Robert Woolsey
Encyclopedia
Robert Woolsey was an American
stage and screen comedian
and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey
.
He was born in Oakland, California
. Woolsey always had a slight build, and as a young adult he tried to capitalize on it by becoming a jockey. After he fell from a horse and sustained an injury, he quit racing and turned instead to the stage. In 1925 he was featured as "Mortimer Pottle" in W. C. Fields
's Broadway hit Poppy
.
Woolsey was teamed with comedy star Bert Wheeler in 1928, for the Broadway musical Rio Rita
. RKO Radio Pictures filmed the play in 1929, launching Wheeler and Woolsey as movie personalities. (See the Wikipedia entry for Wheeler & Woolsey
.) Woolsey became terminally ill in 1937 and struggled to finish his last picture, High Flyers. He was then confined to bed for almost a full year, before dying of kidney failure in 1938, Robert Woolsey was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
.
His great-grandson, also named Robert Woolsey, has followed in his famous great-grandfather's footsteps by becoming an actor and writer working out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He runs his own sketch comedy website with his writing partner Andrew Menzies called bobandandrew.com.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage and screen comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
.
He was born in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Woolsey always had a slight build, and as a young adult he tried to capitalize on it by becoming a jockey. After he fell from a horse and sustained an injury, he quit racing and turned instead to the stage. In 1925 he was featured as "Mortimer Pottle" in W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
's Broadway hit Poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
.
Woolsey was teamed with comedy star Bert Wheeler in 1928, for the Broadway musical Rio Rita
Rio Rita
Rio Rita may refer to:*Rio Rita , a 1927 musical*Rio Rita , a 1929 film starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles, with Wheeler and Woolsey as comedy relief...
. RKO Radio Pictures filmed the play in 1929, launching Wheeler and Woolsey as movie personalities. (See the Wikipedia entry for Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
.) Woolsey became terminally ill in 1937 and struggled to finish his last picture, High Flyers. He was then confined to bed for almost a full year, before dying of kidney failure in 1938, Robert Woolsey was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
His great-grandson, also named Robert Woolsey, has followed in his famous great-grandfather's footsteps by becoming an actor and writer working out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He runs his own sketch comedy website with his writing partner Andrew Menzies called bobandandrew.com.