Actors with 400+ acting credits

A minor character actor who appeared in literally hundreds of films, actor Irving Bacon could always be counted on for expressing bug-eyed bewilderment or cautious frustration in small-town settings with his revolving door of friendly, servile parts - mailmen, milkmen, clerks, chauffeurs, cab drivers, bartenders, soda jerks, carnival operators, handymen and docs. Born September 6, 1893 in the heart of the Midwest (St. Joseph, Missouri), he was the son of Millar and Myrtle (Vane) Bacon. Irving first found work in silent comedy shorts at Keystone Studios usually playing older than he was and, for a time, was a utility player for Mack Sennett in such slapstick as A Favorite Fool (1915). Irving made an easy adjustment when sound entered the pictures and after appearing in the Karl Dane and George K. Arthur two-reel comedy shorts such as Knights Before Christmas (1930), began to show up in feature-length films. He played higher-ups on occasion, such as the Secretary of the Navy in Million Dollar Legs (1932), police inspector in The House of Mystery (1934), mayor in Room for One More (1952), and judge in Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958), but those were exceptions to the rule. Blending in with the town crowd was what Irving was accustomed to and, over the years, he would be glimpsed in some of Hollywood's most beloved classics such as Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), San Francisco (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938) and A Star Is Born (1954). Trivia nuts will fondly recall his beleaguered postman in the Blondie (1938) film series that ran over a decade.

Irving could also be spotted on popular '50s and '60s TV programs such as the westerns Laramie (1959) and Wagon Train (1957), and "comedies December Bride (1954) and The Real McCoys (1957). He can still be seen in a couple of old codger roles on I Love Lucy (1951). One was as a marriage license proprietor and the other as Vivian Vance's doting dad from Albuquerque, to whom she paid a visit on her way to Hollywood with the Ricardos. Irving died on February 5, 1965, having clocked in over 400 features.

Lester Dorr was born on 8 May 1893 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Riders of the Purple Sage (1931), The Secret Code (1942) and Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950). He was married to Grace L. Painter. He died on 25 August 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Bess Flowers was born on 23 November 1898 in Sherman, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for We Faw Down (1928), Born to Be Bad (1950) and Sinister Hands (1932). She was married to William S. Holman and Cullen Tate. She died on 28 July 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

One of those wonderfully busy character actors whose face is familiar if not his name, mild-mannered actor Byron Foulger began performing with community theater, and stock and repertory companies after graduating from the University of Utah. He met his future wife, character actress Dorothy Adams, in one of these companies. The marriage lasted nearly five decades and ended only with his death.

Making his Broadway debut in a 1920 production of "Medea" that featured Moroni Olsen as Jason (of the Argonauts), and went on to appear in several other Olsen Broadway productions and in close succession (including "The Trial of Joan of Arc," "Mr. Faust" and "Candida"). While touring the country with Olsen's stock company, he ended up at the Pasadena Playhouse where he both acted and directed. Thereafter he and wife Dorothy decided to settle in Los Angeles.

Together the acting couple tried to stake a claim for themselves in 30s and 40s Hollywood films. Both succeeded, appearing in hundreds of film parts, both together and apart, albeit in small and often unbilled bits. A man of meek, nervous countenance, Foulger's short stature and squinty stare could be used for playing both humble and shady fellows. In the 1940s, the actor became a part of Preston Sturges' company of players, appearing in five of his classic films -- The Great McGinty (1940), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943) and The Great Moment (1944).

Although predominantly employed as an owlish storekeeper, mortician, professor, or bank teller, his better parts had darker intentions. He was exceptional as weaselly, mealy-mouthed, whining henchmen who inevitably showed their yellow streak by the film's end.

The character actor eased into TV roles in the 1950s and '60s, displaying a comedy side in many folksy, rural sitcoms. His final regular TV role was as train conductor Wendell Gibbs in the final years of the Petticoat Junction (1963) series. The father of actress Rachel Ames, Foulger died of a heart ailment on April 4, 1970, coincidentally the same day the final new episode of Petticoat Junction (1963) was broadcast. .

Chuck Hamilton was born on 9 December 1903 in Vallejo, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Captain Midnight (1942), Valley of the Zombies (1946) and The Shadow (1940). He died on 24 December 1978 in Vallejo, California, USA.

James Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, but at some point along the way became interested in acting. He graduated from the University of Southern California and practiced for 1½ years as a road engineer with the County of Los Angeles. He took sick leaves and vacation time to do films. He finally quit engineering to focus on acting full time.

He is one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian American theater in Los Angeles. He served as president and charter member of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists.

Hong is one of the most prolific and well-recognized Asian-American character actors of movies and television. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is planning to produce and direct his own films.

Born in Butte Montana just before the turn of the century, Ethan Laidlaw worked as a steam fitter, bus driver, mechanic, salesman, and policeman, before moving to the Los Angeles in the early 1920's. Laidlaw's tall, lean frame and chiseled features made him a natural for gangster pictures, Westerns, and for any role that required a villain, heavy, or tough guy. While he seldom had a substantial speaking park, he found steady work for almost four decades.

Between the movies and the proliferation of TV Westerns in the 1950's, Laidlaw kept busy from 1925 until his death from a heart attack in 1963. All told, he had almost 450 known appearances in movies, and about 400 on TV. He was one of Hugh O'Brian's regulars on "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," (which included Jimmy Noel, Buddy Roosevelt, Bill Coontz, and Phil Schumacher), with over 130 appearances on that series alone.

An avid biker, Laidlaw could be seen traveling the countryside on his motorcycle during the few times he wasn't working. Laidlaw lived in the Whitley Hills area of Hollywood, not far from the studios, from the early 1940's until his death.

Mike Lally was born on 1 June 1900 in Manhattan, New York, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Coma (1978), Two-Fisted Gentleman (1936) and How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955). He was married to Pauline Wagner. He died on 15 February 1985 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Jack Perrin was born in Three Rivers, MI, on July 25, 1896. His father, a real estate investor, had an eye on the burgeoning prospects in Los Angeles and moved his family there when Perrin was about four. Jack literally grew up witnessing the birth of the film industry, which exploded there in 1913, after Universal and Famous Players (later known as Paramount) moved out in an attempt to escape Thomas Edison's patent war. Perrin entered films in 1915, reportedly with Mack Sennett (these details are in dispute), before enlisting in the Navy in World War I. Discharged in 1919, he returned to Hollywood and landed a contract with Universal, which lasted until 1921. He was cut loose from what was then the largest studio in the world and made the rapid descent into the world of low-budget westerns by outfits like Rayart (later to become Monogram), Aywon and Arrow Pictures. During this period he would work for companies at the very bottom of the Hollywood food chain, headed by ultra-low-budget specialists like Harry S. Webb and the legendary cheapskate Robert J. Horner.

By the latter part of the 1920s Perrin's fortunes rose to the point where he returned to Universal for a series of Canadian Mountie adventure pictures (on a personal level, he met and married Universal star Josephine Hill in 1920 and the marriage would last until 1937). Although he seemed to possess all the assets necessary for cowboy stardom, fate would not be particularly kind to Jack Perrin. At the beginning of the "talkie" period he left Universal and went back to working for the likes of Webb and Horner again. Things got so bad that in the mid-'30s he wound up having to sue Horner in order to get paid for appearing in several of Horner's films (he won). The quality of these productions was, to be charitable, dismal and Jack's popularity correspondingly suffered. He bowed out as a leading man under an ostensible partnership with veteran low-budget producer William Berke in 1936.

Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1889. His first film was in 1910, for Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. Potel worked for Essanay in most of the Broncho Billy series, as well as playing a character called "Slippery Slim" in almost 80 movies as well as Universal Pictures' "Snakeville" series. He moved to Universal in 1928 to make Melody of Love (1928) and worked steadily, playing small and sometimes uncredited bit parts, primarily comic roles due to his height and awkward look. Potel also wrote and directed. In 1935 he provided continuity and dialogue for several films. He became part of Preston Sturges' stock of character actors, appearing in nine films written and directed by Sturges. Potel work until his death on 8 March 1947, just after finishing playing "Barfly" in Relentless (1948).

Eric Roberts is an Academy Award nominee for his role in Runaway Train (1985), and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for Runaway Train, Star 80 (1983) and King of the Gypsies (1978).

In addition, Roberts received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for his role in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) and It's My Party (1996). He also starred in La Cucaracha (1998), which won Best Film at the Austin Film Festival, and for which Roberts won Best Actor at the New York Independent Film Festival that same year. Other notable performances include his roles in The Dark Knight (2008), Final Analysis (1992), The Specialist (1994), Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014), Lovelace (2013) and The Expendables (2010).

On television, Roberts' memorable recurring roles include USA's Suits, CSI and Code Black for CBS, NBC's Heroes, and Crash for Starz. He has appeared in guest star roles on ABC's Greys Anatomy, NBC's Will & Grace, Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, CBS' Hawaii Five-O, HBO's Entourage, and so much more.

Upcoming, Roberts plays Matt Dillon's doctor in Head Full of Honey, a Warner Bros. Germany production that is directed by Til Schweiger. Emily Mortimer and Nick Nolte also star. He also has a supporting role in the independent Hard Luck Love Song directed by Justin Corsbie. Roberts will play "Skip," a grizzled doorman whom offers advice to characters played by Michael Dorman and Sophia Bush. The film also stars Dermott Mulroney, and American rapper, RZA. Finally, Roberts is set to recur as DEA boss "Erick Sheldon" in La Reina del Sur for Telemundo Global Studio and Netflix.

Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and grew up in and around the Atlanta area. He began his career in theatre in New York City where he won the Theatre World Award for his role on Broadway in Burn This.

He resides in Los Angeles with his wife of 26 years and brood of felines.

Roberts is represented by Sovereign Talent Group, Cultivate Entertainment, and Miles Anthony Associates in the UK.

Charles Sullivan was born on 24 April 1899 in Monroe, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Invisible Monster (1950), Daredevils of the Clouds (1948) and The Man I Love (1929). He died on 25 June 1972 in Los Angeles, California, USA.