Valentine’s Day we can still be friends, Emperor’s New Groove and fire ants
A noted American character actor of stage, film, and television, Burke's career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ancestry often led to his being cast in roles as an Irishman or Englishman. His small stature and distinctive voice and face also made him easily recognizable to audiences even when he was performing in minor supporting roles.
Burke was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to Irish immigrant parents Bedelia (née McNamara) and Thomas Burke.[1] His father bred trotting horses, with one farm each in Ireland and Scotland.[1]
Burke began acting on stage as a teenager, making his Broadway debut in Dearest Enemy at the Knickerbocker Theatre during the 1925–1926 season. The following year he performed in the musical revue Padlocks of 1927 at the Shubert Theatre. He then joined the American Opera Company's troupe in January 1928, performing a non-singing role in an English-language adaption of Faust.[2] He continued with that company through January 1930, taking part in adaptions of Madame Butterfly and Yolanda of Cyprus at the Casino Theatre.[3] His other Broadway credits included Help Yourself! (1936), Red Harvest (1937), A Hero Is Born (1937), The Old Foolishness (1940), Under This Roof (1942), The Eve of St. Mark (1942-1943), The World's Full of Girls (1943), Sadie Thompson (1944-1945), Up in Central Park (1945-1947), Billy Budd (1951), Three Wishes for Jamie (1952), and Major Barbara (1957).
Film / Television[]
Burke debuted in Hollywood films in 1948, with The Naked City, and the following year had a memorable role in the Oscar-winning film All the King's Men. Burke would appear in twenty-two more films, and three more Broadway productions, but both film and the stage would soon take a backseat to his television work.
Walter Burke as Garna in the film "Jack the Giant Killer
In 1951, Burke played a jockey in the early television series Martin Kane. From then until 1980, he would appear in episodes of 103 different television series, as well as three made-for-television movies. Though never a series regular, he often played different roles in multiple episodes of the same shows. In 1959–60, he appeared five times as Tim Potter in the ABC western series Black Saddle starring Peter Breck. That same season, he appeared on Andrew Duggan's Bourbon Street Beat and John Cassavetes's Johnny Staccato detective series. He portrayed defendant Freddie Green in CBS's Perry Mason in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Jaded Joker," the first of five appearances in diverse roles. In 1959, he played the title character in the Tales of Wells Fargo episode "The Little Man." Between 1959 and 1969, Burke made guest appearances on five episodes of the western drama series Gunsmoke.
In 1960 he played prosecutor James Blackburn on Perry Mason in "The Case of the Ominous Outcast." Among his other roles he played a panhandler and a private detective. He guest-starred as Hatfield in the 1961 episode "The Drought" of the syndicated western series Two Faces West. In the 1962–1963 season, he appeared on the CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show.
