James Burke
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 23, 1886, New York City, New York, USA
- Died
- May 23, 1968
- Movies
- 158
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap.
In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer.
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 1975 | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) |
| 1959 | Alias Jesse James | Charlie (uncredited) |
| 1957 | The Unholy Wife | Sheriff Tom Watling |
| 1957 | Public Pigeon No. 1 | Harrigan |
| 1954 | Lucky Me | Mahoney |
| 1952 | Lone Star | Luther Kilgore |
| 1952 | Toughest Man in Arizona | |
| 1952 | We're Not Married! | Willie's Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1952 | Denver and Rio Grande | Sheriff Ed Johnson |
| 1951 | Warpath | Oldtimer |
| 1951 | Here Comes the Groom | O'Neill, Policeman |
| 1951 | His Kind of Woman | Barkeeper in Nogales (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Raton Pass | Hank |
| 1951 | The Last Outpost | Stagecoach driver (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | The Train Conductor |
| 1950 | Let's Dance | George (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Copper Canyon | Jeb Bassett |
| 1949 | Red, Hot and Blue | Doorman (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Alias Nick Beal | Bum |
| 1949 | Shamrock Hill | Michael Rogan |
| 1948 | June Bride | Luke Potter |
| 1948 | Night Wind | Sheriff Hamilton |
| 1948 | Beyond Glory | Jim, the Bartender (uncredited) |
| 1948 | Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1948 | The Timber Trail | Jed Baker |
| 1948 | The Big Clock | O'Brien |
| 1947 | Body and Soul | Arnold (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Nightmare Alley | Rural Marshal (uncredited) |
| 1947 | Song of the Thin Man | Policeman Callahan (uncredited) |
| 1947 | The Gas House Kids in Hollywood | Police Lt. Burke |
| 1947 | Down to Earth | Detective Kelly |
| 1947 | Philo Vance's Gamble | Lt. Burke |
| 1947 | Easy Come, Easy Go | Harry Weston |
| 1947 | California | Pokey |
| 1946 | Two Years Before the Mast | Carrick |
| 1946 | Bowery Bombshell | Detective O'Malley |
| 1946 | The Virginian | Andy Jones (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Young Widow | Motorcycle Cop (Uncredited) |
| 1945 | How DOooo You Do | Detective |
| 1945 | I Love a Bandleader | Charles Gibley |
| 1945 | Shady Lady | Crane |
| 1945 | Anchors Aweigh | Studio Cop |
| 1945 | The Horn Blows at Midnight | Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Casanova Brown | O'Leary (uncredited) |
| 1944 | 3 Men in White | First Policeman (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Riding High | Pete |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Bill, Intern Guard (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Dixie | Riverboat Captain (uncredited) |
| 1943 | No Place for a Lady | Police Substation Chief Moriarty |
| 1942 | A Night to Remember | Pat Murphy (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Army Surgeon | Brooklyn |
| 1942 | Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen | Police Sergeant Velie |
| 1942 | It Happened in Flatbush | Umpire Shaunnessy |
| 1942 | A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen | Sgt. Velie |
| 1942 | My Favorite Blonde | Union Secretary |
| 1942 | A Close Call for Ellery Queen | Sgt. Velie |
| 1942 | All Through the Night | Police Lt. Forbes |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring | Sgt. Velie |
| 1941 | The Maltese Falcon | Luke |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime | Sgt. Velie |
| 1941 | Million Dollar Baby | Callahan |
| 1941 | Reaching for the Sun | Norm |
| 1941 | Pot o' Gold | Lt. Grady |
| 1941 | Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | Sergeant Velie |
| 1940 | Ellery Queen, Master Detective | Sgt. Velle |
| 1940 | Little Nellie Kelly | Sergeant McGowan |
| 1940 | No Time for Comedy | Police Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1940 | The Golden Fleecing | Sibley |
| 1940 | The Way of All Flesh | Frisco |
| 1940 | The Saint Takes Over | Patrolman Mike |
| 1940 | Buck Benny Rides Again | Taxi Driver |
| 1940 | Opened by Mistake | Police Sergeant Wilkins |
| 1940 | Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise | Wilkie, house detective |
| 1940 | Double Alibi | Police Captain Orr |
| 1939 | The Cisco Kid and the Lady | Pop Saunders |
| 1939 | At the Circus | John Carter |
| 1939 | Fast and Furious | Clancy |
| 1939 | Beau Geste | Lieutenant Dufour |
| 1939 | On Borrowed Time | Sheriff Burlingame |
| 1939 | Dodge City | Cattle Auctioneer (uncredited) |
| 1939 | I'm from Missouri | Walt Bliss |
| 1939 | Sudden Money | McPherson |
| 1939 | The Family Next Door | Policeman |
| 1939 | Within the Law | 'Red' |
| 1939 | The Saint Strikes Back | Headquarters Police Officer |
| 1938 | The Dawn Patrol | Flaherty - Motorcycle Driver |
| 1938 | Little Orphan Annie | Mike Moriarty |
| 1938 | The Mad Miss Manton | Sullivan |
| 1938 | The Affairs of Annabel | Muldoon |
| 1938 | You Can't Take It with You | Chief Detective (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Men with Wings | J.A. Nolan |
| 1938 | Joy of Living | Mac |
| 1938 | Flight Into Nowhere | Ike Matthews |
| 1937 | The Perfect Specimen | Constable Snodgrass |
| 1937 | Life Begins with Love | Darby McGraw |
| 1937 | Dead End | Mulligan |
| 1937 | High, Wide and Handsome | Stackpole |
| 1937 | Champagne Waltz | Mr. Scribner |
| 1936 | Laughing at Trouble | Bill Norton |
| 1936 | Great Guy | Patrick James Aloysius 'Pat' Haley |
| 1936 | Can This Be Dixie? | Sheriff N.B.F. Rider |
| 1936 | 36 Hours to Kill | Doyle - Process Server |
| 1936 | Rhythm on the Range | Wabash |
| 1936 | Forgotten Faces | Sgt. Johnny Donovan / Harry's friend |
| 1936 | Song and Dance Man | Lt. Mike Boyle |
| 1936 | Klondike Annie | |
| 1936 | The Leathernecks Have Landed | Corrigan |
| 1936 | Dancing Feet | Phil Moore |
| 1935 | So Red the Rose | Major Rushton |
| 1935 | Frisco Waterfront | Corrigan |
| 1935 | Coronado | Slug Moran |
| 1935 | Hot Money | Police Sgt. Burke |
| 1935 | Music Is Magic | Mickey (uncredited) |
| 1935 | The Case of the Missing Man | Police Sergeant Rorty |
| 1935 | The Affair of Susan | Hogan |
| 1935 | Here Comes Cookie | Broken-Nose Reilly |
| 1935 | Welcome Home | Michael Shaughnessy |
| 1935 | Call of the Wild | Ole |
| 1935 | Man on the Flying Trapeze | Patrolman |
| 1935 | Broadway Gondolier | Uncle Andy |
| 1935 | Make a Million | Pete |
| 1935 | The Farmer Takes a Wife | Man Hauling Rifles and Bullets |
| 1935 | After the Dance | Police Lieutenant |
| 1935 | Dinky | Truck Driver |
| 1935 | Mississippi | Skeptical Passenger in Pilot House (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Ruggles of Red Gap | Jeff Tuttle |
| 1935 | The Mystery Man | Managing Editor Marvin |
| 1934 | Ticket to a Crime | Detective Lt. John Aloysius McGinnis |
| 1934 | Love Time | Emperor Francis I |
| 1934 | Lady by Choice | Brannigan |
| 1934 | Treasure Island | Pirate of the Spanish Main |
| 1934 | Friends of Mr. Sweeney | Policeman Arresting Wynn |
| 1934 | Such Women Are Dangerous | Detective |
| 1934 | Little Miss Marker | Detective Reardon (uncredited) |
| 1934 | The Merry Frinks | 3rd Expressman (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Twentieth Century | Sheriff (uncredited) |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Empress | |
| 1934 | Sadie McKee | Motorcycle Cop (uncredited) |
| 1934 | A Very Honorable Guy | Sergeant |
| 1934 | Sisters Under the Skin | Conroy |
| 1934 | City Limits | King, a Hobo |
| 1934 | Wharf Angel | Brooklyn Jack |
| 1934 | Gambling Lady | Detective Making Raid (uncredited) |
| 1934 | It Happened One Night | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Six of a Kind | Detective (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Queen Christina | Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited) |
| 1934 | All of Me | Welfare Island Guard (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Lady Killer | Panhandler (uncredited) |
| 1933 | The Kennel Murder Case | Policeman Who Lets Dog Out (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Bombshell | First Immigration Officer (uncredited) |
| 1933 | The Bowery | Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited) |
| 1933 | To the Last Man | Kentucky Sheriff (uncredited) |
| 1933 | Torch Singer | Taxi Driver |
| 1933 | College Humor | Cromwell Dexter |
| 1933 | The Girl in 419 | Detective Jackson |
| 1933 | A Lady's Profession | Mulroy |
| 1933 | Face in the Sky | Cop (uncredited) |
| 1932 | The Hollywood Handicap |
Data from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.