Bert Wheeler

Bert Wheeler
Born	(1895-04-07)April 7, 1895 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1929-1962
Known for	Wheeler & Woolsey
Spouse(s)	Margaret Grae (1915-1926) (divorced) Bernice Wheeler (1928-1936) (divorced) (1 child) Sally Haines (1937-1939) (divorced) Patsy Orr (1952-1956) (divorced) Olga Desmondae Rieman (1951-1966) (her death)
Children	Patricia Anne Wheeler (1936-1968)

File:BERT AND BETTY WHEELER SIGNED.jpg

Bert and Betty Wheeler

Albert Jerome "Bert" Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was the comedy partner of Robert Woolsey, and together they formed a successful double act called Wheeler & Woolsey.

Biography

Wheeler was born in Paterson, New Jersey on April 7, 1895.

He worked with Robert Woolsey on Broadway until their film debut in 1929, Rio Rita, established them in the Hollywood film industry.

In the early 1940s, after Robert Woolsey had died, Bert Wheeler struggled to restart his career. Their friend and former film costar Dorothy Lee agreed to tour with him in a vaudeville act. He also worked on radio on programs starring Frank Sinatra.

He continued to work off and on through the 1960s. His later appearances were mostly on American television; his last theatrical films were two slapstick short films for Columbia Pictures, filmed in 1950 and produced by Jules White. In 1955 Wheeler co-starred with Keith Larsen in the CBS western series Brave Eagle; Wheeler played the "half-breed" Smokey Joe, known for his tall tales and tribal wisdom.

Bert Wheeler died of emphysema in New York City on January 18, 1968.

Filmography

(As per the AFI database)

Film title	Year	Character
Captain Fly-by-Night	1922	Governor
Rio Rita	1929	Chick
Dixiana	1930	Peewee
The Cuckoos	1930	Sparrow
Half Shot at Sunrise	1930	Tommy Turner
Hook, Line and Sinker	1930	Wilbur Boswell
Caught Plastered	1931	Tommy Tanner
Too Many Cooks	1931	Albert Bennett
Peach-O-Reno	1931	Wattles
Cracked Nuts	1931	Wendell Graham
Hold 'Em Jail	1932	Curly Harris
Girl Crazy	1932	Jimmy Deegan
Diplomaniacs	1933	Willy Nilly
So This Is Africa	1933	Wilbur Wheeler
Kentucky Kernels	1934	Willie Doyle
Hips, Hips, Hooray!	1934	Andy Williams
Cockeyed Cavaliers	1934	Bert
The Nitwits	1935	Johnny
The Rainmakers	1935	Billy
Silly Billies	1936	Roy Banks
Mummy's Boys	1936	Stanley Wright
On Again-Off Again	1937	William "Willy" Hobbs
High Flyers	1937	Jerry Lane
The Cowboy Quarterback	1939	Harry Lynn
Las Vegas Nights	1941	Stu Grant

Marriages

Wheeler was married five times, his longest marriage was with Olga Desmondae Rieman, a former vaudevillian singer. His only child, with Speer, was Patricia Anne Wheeler, who died of cancer, the same year as her father.

• Margaret Grae (m. 27 April 1915 to 15 November 1926) divorced.
• Bernice Speer (m. 15 April 1928 to 19 February 1936) divorced, they had 1 child.
• Sally Haines (m. 26 February 1937 to 1939) divorced.
• Patsy Orr (c1940 to c1950) divorced.
• Olga Desmondae Rieman (m. 1951 - 8 August 1966) to her death.

Dvd Releases

Nine of Wheeler's 21 movies were released in a DVD collection entitled "Wheeler & Woolsey: RKO Comedy Classics Collection" in March 2013 by Warner Archive.

External links

• Bert Wheeler at the Internet Movie Database
• Bert Wheeler at Find a Grave