Topic: Email 100th birthday greetings to Charles Lane

[BeAStooge]

Charles Lane, one of the busiest and well-recognized character actors for the past 70+ years, will celebrate his 100th birthday later this month.  A special email has been set up, for fans to forward birthday greetings.  This link from Mark Evanier’s website explains the details, and access to the email address.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2005_01_09.html#009401

Even with Lane’s prolific list of film and TV, his work doesn’t include a scene with the Three Stooges, although he did have roles in films starring Abbott & Costello, the Marx Brothers, Harold Lloyd and others from the classic period of “talkie” film comedy.  The closest he came to the Stooges was a credit in IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963), as the airport manager.  He also appeared in a few films featuring solo Stooge-related credits: THE LEATHER PUSHERS (1940) and THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (1940) with Shemp, and HERE COMES THE BAND (1935) and THE BAND PLAYS ON (1934) with Ted Healy.

[Pilsner Panther]

Of course, the Baby Boomer crowd will remember Mr. Lane best as Homer Bedloe, the crusty railroad executive of "Petticoat Junction" (as the link mentions). Always trying to shut down the ancient, steam-powered, but beloved Hooterville Cannonball for financial reasons, he was the closest thing that genial show had to a villain, and he was very funny in the part.

 

[wakkyjaky]

Wow, Charles Lane is still alive. I didn't know if he still was alive. I just saw him Tuesday night on an episode of the Munsters where he played a lawyer. I do remember him as Homer Bedloe on Pettycoat Junction, too.