Clarence Kolb

Acting

Clarence Kolb

Born 1874-07-30 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of second generation Austrian parents who owned a local meat company. Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kolb and Dill, with Max Dill. They styled their act on the famous team of Weber and Fields. In addition to their stage work, they appeared in a series of short films and a feature length movie in 1917. Afterwards, Kolb made a return to vaudeville, and he only returned to the movies in the late 1930s. He became famous for portraying the same type of character in many films, namely a politician or businessman. He is best remembered for his role as the grumpy father in the multi-Academy Awards nominated hit comedy film Merrily We Live (1938), the corrupt mayor in the comedy His Girl Friday (1940), and as Mr. Honeywell in the television sitcom 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). Clarence Kolb died at age 90 of a stroke at the Orchard Gables Sanitarium in Hollywood. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Acting credits

His Girl Friday poster
7.4

Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.

His Girl Friday

1940

No Time for Comedy poster
5.3

An aspiring playwright finds himself an overnight Broadway success.

No Time for Comedy

1940

Wells Fargo poster
5.5

In the 1840s, Ramsey MacKay, the driver for the struggling Wells Fargo mail and freight company, will secure an important contract if he delivers fresh oysters to Buffalo from New York City. When he rescues Justine Pryor and her mother, who are stranded in a broken wagon on his route, he doesn't let them slow him down and gives the ladies an exhilirating ride into Buffalo. He arrives in time to obtain the contract and is then sent by company president Henry Wells to St. Louis to establish a branch office.

Wells Fargo

1937

The Amazing Mr. Williams poster
6.0

Kenny Williams, a lieutenant on the homicide squad, is engaged to Maxine Carroll, the Mayor's secretary. Or isn't he rather married with his job? For each time he has a date with his longtime fiancée, he is prevented from keeping it by his devotion to duty. Maxine, in desperation, decides to take action and bring Kenny to the altar. Who will win, Maxine's curves or the glorious fight against crime?

The Amazing Mr. Williams

1939

Adam's Rib poster
7.1

A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.

Adam's Rib

1949

The Sky's the Limit poster
6.3

Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron's personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly falls for photographer Joan Manion, pursuing her in the guise of a carefree drifter.

The Sky's the Limit

1943

Carefree poster
6.7

Dr. Tony Flagg's friend Steven has problems in the relationship with his fiancée Amanda, so he persuades her to visit Tony. After some minor misunderstandings, she falls in love with him. When he tries to use hypnosis to strengthen her feelings for Steven, things get complicated.

Carefree

1938

Fury poster
7.5

Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wrongly mistaken for a wanted kidnapper and arrested.

Fury

1936

Man of a Thousand Faces poster
6.8

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

Man of a Thousand Faces

1957

Beware Spooks! poster
8.5

A bumbling detective chases an escaped convict in an amusement park haunted house in Coney Island.

Beware Spooks!

1939

Nothing but the Truth poster
7.3

A stockbroker bets his new partners $10,000 that he can tell the truth, and only the truth, for twenty-four hours.

Nothing but the Truth

1941

Impact poster
6.1

After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime.

Impact

1949

Merrily We Live poster
6.9

Society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome tramp who shows up at her doorstep and ends up in a chauffeur's uniform. He also catches the eye of Geraldine.

Merrily We Live

1938

Give Me a Sailor poster
6.1

Jim and Walter are two brother sailors in the United States Navy. Walter tells Jim as soon as they get home he is going to ask his beautiful girlfriend, Nancy Larkin to marry him. But Jim is also in love with Nancy so he begs Nancy's ugly duckling sister, Letty to help break Walter and Nancy up. Letty agrees only under one condition, he help her to win Walter!

Give Me a Sailor

1938

The Fabulous Joe poster
5.5

Milo Terkel's life is never the same after he is willed a dog named Joe. Milo buys his wife a diamond necklace for their anniversary, but when he returns home he finds a note saying she is attending a charity affair. He decides to celebrate alone, taking Joe along for company. After two "mystery gardenias" at the Florida Club, he meets gorgeous Miss Gilmore who spots the necklace and asks to try it on. Milo is punched in the nose by Miss Gilmore's boyfriend, Louie. But Milo's troubles really begin when his dog starts to talk to him, and ONLY to him! He tells Milo to act tough, like Humphrey Bogart. It's a laugh-a-minute as Milo changes from lamb to lion and is innocently caught by his wife with the shapely Miss Gilmore. When his wife sues for divorce he tells the judge about Joe being his advisor. The judge can only suggest that Milo and his wife take a long vacation to work out their problems. Everyone knows a dog simply can't talk!

The Fabulous Joe

1947

Hellzapoppin' poster
7.2

Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.

Hellzapoppin'

1941

The Kid from Brooklyn poster
6.3

Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspapers get hold of the story and photographers even catch Burleigh knock out Speed again. Speed's crooked manager decides to turn Burleigh into a fighter. Burleigh doesn't realize that all of his opponents have been asked to take a dive. Thinking he really is a great fighter, Burleigh develops a swelled head which puts a crimp in his relationship with pretty nightclub singer Polly Pringle. He may finally get his comeuppance when he challenges Speed for the title.

The Kid from Brooklyn

1946

Blossoms in the Dust poster
6.6

Edna marries Texan Sam Gladney, operator of a wheat mill. They have a son, who is killed when very young. Edna discovers by chance how the law treats children who are without parents and decides to do something about it. She opens a home for foundlings and orphans and begins to place children in good homes, despite the opposition of "conservative" citizens, who would condemn illegitimate children for being born out of wedlock. Eventually Edna leads a fight in the Texas legislature to remove the stigma of illegitimacy from birth records in that state, while continuing to be an advocate for homeless children.

Blossoms in the Dust

1941

Gold Is Where You Find It poster
7.0

Colonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic mining, a new method developed during the gold rush of the 1870's, which is flooding the area's prosperous farmlands. Despite Ferris' political stance, Jared Whitney, a mining engineer from the East, becomes friends with the colonel's son Lance and falls in love with his daughter Serena. Family tensions deepen when the colonel's brother Ralph gives up farming to go to San Francisco to work for his wife Rosanna's father, Harrison McCooey, a leader in the mining venture. When Lance follows Ralph, the colonel, focusing his anger on Jared, forbids him to see Serena.

Gold Is Where You Find It

1938

Standing Room Only poster
5.7

During WWII, an executive and his secretary arrive in Washington, DC on business but, because of the housing shortage, are unable to find hotel rooms. In desperation, they pretend to be married and hire themselves out as a butler and maid in order to secure lodgings. Comedy.

Standing Room Only

1944

Christmas Eve poster
5.4

The greedy nephew of eccentric Matilda Reid seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth, but she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons appear for a Christmas Eve reunion. Separate stories reveal Michael as a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann; Mario as a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in South America; Jonathan as a hard-drinking rodeo rider intent on a flirtatious social worker. Is there hope for Matilda?

Christmas Eve

1947

You're in the Army Now poster
4.4

Incompetent door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen become enlisted without their knowledge.

You're in the Army Now

1941

Fun on a Weekend poster
7.2

Shy, destitute Peter Porter meets equally impoverished Nancy Crane at a Florida beach. Inspired by Peter's belief that a person can acquire wealth simply by creating an aura of success, the outgoing Nancy convinces Peter to join her in impersonating a confident and eccentric wealthy couple. The experiment works, and the couple secure a stunning wardrobe and a lavish room at a resort. Peter panics, however, when he gets a fantastic job offer.

Fun on a Weekend

1947

Bluff poster
7.0

Louie, the janitor of a large New York building, leaves New York for a small town to try to work out his formula for the "manufacturing of gold from baser metals."

Bluff

1916