Ralph Dunn
Birthday: 1900-05-23
Place of Birth: Titusville, Pennsylvania, USA
Synopsis
Ralph Dunn was an American film, television, and stage actor.
Dunn was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania and spent early years living with relatives in Canton, Illinois. Dunn's father was a veterinarian for the U.S. Army during WWI, and his mother was an actress. Dunn was enrolled briefly at the University of Pennsylvania, but left after one day to join a Vaudeville troupe.
Ralph Dunn used his burly body and rich, theatrical voice to good effect in hundreds of minor feature-film roles and supporting appearances in two-reel comedies. He came to Hollywood during the early talkie era, beginning his film career with 1932's The Crowd Roars.
A large man with a withering glare, Dunn was an ideal "opposite" for short, bumbling comedians. A frequent visitor to the Columbia short subjects unit, Dunn showed up in the Three Stooges comedies Mummy's Dummies, as well as Who Done It? and its remake, For Crimin' Out Loud
Dunn kept busy into the 1960s, appearing in such TV series as Kitty Foyle, and Norby and such films as Black Like Me.
Acting
The Pajama Game
as Myron Hasler
An Iowa pajama factory worker falls in love with an affable superintendent who had been hired by the factory's boss to help oppose the workers' demand for a pay raise.
The Lost Tribe
as Capt. Rawlins
Jungle Jim fights a lion and sharks trying to save an African village from those who would despoil it.
Lady at Midnight
as Al Garrity
A couple's adopted daughter has an inheritance someone else wants.
Incident
as Bugs
An innocent man -- due to a case of mistaken identity -- is beaten. Once recovered, the stockbroker tries to find the actual intended target -- a gangster-- and warn him.
The Golden Eye
as Jim. Driscoll
A gold mine in Arizona, that was formerly losing a lot of money, suddenly turns into a veritable money-making machine. However, the owner, instead of being happy about his now profitable business, insists to Charlie that something is fishy and that someone is out to murder him. Charlie and his "crew" travel to the mine, pretending to be tourists staying at a nearby dude ranch so as not to arouse suspicion, and discover that the owner may well be right--it looks like the mine is being used as a cover for criminal activities, and that someone is indeed out to murder him.
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Train to Alcatraz
as U.S. Marshal Mark Stevens
Criminals aboard a train to the infamous penitentiary plot an escape, and receive outside help in their attempt.
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Too Many Winners
as Detective Peter Rafferty
Michael Shayne mystery involving counterfeit tickets at a race track.
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Three on a Ticket
as Inspector Pete Rafferty
A private detective, who has been shot, stumbles into the office of Michael Shayne (Hugh Beaumont), and dies before Shayne can question him. Shayne finds a baggage ticket in his hand. He claims it and finds the checked-bag contains the loot from a robbery. Now, he has about fifty minutes left of the running time to find the crooks, bring them to justice and return the money to the rightful owners. And needs all of it.
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Larceny in Her Heart
as Det. Sgt. Pete Rafferty
In the second of the PRC "Michael Shayne" series,civic crusader Burton Stallings hires private detective Michael Shayne to locate the former's missing step-daughter Helen. Shayne discovers that Stallings himself has had Helen confined in an asylum in order to obtain her money.
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Genius at Work
as Lt. Gilley
Two actors who play detectives on the radio find themselves investigating a real crime masterminded by an arch-criminal named the Cobra.
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Phantoms, Inc.
as Detective Lester
This Crime Does Not Pay entry focuses on fake spiritualists. A mother is worried about her son, who is missing in action. Over time, she gives a con man all of the family savings to find reassurance that her son is all right. When she can no longer pay, events take a tragic turn.
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The Whistler
as Cop at Car Accident (Uncredited)
A guilt-ridden man blames himself for his wife's death and secretly pays an assassin to kill him. But then he finds out that his wife isn't dead at all. And now the assassin is on his trail, with no way to call off the hit.
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The Saint's Double Trouble
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Reformed jewel thief Simon Templar lands in hot water when a look-alike smuggles stolen goods out of Egypt.
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The Lone Ranger Rides Again
as Bart Dolan
Homesteaders are moving into the valley settled many years ago by rancher Craig Dolan. He wants to keep them out by legal means but his nephew Bart brings in outlaws to drive them out. The Lone Ranger is on hand to help the homesteaders battle Bart's men as he overcomes traps, ambushes, burning buildings and other obstacles in his attempt to bring peace to the valley.
