Earle Ross was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 radio and film actor.

While in school he became interested in dramatics and was usually cast as a villain

Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...

 or an old man because of his unusual voice characteristics. In 1908 he worked with Colonel Bill Selig

Selig Polyscope Company

The Selig Polyscope Company was an American motion picture company founded in 1896 by William Selig in Chicago, Illinois. Selig Polyscope is noted for establishing Southern California's first permanent movie studio, in the historic Edendale district of Los Angeles...

 in his first 5-reel movie film The Holy Cross. In 1912, he ventured to the East Coast and worked on Broadway in such shows as Where the Trail Divides and Cost of Living. From there, he started his own chain of theaters but went broke in the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...

.

Ross became a radio broadcast pioneer and had his own show, The Earle Ross Theater of the Air and also starred in Inspector Post, a continuing radio drama. In 1936 he appeared in various films such as Cavalry

Cavalry (film)

-Cast:*Bob Steele as Captain Ted Thorn*Frances Grant as Betty Lee Harvey *Karl Hackett as Gavin Rance*Hal Price as Horace Leeds*Earle Ross as Colonel Lafe Harvey *Ed Cassidy as Henchman Bart Haines*William Welsh as General John Harvey...

, Stormy Trails, and Riders of the Whistling Skull

Riders of the Whistling Skull

Riders of the Whistling Skull is a 1937 "Three Mesquiteers" Western B-movie starring Bob Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, and Max Terhune, and was directed by Mack V. Wright...

.

Ross's most memorable role was that of Judge Horace Hooker on The Great Gildersleeve

The Great Gildersleeve

The Great Gildersleeve , initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around Throckmorton Philharmonic Gildersleeve, a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, first Introduced to...

, He also appeared on The Billie Burke Show

Billie Burke

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...

, Lux Radio Theater

Lux Radio Theater

Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...

and The Mel Blanc Show

Mel Blanc

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...

.

Earle Ross died of cancer, aged 73, on May 21, 1961.

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