Short, chubby-framed, twinkle-eyed, ever-huggable Charles Winninger was a veteran vaudevillian by the time he arrived in talking films. Born in a trunk to show biz folk in Athens, Wisconsin, on May 26, 1884, he was initially christened Karl Winninger. He left school while quite young (age 8) to join and tour with his parent's vaudeville family act which was called Winninger Family Concert Co. Upon his parents' retirement, he and his five brothers went off to play in various stock and repertory companies. On film Charlie found an "in" with silent comedy shorts between 1915-1916 but never truly settled into the movie business until the advent of sound. In the meantime Broadway made great use of his musical comedy talents, marking his debut with "The Yankee Girl" in 1910 which also featured actress (and later stage star) Blanche Ring. He married Blanche in 1912 and the couple went on to star together quite frequently in vaudeville and on Broadway, including the musical "When Claudia Smiles" (1914) in which Blanche played the title role. Throughout the 1920s there were plenty of roles for Charlie on the Great White Way including a stint with the Ziegfeld Follies (1920), several Winter Garden productions, and in such musical comedy showcases as "The Broadway Whirl" (1921) (with Blanche), "The Good Old Days" (1923), "No, No, Nanette" (1925) and "Yes, Yes, Yvette" (1927). His most significant contribution was originating the role of beloved Cap'n Andy in "Showboat" (1927). Playing the Kern/Hammerstein musical for two years straight, he eagerly returned to the role on Broadway in 1932. With the success of "Show Boat," Hollywood started taking more of an interest in the grey-haired song-and-dance man for character roles. Such early talking movies included the slapstick comedy Soup to Nuts (1930) with Ted Healy and The Three Stooges. Though Charlie was known for adding his immeasurable touch to the comedy genre (Flying High (1931) and Woman Chases Man (1937)), he was also a warm-hearted presence in heavier pictures as well, including the melodramas Bad Sister (1931) with Bette Davis and The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) with Helen Hayes, and rugged adventures Gun Smoke (1931) and White Fang (1936). Although he did not play his famous stage role in the 1929 version, Charlie was thankfully able to preserve his beloved Cap'n Andy to film in the superb Irene Dunne/Allan Jones remake of Show Boat (1936). He became so associated with the riverboat captain that he was asked to create several variations of the character on radio. Charlie was relied upon for his benign, errant dads, old-theater entertainers, lovable drunks and other rather wanderlust types in film, characters that usually represented old-fashioned common sense or mores. He was quite entertaining in such classics as Nothing Sacred (1937), Three Smart Girls (1936) and Destry Rides Again (1939). In the 1940s he brightened up a number of MGM comedies and musicals including Babes in Arms (1939), Little Nellie Kelly (1940), Ziegfeld Girl (1941), When Ladies Meet (1941), Broadway Rhythm (1944)_ and Living in a Big Way (1947). One of his last important roles was playing Will Rogers' Judge Priest role in director John Ford's film The Sun Shines Bright (1953), his only leading film role. He and wife Blanche never appeared together in a film although Blanche did play herself in the film If I Had My Way (1940), a film that featured Charlie. His Broadway swan song was in "Music in the Air" in 1951 and his final film occurred about a decade later with Raymie (1960). He also played Santa Claus in the hour-long entertainment The Miracle of the White Reindeer (1960) that same year. TV roles dominated much of his work in the 50s. On the one-season The Charles Farrell Show (1956) he played the star's dear old dad. Divorced from wife Blanche in 1951, Charlie subsequently married stage actress-turned-novelist and screenwriter Gertrude Walker whom he originally met on Broadway when he returned to "Show Boat" in 1932 (Gertrude played the role of Lottie). Retired for many years, Charlie died in 1969 following an extended illness at the age of 84.
Charles has a myriad of experience in the Entertainment Business. Born into a "Hollywood Showbiz Family" he started off at the early age of 7 singing impromptu with his father's vocal group, "The Ink Spots". With providence, he formed his own band "Songbird" and shortly thereafter acquired a record contract, with GRT, which took him from L.A. to Canada. After several years of touring, recording and "Rockin de House", Charles became interested in the closeness and intimacy of the Theater. Accordingly, he became a thespian, his hunger to understand the inner-workings of this medium was the catalyst to his writing, producing and directing for the stage. Eventually he become Artistic Director of his own theater company, (Black Arts Theater), having had several successes along the way. "For Colored Girls...","Aint Noth'n but a Party", "Fences", etc. Synchronous to this was television & film; one of Charles' first ventures into television was "The Nice Show" CBC, in which he wrote, produced and starred. Finding his niche, Mr. Gray, for the past fifteen years, with his own company and as a freelancer has produced, directed and written for Film/Television/Stage and worked with...CBS, ABC, NBC, BET, USA, The FAMILY CHANNEL, SHOWTIME, FOX and others. Presently Mr. Gray's interest is to produce independent theatrical/cable films for domestic and international markets. To this end, Mr. Gray has recently formed Graysphere Entertainment Group, in which his primary purpose will be to develop, produce, and market film work, which are of the very highest caliber, brilliance, at the same time maintaining acumen of the marketplace and fiscal actualities.
Charles Wu is an actor and composer, known for Secret City (2016), Doctor Doctor (2016) and Australia Day (2017).
Charles Wyman is an actor, known for To Your Last Death (2019).
Charles Young was born on October 14, 1935 in Augusta, Georgia, USA. He is known for Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991), Malcolm X (1992) and Matlock (1986). He died on December 11, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Charles Zeiler is known for The Last Affair (1976), The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey (1977) and A Labor of Love (1976).
Charles Zuckermann is a Montreal born actor and photographer. He started his career on stage at the age of 3 thanks to his mother's love for Shakespeare. Though he still loves the theatre, he has spent most of his adult life pursuing film and television. He is best known for playing bad guys and loves the challenges that come with these kinds of roles. Charles is attracted to the depth of emotion and choices these characters offer him. He is also an accomplished photographer (teamed up with fellow photog Zenna Wong) who has had the chance to work with brilliant artists and many of his fellow actors.
Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 in Lille, Nord, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Une mauvaise rencontre (1981), Les manifestations du 18 Juin (1949) and 10th Winter Olympic Games (1968). He was married to Yvonne de Gaulle. He died on November 9, 1970 in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, Haute-Marne, France.
Charles de Rochefort was born on July 7, 1879 in Port-Vendres, Pyrénées-Orientales, France. He was an actor and director, known for Parada Paramount (1930), L'Arlésienne (1922) and Le secret du docteur (1930). He was married to Mary Grant and Therese Forgerot . He died on February 2, 1952 in Paris, France.
Charles-Olivier grew up in Quebec City. He traveled around the world discovering cultures, people and also working in international business in Europe, Singapore and Canada. His passion for the world, captured on film in his feature film Snow & Ashes, is expressed through his fluency in 6 foreign languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin).