Portrait of Charles Ruggles

Charles Ruggles

Acting

Biography

Charles Ruggles had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, lasting more than 60 years and encompassing more than 100 films. He made his film debut in 1914 in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) and worked steadily after that. He was memorably paired with Mary Boland in a series of comedies in the early 1930s, and was one of the standouts in the all-star comedy If I Had a Million (1932), as a harried, much-put-upon man who finally goes berserk in a china shop. Ruggles' slight stature and distinctive mannerisms - his fluttery, jumpy manner of speaking, his often befuddled look whenever events seemed about to overwhelm him, which was often - endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Memorable as Maj. Applegate the big-game hunter in the classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). Many will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated cartoon The Bullwinkle Show (1961). He was the brother of director Wesley Ruggles.

Born: February 8, 1886

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA

Filmography

1967
Carousel

as The Starkeeper / Dr. Selden

1966
Follow Me, Boys!

as John Everett Hughes

1966
The Ugly Dachshund

as Dr. J. L. Pruitt

1964
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

as Governor Callahan

1964
Bewitched

as Mr. Caldwell

1964
I'd Rather Be Rich

as Dr. Charles Crandall

1963
Vacation Playhouse

as Eli Harcourt

1963
1963
Son of Flubber

as Judge Murdock

1961
The Pleasure of His Company

as Mackenzie Savage

1961
The Parent Trap

as Charles McKendrick

1961
All in a Night's Work

as Dr. Warren Kingsley, Sr

1960
The Andy Griffith Show

as John Canfield

1959
The Bullwinkle Show

as Aesop (voice)

1956
Eloise

as Murphy

1953
Ben and Me

as Ben Franklin (voice)

1949
Look for the Silver Lining

as Caro "Pop" Miller

1949
The Lovable Cheat

as Claude Mercadet

1948
1947
Ramrod

as Ben Dickason

1947
It Happened on Fifth Avenue

as Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor

1947
My Brother Talks to Horses

as Richard Pennington Roeder

1947
The Perfect Marriage

as Dale Williams, Sr.

1946
Gallant Journey

as Jim Montgomery

1946
A Stolen Life

as Freddie Linley

1945
Incendiary Blonde

as Cherokee Jim

1945
Bedside Manner

as Dr. J.H. 'Doc' Fredericks

1944
The Doughgirls

as Stanley Slade

1944
3 Is a Family

as Sam Whitaker

1944
1944
1943
Dixie Dugan

as Pa Dugan

1942
Friendly Enemies

as Heinrich Block

1941
The Perfect Snob

as Dr. Edgar Mason (as Charlie Ruggles)

1941
Go West, Young Lady

as Jim Pendergast

1941
The Parson of Panamint

as Chuckawalla Bill Redfield

1941
Model Wife

as Milo Everett

1941
Honeymoon for Three

as Harvey Wilson

1940
1940
No Time for Comedy

as Philo Swift

1940
1940
Maryland

as Dick Piper

1940
Opened by Mistake

as Buzz Nelson

1940
The Farmer's Daughter

as Nicksie North

1939
Balalaika

as Nicki Popoff

1939
Night Work

as Homer C. Fitch

1939
Invitation to Happiness

as Henry 'Pop' Hardy

1939
Sudden Money

as Sweeney J. Patterson

1939
Boy Trouble

as Homer C. Fitch

1938
Service de Luxe

as Robinson

1938
Breaking the Ice

as Sam Terwilliger

1938
1938
Bringing Up Baby

as Horace Applegate

1937
Exclusive

as Tod Swain

1936
Mind Your Own Business

as Orville Shanks

1936
Wives Never Know

as Homer Bigelow

1936
Hollywood Boulevard

as Charles Ruggles - Actor - Cameo Appearance (uncredited)

1936
Yours for the Asking

as Sunbather (uncredited)

1936
1936
Early to Bed

as Chester R. Beatty

1936
The Preview Murder Mystery

as Himself (Uncredited)

1936
Anything Goes

as Rev. Dr. Moon

1935
The Big Broadcast of 1936

as Wilbur Sealingsworth

1935
No More Ladies

as Edgar Holden

1935
People Will Talk

as Henry Wilton

1935
Ruggles of Red Gap

as Egbert Floud

1934
The Pursuit of Happiness

as Aaron Kirkland

1934
Friends of Mr. Sweeney

as Asaph 'Ace' Holliday

1934
Murder in the Private Car

as Godfrey D. Scott

1934
Melody in Spring

as Warren Blodgett

1934
Six of a Kind

as J. Pinkham Whinney (as Charlie Ruggles)

1933
Alice in Wonderland

as March Hare

1933
Girl Without a Room

as Vergil Crock

1933
Good-bye Love

as Oswald Groggs

1933
Mama Loves Papa

as Wilbur Todd

1933
Melody Cruise

as Pete Wells

1933
Terror Aboard

as Blackie Witherspoon

1933
Murders in the Zoo

as Peter Yates

1932
Madame Butterfly

as Lieutenant Barton

1932
If I Had a Million

as Henry Peabody

1932
1932
1932
The Night of June 13

as Philo Strawn (as Charlie Ruggles)

1932
70,000 Witnesses

as Johnny Moran

1932
Love Me Tonight

as Viscount Gilbert de Varèze

1932
Make Me a Star

as Charles Ruggles (uncredited)

1932
This Is the Night

as Bunny West

1932
1932
This Reckless Age

as Goliath Whitney (as Charlie Ruggles)

1931
Husband's Holiday

as Clyde Saunders

1931
The Beloved Bachelor

as Jerry Wells

1931
The House That Shadows Built

as (archive footage)

1931
The Girl Habit

as Charlie Floyd

1931
Honor Among Lovers

as Monty Dunn

1930
Charley's Aunt

as Fancourt Babberley

1930
Her Wedding Night

as Bertie Bird

1930
Queen High

as T. Boggs Johns

1930
1930
Roadhouse Nights

as Willie Bindbugel

1929
The Lady Lies

as Charlie Tayler

1929
Gentlemen of the Press

as Charlie Haven

1923
The Heart Raider

as Gaspard McMahon (an insurance clerk)

1915
Peer Gynt

as The Button Molder

1915
The Majesty of the Law

as Lawrence Evans