Charles Winninger


Charles J. Winninger was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals.

Biography

Winninger began as a vaudeville actor. His most famous stage role was as Cap'n Andy Hawks in the original production of Show Boat, the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical classic, in 1927. He played the role in the 1932 stage revival and the 1936 film version of the show. He became so identified with the role and with his "persona" as a riverboat captain that he played several variations of the role, notably on the radio program Maxwell House Show Boat, which was clearly inspired by the Broadway musical.
Winninger's pre-Code film career includes Night Nurse, a 1931 Barbara Stanwyck drama about two little girls being systematically starved to death by the family chauffeur, played by Clark Gable. Winninger portrays a kindly physician who attempts to save the suffering children. After the film of Show Boat in 1936, Winninger appeared in 1936's Three Smart Girls, 1937's Nothing Sacred, 1939's Destry Rides Again, 1941's Ziegfeld Girl, and 1945's State Fair. He returned to Broadway only once more – for the 1951 revival of Kern and Hammerstein's Music in the Air.
Winninger had the lead role in only one film, 1953's The Sun Shines Bright, John Ford's remake of Judge Priest. Winninger played the role that Will Rogers portrayed in 1934.
Winninger made a notable television appearance in 1954 in I Love Lucy as Barney Kurtz, the former vaudevillian partner of Fred Mertz in an episode titled "Mertz and Kurtz". He made his last film in 1960.

Personal life

On November 12, 1912, Winninger married actress Blanche Ring. They were divorced on June 12, 1951. He married Gertrude Walker in 1951, which lasted until his death.

Death

Winninger died in 1969 and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.

Recognition

In 1960, Winninger received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio contributions.

Complete filmography