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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
September 23, 1886
Died
May 23, 1968
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
- Jim Burke
- James Michael Burke
James Burke
0.4 Popularity
Biography
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. Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.
Known For
6.1
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
6.7
Self
Dinah!
1974
6.0
James Burke
Stagecoach West
1960
6.3
Policeman
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
5.8
Charlie (uncredited)
Alias Jesse James
1959
5.8
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
6.8
Sheriff John Tatum
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
6.8
Sheriff M. Comstock
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
6.8
Sheriff Blore
Wanted: Dead or Alive
1958
8.6
Horse Handler (uncredited)
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957
Credits
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1975
6.1
Dinah!
as Self
1974
6.7
Stagecoach West
as James Burke
1960
6.0
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Policeman
1959
6.3
Alias Jesse James
as Charlie (uncredited)
1959
5.8
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
5.8
Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff John Tatum
1958
6.8
Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff M. Comstock
1958
6.8
Wanted: Dead or Alive
as Sheriff Blore
1958
6.8
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
as Horse Handler (uncredited)
1957
8.6
Trackdown
1957
6.4
The Unholy Wife
as Sheriff Tom Watling
1957
4.4
Public Pigeon No. 1
as Harrigan
1957
6.0
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
5.4
Cheyenne
as Buckshot
1955
6.0
Lassie
1954
6.1
Lucky Me
as Mahoney
1954
6.7
Lone Star
as Luther Kilgore
1952
5.6
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
0.0
We're Not Married!
as Willie's Sergeant (uncredited)
1952
5.8
My Little Margie
1952
3.0
Denver and Rio Grande
as Sheriff Ed Johnson
1952
5.5
Warpath
as Oldtimer
1951
5.8
I Love Lucy
as Mr. Watson
1951
7.9
Here Comes the Groom
as O'Neill, Policeman
1951
5.2
His Kind of Woman
as Barkeeper in Nogales (uncredited)
1951
6.6
Raton Pass
as Hank
1951
4.6
The Last Outpost
as Stagecoach driver (uncredited)
1951
5.5
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
as The Train Conductor
1950
6.0
Let's Dance
as George (uncredited)
1950
5.6
Copper Canyon
as Jeb Bassett
1950
5.3
Red, Hot and Blue
as Doorman (uncredited)
1949
5.8
Alias Nick Beal
as Bum
1949
6.7
Shamrock Hill
as Michael Rogan
1949
1.0
June Bride
as Luke Potter
1948
7.2
Night Wind
as Sheriff Hamilton
1948
0.0
Beyond Glory
as Jim, the Bartender (uncredited)
1948
7.3
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Cop (uncredited)
1948
5.3
The Timber Trail
as Jed Baker
1948
0.0
The Big Clock
as O'Brien
1948
7.3
Body and Soul
as Arnold (uncredited)
1947
6.7
Nightmare Alley
as Rural Marshal (uncredited)
1947
7.2
Song of the Thin Man
as Policeman Callahan (uncredited)
1947
6.8
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
as Police Lt. Burke
1947
6.0
Down to Earth
as Detective Kelly
1947
5.9
Philo Vance's Gamble
as Lt. Burke
1947
5.7
Easy Come, Easy Go
as Harry Weston
1947
0.0
California
as Pokey
1947
6.7
Two Years Before the Mast
as Carrick
1946
6.1
Bowery Bombshell
as Detective O'Malley
1946
6.0
The Virginian
as Andy Jones (uncredited)
1946
6.0
Young Widow
as Motorcycle Cop (Uncredited)
1946
4.6
How DOooo You Do
as Detective
1945
0.0
I Love a Bandleader
as Charles Gibley
1945
0.0
Shady Lady
as Crane
1945
5.8
Anchors Aweigh
as Studio Cop
1945
6.8
The Horn Blows at Midnight
as Policeman (uncredited)
1945
5.7
Casanova Brown
as O'Leary (uncredited)
1944
6.4
3 Men in White
as First Policeman (uncredited)
1944
6.0
Riding High
as Pete
1943
4.5
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Bill, Intern Guard (uncredited)
1943
6.0
Dixie
as Riverboat Captain (uncredited)
1943
3.0
No Place for a Lady
as Police Substation Chief Moriarty
1943
6.0
A Night to Remember
as Pat Murphy (uncredited)
1942
6.6
Army Surgeon
as Brooklyn
1942
5.8
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
as Police Sergeant Velie
1942
5.5
It Happened in Flatbush
as Umpire Shaunnessy
1942
4.8
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
as Sgt. Velie
1942
5.7
My Favorite Blonde
as Union Secretary
1942
6.4
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
as Sgt. Velie
1942
5.2
All Through the Night
as Police Lt. Forbes
1942
6.8
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
as Sgt. Velie
1941
5.7
The Maltese Falcon
as Luke
1941
7.7
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
as Sgt. Velie
1941
5.8
Million Dollar Baby
as Callahan
1941
6.0
Reaching for the Sun
as Norm
1941
6.0
Pot o' Gold
as Lt. Grady
1941
5.5
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
as Sgt. Velie
1941
5.3
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
as Sgt. Velle
1940
5.5
Little Nellie Kelly
as Sergeant McGowan
1940
6.7
No Time for Comedy
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
1940
5.0
The Golden Fleecing
as Sibley
1940
5.3
The Way of All Flesh
as Frisco
1940
4.1
The Saint Takes Over
as Patrolman Mike
1940
6.4
Buck Benny Rides Again
as Taxi Driver
1940
0.0
Opened by Mistake
as Police Sergeant Wilkins
1940
0.0
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
as Wilkie, house detective
1940
6.9
Double Alibi
as Police Captain Orr
1940
4.0
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
as Pop Saunders
1939
4.9
At the Circus
as John Carter
1939
6.4
Fast and Furious
as Clancy
1939
4.7
Beau Geste
as Lieutenant Dufour
1939
6.9
On Borrowed Time
as Sheriff Burlingame
1939
7.5
Dodge City
as Cattle Auctioneer (uncredited)
1939
6.9
I'm from Missouri
as Walt Bliss
1939
0.0
Sudden Money
as McPherson
1939
5.0
The Family Next Door
as Policeman
1939
5.2
Within the Law
as 'Red'
1939
6.0
The Saint Strikes Back
as Headquarters Police Officer
1939
5.6
The Dawn Patrol
as Flaherty - Motorcycle Driver
1938
6.8
🎬
Little Orphan Annie
as Mike Moriarty
1938
0.0
The Mad Miss Manton
as Sullivan
1938
6.3
The Affairs of Annabel
as Muldoon
1938
4.0
You Can't Take It with You
as Chief Detective (uncredited)
1938
7.5
Men with Wings
as J.A. Nolan
1938
5.0
Joy of Living
as Mac
1938
5.7
Flight Into Nowhere
as Ike Matthews
1938
4.0
The Perfect Specimen
as Constable Snodgrass
1937
5.7
Life Begins with Love
as Darby McGraw
1937
5.0
Dead End
as Police Officer Mulligan
1937
7.0
High, Wide and Handsome
as Stackpole
1937
6.3
Champagne Waltz
as Mr. Scribner
1937
0.0
Laughing at Trouble
as Bill Norton
1936
6.0
Great Guy
as Patrick James Aloysius 'Pat' Haley
1936
6.2
Can This Be Dixie?
as Sheriff N.B.F. Rider
1936
0.0
36 Hours to Kill
as Doyle - Process Server
1936
5.3
Rhythm on the Range
as Wabash
1936
4.0
Forgotten Faces
as Sgt. Johnny Donovan / Harry's friend
1936
1.0
Song and Dance Man
as Lt. Mike Boyle
1936
0.0
Klondike Annie
1936
6.4
The Leathernecks Have Landed
as Corrigan
1936
5.0
Dancing Feet
as Phil Moore
1936
5.2
So Red the Rose
as Major Rushton
1935
6.5
Frisco Waterfront
as Corrigan
1935
0.0
Coronado
as Slug Moran
1935
3.0
🎬
Hot Money
as Police Sgt. Burke
1935
0.0
Music Is Magic
as Mickey (uncredited)
1935
4.0
Case of the Missing Man
as Police Sergeant Rorty
1935
0.0
The Affair of Susan
as Hogan
1935
0.0
Here Comes Cookie
as Broken-Nose Reilly
1935
7.3
Call of the Wild
as Ole
1935
6.2
Welcome Home
as Michael Shaughnessy
1935
0.0
Man on the Flying Trapeze
as Patrolman
1935
6.0
Broadway Gondolier
as Uncle Andy
1935
5.4
Make a Million
as Pete
1935
5.7
The Farmer Takes a Wife
as Man Hauling Rifles and Bullets
1935
6.1
After the Dance
as Police Lieutenant
1935
6.0
Dinky
as Truck Driver
1935
6.7
Mississippi
as Skeptical Passenger in Pilot House (uncredited)
1935
6.7
Ruggles of Red Gap
as Jeff Tuttle
1935
7.1
The Mystery Man
as Managing Editor Marvin
1935
5.4
Ticket to a Crime
as Detective Lt. John Aloysius McGinnis
1934
4.0
Love Time
as Emperor Francis I
1934
0.0
Lady by Choice
as Brannigan
1934
6.3
Treasure Island
as Pirate of the Spanish Main
1934
6.5
Friends of Mr. Sweeney
as Policeman Arresting Wynn
1934
6.0
Such Women Are Dangerous
as Detective
1934
0.0
Little Miss Marker
as Detective Reardon (uncredited)
1934
6.4
The Merry Frinks
as 3rd Expressman (uncredited)
1934
3.7
Twentieth Century
as Sheriff (uncredited)
1934
6.8
Sadie McKee
as Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
1934
6.9
The Scarlet Empress
1934
6.8
A Very Honorable Guy
as Sergeant
1934
2.0
Sisters Under the Skin
as Conroy
1934
0.0
City Limits
as King, a Hobo
1934
4.0
Wharf Angel
as Brooklyn Jack
1934
3.5
Gambling Lady
as Detective Making Raid (uncredited)
1934
6.2
It Happened One Night
as Detective (uncredited)
1934
7.8
Queen Christina
as Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited)
1934
6.8
Six of a Kind
as Detective (uncredited)
1934
5.8
All of Me
as Welfare Island Guard (uncredited)
1934
6.0
Lady Killer
as Panhandler (uncredited)
1933
6.9
The Kennel Murder Case
as Policeman Who Lets Dog Out (uncredited)
1933
6.0
Bombshell
as First Immigration Officer (uncredited)
1933
6.5
The Bowery
as Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited)
1933
5.0
To the Last Man
as Kentucky Sheriff (uncredited)
1933
5.7
Torch Singer
as Taxi Driver
1933
5.2
College Humor
as Cromwell Dexter
1933
5.3
The Girl in 419
as Detective Jackson
1933
3.5
A Lady's Profession
as Mulroy
1933
0.0
Face in the Sky
as Cop (uncredited)
1933
4.7
🎬
The Hollywood Handicap
1932
0.0