Jack Oakie

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Jack Oakie (* 12. November 1903 in Sedalia , Missouri as Lewis Delaney Offield ; † 23. January 1978 in Northridge , California ) was an American actor .

life and career

Jack Oakie grew up in Muskogee , Oklahoma . His nickname "O (a) kie", therefore touching, he combined with the name of the role he played for the first time on the theater stage, to create his well-known artist name. Oakie was married twice. Her first marriage to Venita Varden , which was in 1936 , was divorced in 1945. In 1950 he married a second time, this time the actor Victoria Horne , with whom he stayed together until the end of his life.

Oakie's working life took him to New York, where he worked as a switchboard operator for a stockbroker on Wall Street . In addition, he was involved in an amateur theater. After 1922 he embarked on a professional artistic career, initially as a choir member on Broadway . In 1927 he came to film and acted in several silent films . In the sound film era, he initially worked in many films that were set in the college environment , which earned him the name “the world's oldest freshman ” (“the oldest new student in the world”). The somewhat plump actor was often cast in roles in which he mimed “nice, friendly, mentally a little underexposed to dumb guys with the disposition of a butcher's dog” (Kay Less).

One single role ultimately made him world famous. In Charlie Chaplin's comedy The Great Dictator , Oakie parodied Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini . The role earned him an Oscar nomination. He had broken out of a rigid role cliché, embodied a comical, but at the same time a character role.

At the end of his career in the 1960s, Oakie appeared in several well-known television series such as Daniel Boone and Bonanza .

Jack Oakie died of aortic regurgitation in 1978 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 .
personal data
SURNAME Oakie, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Offield, Lewis Delaney (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Sedalia , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1978
Place of death Northridge , California