Charles Middleton (actor)
Charles B. Middleton ( born October 7, 1874 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, † April 22, 1949 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American actor.
Life
Charles Middleton was the son of millionaires and came out of pure pleasure to acting. He first worked in a traveling circus, and as a stage actor before he began his Hollywood career in the 1920s. With his dark voice, he was the ideal counterpart in the early sound films of the comedian Harold Lloyd, Eddie Cantor, Wheeler & Woolsey, Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.
Middleton's most famous role was that of " Ming the Merciless " ( " Ming the Merciless " ) in the three multi-part Flash Gordon serials mid-1930s with Buster Crabbe in the lead role. Because of its obvious Chinese appearance, his sneer and a booming voice, he was often used in rogue roles, such as in Over Zealous Preachers, Shyster Lawyers and The Town Leader Whippin. Middleton also shot some low-budget westerns and occasionally played good characters as in the first Hoppy Hopalong Cassidy movie (1935 ) with William Boyd.
Charles Middleton in his 30 -year career, played in over 175 sound films, including 45 Western. He lived with his wife, his stage and film colleague Leora Spellman (1888-1945), until her death and died on April 22, 1949 of a heart attack in Los Angeles. His grave is located in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.