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Max Wagner
Actor

Max Wagner

28 Nov 1901Born
16 Nov 1975Died
73Age at death
196Credits

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit. Newspaper gossip columnists noted his rise from playing "Gangster #4", with no lines, and not carrying a gun, to "Gangster #2", with both lines and a gun.

Wagner was one of five children, all boys, of William Wallace Wagner, a railroad conductor, and Edith Wagner, a writer who provided dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor during the Mexican Revolution.

Read the full biography

When he was 10 years old, his father was killed by rebels and the family moved to Salinas, California, where he met John Steinbeck, who became a lifelong friend. Steinback based the character of the boy in his novel The Red Pony on Wagner.

Under the name "Max Baron", Wagner acted in many Spanish-language versions of English-language films, which studios made as a matter of course in the early days of sound films, He also served as a Spanish language coach for other actors, and appeared in many of the "Mexican Spitfire" films starring Lupe Vélez, where he also served to monitor Velez's Spanish ad-libs for profanity.

Other series that Wagner appeared in include the Charlie Chan films, and Tom Mix serials, as well as others made by Mascot Pictures Corporation. In the 1940s, Wagner was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges, beginning with The Palm Beach Story

In 1940 during the filming of "The Mad Doctor", Wagner was credited for driving 50,000 miles as an on-screen taxi driver on the studio back lots of Hollywood. Since his appearance as a cab driver in Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935), producers often cast him as a wise-cracking or henchman taxi driver. "I was cast as a taxi driver about five years ago", Wagner told a reporter. "And I was typed."

In 1952, Wagner began to appear on television, in episodes of such shows as The Cisco Kid, Zane Grey Theater and Perry Mason, playing much the same kind of parts he played in the movies.

He was a regular cast member on the western television series Gunsmoke, making nearly 80 appearances between 1959 and 1973. He also appeared in many episodes of The Rifleman, Bonanza, Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West and Maverick, including a guest-starring role in the 1959 Rifleman episode "Blood Brother." He also had roles in the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone series. He appeared in more than 200 television episodes between 1952 and 1974.

Notable film roles for Wagner include a supporting role in the cult science fiction classic Invaders from Mars (1953), an actor playing a gangster in the film-within-a-film segment of Bullets or Ballots (1936), and the bull farm attendant in the Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters (1945).

Late in his career, he appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also occasionally composed music, such as the Mexican folk ballad "Pedro, Rudarte y Simon" in the Western film The Last Trail (1933).

Wagner died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1975.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 196 credits.

  1. 1974Young FrankensteinFilm: Villager (uncredited)
  2. 1973Terror in the Wax MuseumFilm: Music Hall Drunk (Uncredited)
  3. 1972Evil Roy SladeFilm: Townsman (uncredited)
  4. 1971ColumboSeries: Derelict (uncredited) (1 episode)
  5. 1971Support Your Local GunfighterFilm: Townsman Watching Fight (uncredited)
  6. 1970The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides AgainFilm: Barfly (uncredited)
  7. 1970The Cheyenne Social ClubFilm: Barfly (uncredited)
  8. 1969True GritFilm: Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
  9. 1968The Legend of Lylah ClareFilm: Reporter (uncredited)
  10. 1968Rosemary's BabyFilm: Man in Dream Sequence (uncredited)
  11. 1968Hang 'em HighFilm: Prisoner
  12. 1967Return of the GunfighterFilm: Barfly (uncredited)
  13. 1966A Big Hand for the Little LadyFilm: Cashier (uncredited)
  14. 1966GunpointFilm
  15. 1965The Great RaceFilm: Barfly (uncredited)
  16. 1965ShenandoahFilm: Church Member
  17. 19634 for TexasFilm: Blackjack Dealer
  18. 1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldFilm: Spectator (uncredited)
  19. 1962To Kill a MockingbirdFilm: Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
  20. 1962Pressure PointFilm
  21. 1962The Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceFilm: Townsman (uncredited)
  22. 1960The Andy Griffith ShowSeries: Townsman (uncredited) (1 episode)
  23. 1960Sunrise at CampobelloFilm: Convention Delegate (uncredited)
  24. 1960Ice PalaceFilm: Party Guest (uncredited)
  25. 1959The Twilight ZoneSeries: Roller Coaster Operator (1 episode)
  26. 1959BonanzaSeries: Townsman (uncredited), Miner (uncredited) (1 episode)
  27. 1958The RiflemanSeries (1 episode)
  28. 1957Public Pigeon No. 1Film: Police Detective (uncredited)
  29. 1957The Spirit of St. LouisFilm: Reporter (uncredited)
  30. 1957Robbery Under ArmsFilm: Sergeant Goring
  31. 1956The ConquerorFilm: Mongul Guard (uncredited)
  32. 1955I Died a Thousand TimesFilm: Deputy Charlie (uncredited)
  33. 1955IllegalFilm: Bartender (uncredited)
  34. 1955Tennessee's PartnerFilm: Townsman (uncredited)
  35. 1955GunsmokeSeries: Townsman (uncredited) (1 episode)
  36. 1955The Life and Legend of Wyatt EarpSeries: Gambler (uncredited), Townsman (uncredited) (1 episode)
  37. 1955East of EdenFilm: Workman (uncredited)
  38. 1954The Country GirlFilm: Expressman (uncredited)
  39. 1954The Great Diamond RobberyFilm: Policeman (uncredited)
  40. 1953Donovan's BrainFilm: Station Agent (uncredited)
  41. 1953Invaders from MarsFilm: Army Sgt. Rinaldi
  42. 1952The Abbott and Costello ShowSeries: First Workman (1 episode)
  43. 1952Flaming FeatherFilm
  44. 1951The RacketFilm: Durko (uncredited)
  45. 1951The Secret of Convict LakeFilm: Jack Purcell (uncredited)
  46. 1951Pier 23Film: Bar Patron (uncredited)
  47. 1950FrenchieFilm: Drunk (uncredited)
  48. 1949Reign of TerrorFilm: Citizen (uncredited)
  49. 1949It Happens Every SpringFilm: Umpire (uncredited)
  50. 1949The Red PonyFilm: Bartender
  51. 1949CaughtFilm: Projectionist (uncredited)
  52. 1949Flaxy MartinFilm: Charles McMahon
  53. 1948Shed No TearsFilm: Second Investigating Detective (Uncredited)
  54. 1948The Sainted SistersFilm: Townsman (uncredited)
  55. 1948The Miracle of the BellsFilm: Baggage Man
  56. 1948Half Past MidnightFilm: Mike
  57. 1947TycoonFilm
  58. 1947PossessedFilm: Man in Café (uncredited)
  59. 1947Sinbad the SailorFilm: Assistant Overseer (uncredited)
  60. 1946That Brennan GirlFilm: Moving Man (uncredited)
  61. 1946It's a Wonderful LifeFilm: Cashier / Nick's Assistant Bouncer (uncredited)
  62. 1946Dick Tracy vs. CueballFilm: Bartender (uncredited)
  63. 1946The Truth About MurderFilm: Henchman Mike (uncredited)
  64. 1945The Lost WeekendFilm: Mike (uncredited)
  65. 1945Fallen AngelFilm: Bartender (uncredited)
  66. 1945Radio Stars on ParadeFilm: George
  67. 1945Circumstantial EvidenceFilm: Truck Driver
  68. 1945A Medal for BennyFilm: Jake (uncredited)
  69. 1944Hi, BeautifulFilm: Sailor (uncredited)
  70. 1944The Miracle of Morgan's CreekFilm: Military Police Driver (uncredited)
  71. 1944Boss of BoomtownFilm: Sergeant George Dunne
  72. 1943Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy LinesFilm: Rudy the Sailor
  73. 1942A Night to RememberFilm: Policeman Temple (uncredited)
  74. 1942Panama HattieFilm: Jailer (uncredited)
  75. 1942Overland to DeadwoodFilm: Buck
  76. 1942Mexican Spitfire's ElephantFilm: Villa Luigi Headwaiter
  77. 1942The Palm Beach StoryFilm: Tom's Best Man (uncredited)
  78. 1942Sabotage SquadFilm: Recruiting Sergeant
  79. 1942The Talk of the TownFilm: Moving Man (uncredited)
  80. 1942Matri-PhonyFilm: Guard (uncredited)

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.