Carl Stockdale

Like his fellow character actors Donald Meek, John Qualen, and Maudie Prickett, Carl Stockdale looked like someone who'd be named Carl Stockdale. The gangly, cadaverous Stockdale entered films in 1914 as an Essanay Studios stock player, in support of such stars as Broncho Billy Anderson and Charlie Chaplin. He moved into features, where until his retirement in 1942 he played such baleful character roles as backwoods patriarchy undertakers and "machine" politicians. Of his many silent film parts, several stand out, including the role of Monks in both the 1916 and 1922 versions of Oliver Twist and Mabel Normand's misanthropic screen-test director in The Extra Girl (1923). In talkies, Carl Stockdale played bits in features and supporting roles in serials and short subjects; his later work included several entries in the Charley Chase and "Crime Does Not Pay" two-reelers.