Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Ian Wolfe(1896-1992)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Ian Wolfe in Barney Miller (1975)
Cheyenne: Star In The Dust
Play trailer1:05
Star in the Dust (1956)
2 Videos
25 Photos
Respected character actor whose on-screen work included everything from Shakespeare to Dick Tracy (1990) (his last film). After a long apprenticeship in the theatre, the 38-year-old Wolfe finally debuted in films in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), recreating his Broadway role. He then toiled away steadily in Hollywood for the next several decades, working as a supporting player in literally hundreds of film and TV productions well into his 90s. Though capable of a wide range of parts, Wolfe's gentle, patrician manner found him most often cast as a butler, a minister or a kindly doctor. He finally gained his greatest fame at the age of 85, effortlessly stealing scenes as Mama Carlson's doddering yet feisty butler "Hirsch" in several episodes of the MTM sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978).
BornNovember 4, 1896
DiedJanuary 23, 1992(95)
BornNovember 4, 1896
DiedJanuary 23, 1992(95)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank

Photos25

Earl Barton, Nancy Kilgas, and Ian Wolfe in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Nancy Kilgas, and Ian Wolfe in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing, Warren Beatty, Rose Michtom, and Ian Wolfe in The Fortune (1975)
John Abbott, Charles Arnt, Ted Donaldson, Frank Mayo, and Ian Wolfe in Once Upon a Time (1944)
Farley Granger and Ian Wolfe in They Live by Night (1948)
Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, and Ian Wolfe in They Live by Night (1948)
Ian Wolfe in They Live by Night (1948)
Elspeth Dudgeon, Corbet Morris, George Lessey, Hilda Plowright, Constance Purdy, and Ian Wolfe in Now, Voyager (1942)
Shelley Winters and Ian Wolfe in A Place in the Sun (1951)
Ian Wolfe in The Lost World (1960)
Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Nick Stewart, and Ian Wolfe in Zombies on Broadway (1945)
Claude Rains, Jill St. John, David Hedison, Michael Rennie, and Ian Wolfe in The Lost World (1960)

Known for

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Witness for the Prosecution
8.4
  • Carter
  • 1957
THX 1138 (1971)
THX 1138
6.7
  • PTO
  • 1971
Jane Powell and Howard Keel in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
7.3
  • Rev. Elcott
  • 1954
Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane in Saboteur (1942)
Saboteur
7.1
  • Robert
  • 1942

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Warren Beatty in Dick Tracy (1990)
    Dick Tracy
  • Checking Out (1988)
    Checking Out
  • Randy Quaid and Patti LuPone in LBJ: The Early Years (1987)
    LBJ: The Early Years
  • Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)
    Amazing Stories
  • Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson in Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
    Scarecrow and Mrs. King
  • The Fall Guy (1981)
    The Fall Guy
  • Mariel Hemingway and Peter O'Toole in Creator (1985)
    Creator
  • Nancy McKeon, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Charlotte Rae, and Lisa Whelchel in The Facts of Life (1979)
    The Facts of Life
  • Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)
    Remington Steele
  • Polly Holliday, Beth Howland, and Linda Lavin in Alice (1976)
    Alice
  • Wizards and Warriors (1983)
    Wizards and Warriors
  • Ron Glass and Demond Wilson in The New Odd Couple (1982)
    The New Odd Couple
  • Kirstie Alley, Woody Harrelson, Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman in Cheers (1982)
    Cheers
  • Jinxed! (1982)
    Jinxed!
  • Brian Dennehy, Michael Dudikoff, and Katherine Saltzberg in Star of the Family (1982)
    Star of the Family

Soundtrack

  • Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)
    Amazing Stories
    • (uncredited)

Videos2

On Dangerous Ground
Trailer 2:11
On Dangerous Ground
Cheyenne: Star In The Dust
Trailer 1:05
Cheyenne: Star In The Dust

Personal details

Edit
    • November 4, 1896
    • Canton, Illinois, USA
    • January 23, 1992
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(natural causes)
    • 1924 - January 23, 1992 (his death, 2 children)
  • Other works
    Made his stage debut in 1919 acting with Lionel Barrymore in the play "The Claw."
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He was a volunteer medical specialist during World War I.
  • Quotes
    (on being recognized in public) Mostly, they know the face, but they don't know the name. Some people are funny. Some are nice. They don't try to take up your time. They say, "I see you a lot and I sure enjoy you" and they're gone. It's my voice, too, that people recognize. I had no idea that my voice is distinctive in any way. But people will say, "I knew you by your voice".

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.