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Charles Ruggles
Acting
Biography
Charles Ruggles had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, lasting more than 60 years and encompassing more than 100 films. He made his film debut in 1914 in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) and worked steadily after that. He was memorably paired with Mary Boland in a series of comedies in the early 1930s, and was one of the standouts in the all-star comedy If I Had a Million (1932), as a harried, much-put-upon man who finally goes berserk in a china shop. Ruggles' slight stature and distinctive mannerisms - his fluttery, jumpy manner of speaking, his often befuddled look whenever events seemed about to overwhelm him, which was often - endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Memorable as…
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Charles Ruggles had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, lasting more than 60 years and encompassing more than 100 films. He made his film debut in 1914 in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) and worked steadily after that. He was memorably paired with Mary Boland in a series of comedies in the early 1930s, and was one of the standouts in the all-star comedy If I Had a Million (1932), as a harried, much-put-upon man who finally goes berserk in a china shop. Ruggles' slight stature and distinctive mannerisms - his fluttery, jumpy manner of speaking, his often befuddled look whenever events seemed about to overwhelm him, which was often - endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Memorable as Maj. Applegate the big-game hunter in the classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). Many will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated cartoon The Bullwinkle Show (1961). He was the brother of director Wesley Ruggles.
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BODY OF WORK
Charles Ruggles's Filmography
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as The Starkeeper / Dr. Selden
Follow Me, Boys!
as John Everett Hughes
The Ugly Dachshund
as Dr. J. L. Pruitt
I'd Rather Be Rich
as Dr. Charles Crandall
Papa's Delicate Condition
as Anthony Ghio
Son of Flubber
as Judge Murdock
The Pleasure of His Company
as Mackenzie Savage
The Parent Trap
as Charles McKendrick
All in a Night's Work
as Warren Kingsley Sr.
Eloise
as Murphy
Ben and Me
as Ben Franklin (voice)
Look for the Silver Lining
as Caro "Pop" Miller
The Lovable Cheat
as Claude Mercadet
Give My Regards to Broadway
as Toby Helper
Ramrod
as Ben Dickason
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
as Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor
My Brother Talks to Horses
as Richard Pennington Roeder
The Perfect Marriage
as Dale Williams, Sr.
Gallant Journey
as Jim Montgomery
A Stolen Life
as Freddie Linley
Incendiary Blonde
as Cherokee Jim
Bedside Manner
as Dr. J.H. 'Doc' Fredericks
The Doughgirls
as Stanley Slade
3 Is a Family
as Sam Whitaker
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
as Mr. Otis Skinner
No Poster
The Road to Victory
as Mr. Ames (uncredited)
The Shining Future
as Mr. Ames
Dixie Dugan
as Pa Dugan
Friendly Enemies
as Heinrich Block
The Perfect Snob
as Dr. Edgar Mason (as Charlie Ruggles)
Go West, Young Lady
as Jim Pendergast
The Parson of Panamint
as Chuckawalla Bill Redfield
Model Wife
as Milo Everett
Honeymoon for Three
as Harvey Wilson
The Invisible Woman
as George
No Time for Comedy
as Philo Swift
Public Deb No. 1
as Milburn
Maryland
as Dick Piper
Opened by Mistake
as Buzz Nelson
The Farmer's Daughter
as Nicksie North
Balalaika
as Nicki Popoff
Night Work
as Homer C. Fitch
Invitation to Happiness
as Henry 'Pop' Hardy
Sudden Money
as Sweeney J. Patterson
Boy Trouble
as Homer C. Fitch
No Poster
His Exciting Night
as Adam Tripp
Service de Luxe
as Robinson
Breaking the Ice
as Sam Terwilliger
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12
as Charles Ruggles
Hollywood Handicap
as Himself
Bringing Up Baby
as Major Applegate
Exclusive
as Tod Swain
Turn Off the Moon
as J. Elliott Dinwiddy
Mind Your Own Business
as Orville Shanks
Wives Never Know
as Homer Bigelow
Hollywood Boulevard
as Charles Ruggles - Actor - Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
Yours for the Asking
as Sunbather (uncredited)
Hearts Divided
as Henry
Early to Bed
as Chester Beatty
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Himself (Uncredited)
Anything Goes
as Reverend Dr. Moon
The Big Broadcast of 1936
as Wilbur Sealingsworth
No More Ladies
as Edgar Holden
People Will Talk
as Henry Wilton
Ruggles of Red Gap
as Egbert Floud
The Pursuit of Happiness
as Aaron Kirkland
Friends of Mr. Sweeney
as Asaph 'Ace' Holliday
Murder in the Private Car
as Godfrey D. Scott
Melody in Spring
as Warren Blodgett
Six of a Kind
as J. Pinkham Whinney (as Charlie Ruggles)
Alice in Wonderland
as March Hare
Girl Without a Room
as Vergil Crock
Good-bye Love
as Oswald Groggs
Mama Loves Papa
as Wilbur Todd
Melody Cruise
as Pete Wells
Terror Aboard
as Blackie Witherspoon
Murders in the Zoo
as Peter Yates
Madame Butterfly
as Lieutenant Barton
If I Had a Million
as Henry Peabody
Evenings for Sale
as Bimpfl
Trouble in Paradise
as Major
The Night of June 13
as Philo Strawn (as Charlie Ruggles)
70,000 Witnesses
as Johnny Moran
Love Me Tonight
as Viscount Gilbert de Varèze
Make Me a Star
as Charles Ruggles (uncredited)
This Is the Night
as Bunny West
One Hour with You
as Adolph
This Reckless Age
as Goliath Whitney (as Charlie Ruggles)
Husband's Holiday
as Clyde Saunders
The Beloved Bachelor
as Jerry Wells
The Smiling Lieutenant
as Max
The House That Shadows Built
as (archive footage)
The Girl Habit
as Charlie Floyd
Honor Among Lovers
as Monty Dunn
Charley's Aunt
as Fancourt Babberley
Her Wedding Night
as Bertie Bird
Queen High
as T. Boggs Johns
Young Man of Manhattan
as Shorty Ross
Roadhouse Nights
as Willie Bindbugel
The Battle of Paris
as Zizi
The Lady Lies
as Charlie Tayler
Gentlemen of the Press
as Charlie Haven
The Heart Raider
as Gaspard McMahon (an insurance clerk)
The Reform Candidate
Peer Gynt
as The Button Molder
The Majesty of the Law
as Lawrence Evans