This Hollywood supporting actor of the Thirties and Forties, often sporting a bewildered look and of quiet demeanour, was the popular Charles Ruggles.
Born in Los Angeles, the son of a major drugstore owner, he defied his parents' wishes for a medical career and sought the footlights.
His first talkie debut was as a drunken reporter in Gentlemen Of The Press, despite the fact he was an absolute teetotaller.
And do you remember his somewhat plaintive imitation of leopard cries in Bringing Up Baby (RKO, 1938), starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and boasting one of the best supporting casts ever assembled?
He was brilliant as the tycoon in It Happened On Fifth Avenue (Allied Artists, 1947). With another, Victor Moore, in my opinion the tiniest giant on the screen, they took the film and turned it into a perfectly charming vehicle of entertainment.
Charles finally succumbed to cancer in 1970.
-Gordon Dean, Lancing
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