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Clarence Kolb

{{Short description|American vaudeville comedian (1874–1964)}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2021}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Clarence Kolb

| image = Clarence Kolb - Lost Honeymoon (1947).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Kolb in Lost Honeymoon (1947)

| birth_name = Clarence William Kolb

| birth_date = {{birth date|1874|07|31}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age|1964|11|25|1874|7|31|mf=y}}

| death_place = Hollywood, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1916–1957

| spouse = {{marriage|May Cloy|1915}}

}}

Clarence William Kolb, sometimes given as C. William Kolb, (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect.{{cite news |last1=Bladen |first1=Barbara |title=The Marquee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29625830/the_times/ |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=The Times |date=December 8, 1964 |location=California, San Mateo |page=28|via = Newspapers.com}}

Biography

File:William Kolb and Max Dill.JPG

Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kolb and Dill, with Max Dill. They styled their act on the famous team of Weber and Fields.{{cite book |last1=Slide |first1=Anthony |title=The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville |date=2012 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781617032509 |page=291 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hu3nNSmRjZ0C&q=%22Clarence+Kolb%22&pg=PA291 |access-date=17 March 2019 |language=en}} In addition to their stage work, they appeared in a series of short films and a feature-length movie in 1917. Afterwards, Kolb made a return to vaudeville, only returning to the movies in the late 1930s.{{Citation needed |date=August 2024}}

In 1935, Kolb left the act to work in films as a character actor, eventually appearing in 75  feature films. He became famous for portraying similar characters in several films, usually, a businessman or politician. He is best remembered for his role as Henry Kilbourne, the flustered father in the multi-Academy Award-nominated hit comedy film Merrily We Live (1938), and as the corrupt mayor in the comedy His Girl Friday (1940). On television, he was known for his role Mr. Honeywell in the sitcom My Little Margie (1952).{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|pages=732–733|edition=2nd}} Kolb played himself in his final movie appearance, Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), opposite Danny Beck (who played the late Max Dill).

On September 1, 1917, Kolb married dancer May Cloy (whose birth name was Mabel S. Larsen).{{cite news |title=Clarence Kolb Weds Dancer; Plans Guarded From Friends |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29625541/clarence_kolb/ |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=September 2, 1917 |location=California, San Francisco |page=13|via = Newspapers.com}} They remained married until his death.{{cite news |title=Clarence Kolb; Vaudeville Star, Television Actor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29626113/clarence_kolb/ |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=November 28, 1964 |location=Florida, St. Petersburg |page=15|via = Newspapers.com}}

Kolb died on November 25, 1964 at the Orchard Gables Sanitarium in Hollywood. He was 90 years old."Clarence Kolb, Veteran Actor, Dies Here at 90." Los Angeles Times. Nov. 26, 1964. p. A 12.California Death Index, Name: Clarence W. Kolb, Birth Date: 07-31-1874, Sex: Male, Birth Place: Ohio, Death Place: Los Angeles (70), Death Date: 11-25-1964, Age: 90 yrs.Social Security Death Index, Name: Clarence Kolb, Birth: July 31, 1875, Issued: California, Death: Nov 1964, Last Residence: (California).

Partial filmography

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References

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External links

  • {{IMDb name|id=0463882|name=Clarence Kolb}}

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Category:1874 births

Category:1964 deaths

Category:American male film actors

Category:American vaudeville performers

Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)

Category:American people of Austrian descent

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:20th-century American comedians

Category:American male comedians