James Burke
James Burke (September 24, 1886 – May 23, 1968) was an American film and television actor born in New York City. He made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and went to Hollywood in 1933. He made over 200 film appearances during his career, which ranged from 1932 to 1964; he was more often than not cast as a cop, usually a none-too-bright one, most notably as Sgt. Velie in Columbia's Ellery Queen mysteries in the early 1940s. He appeared in The Maltese Falcon, At the Circus, Lone Star, and many others. One of his best roles was as Charles Ruggles' rowdy rancher pal in Ruggles of Red Gap.
In the early 1950s, Burke appeared with Tom Conway in the ABC detective drama series then called Inspector Mark Saber -- Homicide Detective, later renamed, reformatted, and switched to NBC under the title Saber of London. From 1960-1961, Burke appeared in the role of Zeke Bonner in seven episodes of the ABC western television series Stagecoach West, starring Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, and Richard Eyer.
Burke suffered from a heart condition, which took his life at the age of eighty-one.
Filmography (170 Appearances)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Dinah!
Stagecoach West
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Alias Jesse James
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Trackdown
The Unholy Wife
Public Pigeon No. 1
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Cheyenne
Lassie
Lucky Me
Lone Star
Toughest Man in Arizona
We're Not Married!
My Little Margie
Denver and Rio Grande
Warpath
I Love Lucy
Here Comes the Groom
His Kind of Woman
Raton Pass
The Last Outpost
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
Let's Dance
Copper Canyon
Red, Hot and Blue
Alias Nick Beal
Shamrock Hill
June Bride
Night Wind
Beyond Glory
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
The Timber Trail
The Big Clock
Body and Soul
Nightmare Alley
Song of the Thin Man
The Gas House Kids in Hollywood
Down to Earth
Philo Vance's Gamble
Easy Come, Easy Go
California
Two Years Before the Mast
Bowery Bombshell
The Virginian
Young Widow
How DOooo You Do
I Love a Bandleader
Shady Lady
Anchors Aweigh
The Horn Blows at Midnight
Casanova Brown
3 Men in White
Riding High
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Dixie
No Place for a Lady
A Night to Remember
Army Surgeon
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen
It Happened in Flatbush
A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen
My Favorite Blonde
A Close Call for Ellery Queen
All Through the Night
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
The Maltese Falcon
Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime
Million Dollar Baby
Reaching for the Sun
Pot o' Gold
Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Little Nellie Kelly
No Time for Comedy
The Golden Fleecing
The Way of All Flesh
The Saint Takes Over
Buck Benny Rides Again
Opened by Mistake
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Double Alibi
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
At the Circus
Fast and Furious
Beau Geste
On Borrowed Time
Dodge City
I'm from Missouri
Sudden Money
The Family Next Door
Within the Law
The Saint Strikes Back
The Dawn Patrol
Little Orphan Annie
The Mad Miss Manton
The Affairs of Annabel
You Can't Take It with You
Men with Wings
Joy of Living
Flight Into Nowhere
The Perfect Specimen
Life Begins with Love
Dead End
High, Wide and Handsome
Champagne Waltz
Laughing at Trouble
Great Guy
Can This Be Dixie?
36 Hours to Kill
Rhythm on the Range
Forgotten Faces
Song and Dance Man
Klondike Annie
The Leathernecks Have Landed
Dancing Feet
So Red the Rose
Frisco Waterfront
Coronado
Hot Money
Music Is Magic
Case of the Missing Man
The Affair of Susan
Here Comes Cookie
Welcome Home
Call of the Wild
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Broadway Gondolier
Make a Million
The Farmer Takes a Wife
After the Dance
Dinky
Mississippi
Ruggles of Red Gap
The Mystery Man
Ticket to a Crime
Love Time
Lady by Choice
Treasure Island
Friends of Mr. Sweeney
Such Women Are Dangerous
Little Miss Marker
The Merry Frinks
Twentieth Century
The Scarlet Empress
Sadie McKee
A Very Honorable Guy
Sisters Under the Skin
City Limits
Wharf Angel
Gambling Lady
It Happened One Night
Six of a Kind
Queen Christina
All of Me
Lady Killer
The Kennel Murder Case
Bombshell
The Bowery
To the Last Man
Torch Singer
College Humor
The Girl in 419
A Lady's Profession
Face in the Sky
The Hollywood Handicap