Sidney Toler
Acting
Biography
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr.; April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage.
Born: April 26, 1874
Place of Birth: Warrensburg, Missouri, USA
Known For
Wide Open Faces
A small town soda jerk discovers a gang of criminals staying at a local hotel. Comedy.
Romance in Manhattan
Karel Novak is an incredibly naive Czech immigrant who is taken under the wing of streetwise New York chorus girl Sylvia. With the help of lovable cop-on-the-beat Murphy, Sylvia hides Karel from the immigration authorities and ultimately falls in love with him. In addition to Karel's illegal-alien status, the plot is complicated by a crooked lawyer and a group of well-meaning welfare workers who endeavor to place Sylvia's kid brother Frank in a foster home.
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
A wax museum run by a demented doctor contains statues of such crime figures as Jack the Ripper and Bluebeard. In addition to making wax statues the doctor performs plastic surgery. It is here that an arch fiend takes refuge.
That's Entertainment!
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
Castle in the Desert
Charlie Chan, with son Jimmy on a week's pass from the Army, takes up a request for help at a castle-home, miles from anywhere in the American desert south-west and inhabited by an eccentric, reclusive historian and his wife, a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. Once there, he finds the request's legitimacy denied by all who are present, but still necessary as one houseguest has already been murdered, the other guests are at each other's throat, and the Borgia-related chatelain is suspected...
Black Magic
Chinese detective Charlie Chan solves a murder linked to the occult.
Our Relations
Two sailors get caught in a mountain of mix-ups when they meet their long-lost twins. Laurel and Hardy play themselves and their twins.
Give Us This Night
After being introduced to the world of opera, a fisherman (Jan Kiepura) falls for a woman (Swarthout) whose guardian is a noted composer (Philip Merivale). They met when the fisherman evaded the police by seeking refuge in the village church. While there, they are each captivated by hearing the other singing Mass. The beautiful woman falls in love with the fisherman with the wonderful voice.
If I Were King
King Louis XI masquerades as a commoner in Paris, seeking out the treachery he is sure lurks in his kingdom. At a local tavern, he overhears the brash poet François Villon extolling why he would be a better king. Annoyed yet intrigued, the King bestows on Villon the title of Grand Constable. Soon Villon begins work and falls for a lovely lady-in-waiting, but then must flee execution when the King turns on him.
Gold Is Where You Find It
Colonel Ferris, a wealthy farmer in northern California, is strongly opposed to hydraulic mining, a new method developed during the gold rush of the 1870's, which is flooding the area's prosperous farmlands. Despite Ferris' political stance, Jared Whitney, a mining engineer from the East, becomes friends with the colonel's son Lance and falls in love with his daughter Serena. Family tensions deepen when the colonel's brother Ralph gives up farming to go to San Francisco to work for his wife Rosanna's father, Harrison McCooey, a leader in the mining venture. When Lance follows Ralph, the colonel, focusing his anger on Jared, forbids him to see Serena.
Filmography
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Detective Sully
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Capt. Krogan aka Carruthers
as Wong
as General Kai Ling [Chs. 1-5, 13]
as Inspector Hankins
as Charlie Chan
as Lt. Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Charlie Chan
as Fernando "El Melancolio" Lopez Ramirez
as Charlie Chan
as Nosey
as Charlie Chan
as Judge William 'Gashouse' Bronson
as Dr. Chang Ling
as G.L. 'Mardy' Mardeen
as Charlie Chan
as Jeffrey Mitchell
as Robin Turgis
as Frosty Kilburn
as Lawton
as Sheriff
as Harrison McCooey
as Mr. Keough, Margit's Butler
as Détective Lieutenant Neely
as Captain Holt
as Captain of SS Periwinkle
as Daniel Webster
as First Carabiniere
as Professor Amos Snape
as Professor Lafcadio F. Breckenridge
as Joe Groggins
as Nick Corsini
as Warden Palmer
as Sergeant Duffy
as Detective Weaver
as Major Allen
as Officer Moran
as Pepi Sancho
as Frankie Sylvestrie
as Jim Sawyer
as John Bright
as Thomas Shanks
as Mr. Hodgens
as Mr. Hodgens, a Banker (uncredited)
as Pierre
as Ryan, the Go-Between
as Neil Forbes
as Wilson
as Carter B. Moore
as Mr. Drake
as Detective Wilson
as Aikenhead
as Pete
as Stage Director
as Maj. Wharton
as Tony Mugatti
as Sgt. Tom Keogh
as McPhail
as Mulligan
as William Sothern
as Dr. Merivel