Jimmy Conlin

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Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started out in vaudeville, where he and his first wife Myrtle Glass played the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuits billed as "Conlin & Glass", a song-and-dance team. They also starred together in two short films, Sharps and Flats (1928) and Zip! Boom! Bang! (1929) for Vitaphone.

Conlin made another comedy short without Glass in 1930 (A Tight Squeeze), but his film career started for good in 1933, and for the next 27 years, with the single exception of 1951, every year saw the release of at least one film in which Conlin appeared – at the height of his career, often more than a dozen of them. Recognizable by his small size and odd appearance, Conlin played all sorts of small roles and bit parts, many times not receiving an onscreen credit.

In the 1940s, Conlin was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in nine films written and directed by Sturges. His roles in Sturges' films were often sizable and often came with good billing. One of his best performances came in Sturges' The Sin of Harold Diddlebock in 1946, when he played "Wormy", the racetrack tout who convinces Harold Lloyd to have his first drink, setting off the events of the film. The loyalty between Sturges and Conlin ran both ways, and when the former golden boy of Hollywood fell on hard times, Conlin remained a friend, stayed in contact, and helped out in any way he could.

Conlin did not make many television appearances, but he did have a regular role as a bartender on Duffy's Tavern, a syndicated series from 1954. He made his final film in 1959, when he played a habitual criminal in Anatomy of a Murder.

Anatomy of a Murder

7.8

Sullivan's Travels

7.4

The Lady Eve

7.2

The Palm Beach Story

7.0

Captains Courageous

7.5

Woman of the Year

6.9

On Dangerous Ground

6.6

Fallen Angel

6.4

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek

6.8

Footlight Parade

6.9

Christmas in July

6.9

The Great McGinty

6.9

Hail the Conquering Hero

7.0

Knock on Any Door

6.1

It Happened Tomorrow

6.7

The Inspector General

6.4

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

6.2

Second Chorus

5.8

Old Acquaintance

6.9

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

6.3

My Little Chickadee

6.5

Out of the Fog

6.4

Nancy Drew... Reporter

6.2

Angels Over Broadway

5.9

The Great Rupert

5.7

Whistle Stop

4.5

Blue Skies

6.0

Dick Tracy's Dilemma

5.4

The Gay Falcon

6.2

Edison, the Man

6.6

The Shining Hour

6.6

Tulsa

6.3

Mannequin

6.0

The Hucksters

6.9

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

7.6

Mourning Becomes Electra

6.3

The Seven Little Foys

6.0

Idiot's Delight

6.1

Rose Marie

6.2

Lost in a Harem

5.5

Calling Philo Vance

5.8

The Adventurous Blonde

5.4

The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock

5.9

The Amazing Mr. Williams

5.8

Hitler's Madman

5.6

It's a Joke, Son!

6.9

Summer Storm

5.1

Blondes at Work

6.1

College Humor

5.6

Torchy Blane in Panama

5.3

The Way of All Flesh

4.0

The Jazz Singer

5.5

Slightly Dangerous

5.8

The Bride Comes Home

4.8

And the Angels Sing

7.4

Living on Love

5.8

Let's Make Music

5.6

Crashing Hollywood

5.8

Torchy Runs for Mayor

5.8

King of the Lumberjacks

3.0

Bring on the Girls

6.1

Seven Keys to Baldpate

6.2

A Shot in the Dark

5.2

Hard to Get

6.0

Two Sisters from Boston

6.0

Two Girls on Broadway

6.8

Taxi, Mister

4.3

Ridin' on a Rainbow

5.0

It Happens Every Thursday

6.2

Sharps and Flats

4.7

Petticoat Larceny

6.7

Prison Farm

5.7

Broadway Musketeers

4.3

Grand Slam

3.7

The Accusing Finger

4.7

Swing Shift Maisie

6.5

The Remarkable Andrew

8.2

Rolling Home

5.0

Cross Country Cruise

6.0

Smashing the Rackets

5.5

She Learned About Sailors

2.5

Obliging Young Lady

5.0

$1,000 a Touchdown

2.0

Comet Over Broadway

5.0

Rose Bowl

6.0

The Town Went Wild

5.0

Operation Haylift

5.0

No Place to Go

6.0

The Man Who Found Himself

7.0

Hazard

8.0

Dixie

3.0

City Limits

4.0

He Couldn't Say No

5.5

Florian

1.0

Madame Spy

6.0

Over the Wall

5.0

New York Town

10.0

What, No Cigarettes

6.0

Handy Andy

1.0

Sideshow

0.0

Cocoanut Grove

0.0

Prejudice

0.0

The Forest Rangers

0.0

And Sudden Death

0.0