Charles Waldron
actor
- Birth name:
- Charles Dieudonnee Waldron
- Born:
- 1874-12-23, Waterford, New York, USA
- Died:
- 1946-03-04, Hollywood, California, USA
- Professions:
- actor
Biography
A midwinter baby, Charles Waldron arrived in Waterford, New York, on 23 December 1874 and grew up to trade the Hudson River for klieg lights. Over four decades he lent his velvet voice and carved-granite profile to Broadway boards and Hollywood soundstages alike, sealing his reputation as the man who could make decency feel dangerous. Film noir devotees still shiver at his General Sternwood in *The Big Sleep* (1946), but they first noticed him as the frantic jury foreman in *Stranger on the Third Floor* (1940) and as the principled priest defying Prussian brutality in *Mademoiselle Fifi* (1944). Off-camera he shared a quiet life with actress May King, his wife and favorite scene partner. Their final act together closed on 4 March 1946, when Waldron died in Hollywood, California, just weeks before moviegoers watched his last, lingering close-up.
