couldn't Say No (1952) - Sheriff The Mississippi Gambler (1953) - F. Montague Caldwell Lili (1953) - M. Corvier Count the Hours (1953) - Bartender (uncredited) The War of the Worlds (1953) - Buck Monahan (uncredited) The President's Lady (1953) - Col. Stark Hannah Lee (1953) - Alesworth It Should Happen to You (1954) - Beckhard (uncredited) Alaska Seas (1954) - Dad Jackson Rails Into Laramie (1954) - Mayor Frank Logan Massacre Canyon (1954) - Phineas J. 'Parson' Canfield They Rode West (1954) - Dr. Gibson Violent Saturday (1955) - Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited) Daddy Long Legs (1955) - Mr. Bronson (uncredited) Hell's Island (1955) - Casino Drunk The Desperate Hours (1955) - Clint (uncredited) Artists and Models (1955) - Mr. Trimm (uncredited) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - Police Chief Nick Grivett Forever, Darling (1956) - Henry Opdyke When Gangland Strikes (1956) - Walter Pritchard Francis in the Haunted House (1956) - Mayor Hargrove The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) - Warren Gillie The Buster Keaton Story (1957) - Mr. Jennings Loving You (1957) - Jim Tallman Walt Disney Presents: Annette (1958) - Mr. Abernathy Wake Me When It's Over (1960) - Sen. Gillespie (uncredited) Elmer Gantry (1960) - Salesman in Saloon (uncredited) All in a Night's Work (1961) - Baker

Television Year Title Role Notes1961 Rawhide Judge Aikens S3:E29, "Incident of the Night on the Town"