Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992)^[1] was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a character actor. His career lasted seven decades and included many films and TV series; his last screen credit was in 1990.

This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023)

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Ian Wolfe
Wolfe in Dressed to Kill (1946)
Born	Ian Marcus Wolfe (1896-11-04)November 4, 1896 Canton, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 23, 1992(1992-01-23) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Ien Wulf, Ian Macwolfe, Ian Wolf
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–1990
Spouse	Elizabeth Schroder ​ (m. 1924)​
Children	2

Close

Born in Canton, Illinois, Wolfe studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.^[1]

Wolfe's stage debut came in The Claw (1919).^[1] His Broadway credits include The Deputy (1964), Winesburg, Ohio (1958), Lone Valley (1933), Devil in the Mind (1931), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1931), Lysistrata (1930), The Seagull (1930), At the Bottom (1930), Skyrocket (1929), Gods of the Lightning (1928), and The Claw (1921).^[2]

Wolfe made his film debut in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934).^[3] He appeared in many films, including Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942), Julius Caesar (1953), James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and George Lucas's THX 1138^[4] (1971). Although he was American by birth, his experience in the theatre gave him precise diction, and he was often cast as Englishmen on screen, including a fictional commissioner of Scotland Yard in the final film in the 1939–1946 Sherlock Holmes film series, Dressed to Kill (1946). He also appeared in three other films in the series, as an American antiques dealer in Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943), as a butler in The Scarlet Claw (1944), and as an art dealer in The Pearl of Death (1944). He played Carter, Sir Wilfrid Robarts's clerk and office manager in Witness for the Prosecution (1957).

Wolfe played a crooked small-town doctor in "Six Gun's Legacy", an episode from the first (1949) season of The Lone Ranger. Wolfe appeared in the 1966 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Midnight Howler" as Abel Jackson. In 1966, he portrayed the new Rev. Leighton on The Andy Griffith Show ("Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory", broadcast October 10, 1966). He also appeared in two episodes of the original Star Trek television series: "Bread and Circuses" (1968) as Septimus, and "All Our Yesterdays" (1969) as Mr. Atoz. He guest-starred in a 1977 episode of the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang,^[5] and portrayed the wizard Traquill in the series Wizards and Warriors (1983).^[6] In 1982, Wolfe had a small recurring role on the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati as Hirsch, the sarcastic, irreverent butler to WKRP owner Lillian Carlson.

Central to Wolfe's appeal as a character actor was that, until he reached actual old age, he always looked considerably older than he actually was. In the film Mad Love (1935), he played Colin Clive's stepfather, yet he was only four years older than Clive. In the film Houdini (1953), he warned the magician to avoid occult matters, telling him to "take the advice of an old man". He appeared in movies for another 37 years; his last film credit was for Dick Tracy (1990).

During World War I, Wolfe served in the United States Army as a volunteer medical specialist.^[1][7] He became a sergeant.^[3]

Wolfe wrote and self-published two books of poetry, Forty-Four Scribbles and a Prayer: Lyrics and Ballads and Sixty Ballads and Lyrics in Search of Music.

He was married to Elizabeth Schroder for 68 years, from 1924 until his death; the couple had two daughters. Wolfe died on January 23, 1992, aged 95.^[1]

• Bonanza, episode "The Avenger" (1960) as Ed Baxter; episode "Bank Run" (1961) as John J. Harrison; episode "The Many Faces of Gideon Flinch" (1961) as Gideon Flinch; episode "The Spotlight" (1965) as Amos
• The Twilight Zone, episode "Uncle Simon" (1963), as Schwimmer
• The Fugitive, episode "Nightmare in Northoak" (1963), as Dr. Babcock
• The Invaders, episode "Doomsday Minus One" (1967), as Secretary Rosmundson
• Star Trek, episode "Bread and Circuses" (1968), as Septimus
• Star Trek: The Original Series (1969) – Mr. Atoz in S3:E23, "All Our Yesterdays"
• The Partridge Family, episode "Road Song" (1971), as Maggie's grandfather
• The Devil's Daughter (1973 film) - (American Broadcasting Company) Television film, 9th. Jan.)
• A Touch of Grace, episode "The Reunion" (1973)
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show, episode "Anyone Who Hates Kids and Dogs" (1975), as Grandfather
• Wonder Woman, episode "The New Original Wonder Woman" (1975), as Bank Manager
• Hawaii Five-O, episode "Retire in Sunny Hawaii - Forever" (1975)
• All In The Family, episode "Unequal Partners" (1977), as Herbert Hooper
• Barney Miller, Season 4, episode "Thanksgiving" (1977), as unnamed psyche-ward patient
• Taxi, Season 2, episode "Honor Thy Father" (1979), as the old man in the hospital
• WKRP in Cincinnati, episode "A Simple Little Wedding" (1981), "The Consultant" (1981), "Love, Exciting and New" (1982), "Up and Down the Dial" (1982) as Hirsch – Mrs Carlson's butler
• Barney Miller, episode "The Tontine" (1982), as Joseph Spidonie
• Cheers, episode "One for the Book" (1982), as Buzz Crowder