Charles Lane

I have watched this actor all of my life - from Petticoat Junction, to I Love Lucy, to It's a Wonderful Life! and hundreds of other roles. Typecast as a grump, he was nonetheless a joy to watch.


After trying, in vain, to explain to Mark where he would have seen the actor, I became fascinated with Mr. Lane's story. Born in San Francisco, he was one of the last survivors of the 1906 earthquake. It seems everyone knows his face; in fact, you'd have to have been living under a rock for the last 70 years to have not seen him in one of his over 250 movie and television roles.


In an interview from, I believe, the 1980s, Mr. Lane tells of working in the studio 'system' in the 1930s. Some days he would have parts in 3 different movies, so they would rush him in and out of costume, from one set to another, to do his few lines - for $35.00 a day! It's not surprising that, when the Screen Actors Guild was being formed, he was one of the first to join. (Some sources credit him with being a co-founder.)


An amazingly talented, and prolific, actor who was still working at 100, he passed this week at 102. RIP, Mr. Lane and thank you for sharing your talent with us for all of these years.

Don't forget to visit JMark Afghans and My Gallery at Zazzle

We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.


We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules