Acting
Max Wagner
ES, EN cinema · 192 credits
Born
28 November 1901
Died
16 November 1975 (aged 73)
Birthplace
Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico
Also known as Maxwell Wagner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit. Newspaper gossip columnists noted his rise from playing "Gangster #4", with no lines, and not carrying a gun, to "Gangster #2", with both lines and a gun. Wagner was one of five children, all boys, of William Wallace Wagner, a railroad conductor, and Edith Wagner, a writer who provided dispatches for the Christian Science Monitor during the Mexican Revolution. When he was 10 years old, his father was killed by rebels and the family moved to Salinas, California, where he met John Steinbeck, who became a lifelong friend. Steinback based the character of the boy in his novel The Red Pony on Wagner. Under the name "Max Baron", Wagner acted in many Spanish-language versions of English-language films, which studios made as a matter of course in the early days of sound films, He also served as a Spanish language coach for other actors, and appeared in many of the "Mexican Spitfire" films starring Lupe Vélez, where he also served to monitor Velez's Spanish ad-libs for profanity. Other series that Wagner appeared in include the Charlie Chan films, and Tom Mix serials, as well as others made by Mascot Pictures Corporation. In the 1940s, Wagner was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in six films written and directed by Sturges, beginning with The Palm Beach Story In 1940 during the filming of "The Mad Doctor", Wagner was credited for driving 50,000 miles as an on-screen taxi driver on the studio back lots of Hollywood. Since his appearance as a cab driver in Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935), producers often cast him as a wise-cracking or henchman taxi driver. "I was cast as a taxi driver about five years ago", Wagner told a reporter. "And I was typed." In 1952, Wagner began to appear on television, in episodes of such shows as The Cisco Kid, Zane Grey Theater and Perry Mason, playing much the same kind of parts he played in the movies. He was a regular cast member on the western television series Gunsmoke, making nearly 80 appearances between 1959 and 1973. He also appeared in many episodes of The Rifleman, Bonanza, Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West and Maverick, including a guest-starring role in the 1959 Rifleman episode "Blood Brother." He also had roles in the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone series. He appeared in more than 200 television episodes between 1952 and 1974. Notable film roles for Wagner include a supporting role in the cult science fiction classic Invaders from Mars (1953), an actor playing a gangster in the film-within-a-film segment of Bullets or Ballots (1936), and the bull farm attendant in the Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bullfighters (1945). Late in his career, he appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He also occasionally composed music, such as the Mexican folk ballad "Pedro, Rudarte y Simon" in the Western film The Last Trail (1933). Wagner died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1975.
Known for
Filmography
The Garden
Art Direction
Young Frankenstein
as Villager (uncredited)
Terror in the Wax Museum
as Music Hall Drunk (Uncredited)
Evil Roy Slade
as Townsman (uncredited)
Support Your Local Gunfighter
as Townsman Watching Fight (uncredited)
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
as Barfly (uncredited)
The Cheyenne Social Club
as Barfly (uncredited)
True Grit
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Rosemary's Baby
as Man in Dream Sequence (uncredited)
Hang 'em High
as Prisoner
The Legend of Lylah Clare
as Reporter (uncredited)
Return of the Gunfighter
as Barfly (uncredited)
Gunpoint
Actor
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
as Cashier (uncredited)
The Great Race
as Barfly (uncredited)
Shenandoah
as Church Member
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Spectator (uncredited)
4 for Texas
as Blackjack Dealer
To Kill a Mockingbird
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
as Townsman (uncredited)
Ice Palace
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Sunrise at Campobello
as Convention Delegate (uncredited)
Robbery Under Arms
as Sergeant Goring
The Spirit of St. Louis
as Reporter (uncredited)
Public Pigeon No. 1
as Police Detective (uncredited)
The Conqueror
as Mongul Guard (uncredited)
I Died a Thousand Times
as Deputy Charlie (uncredited)
Illegal
as Bartender (uncredited)
East of Eden
as Workman (uncredited)
Tennessee's Partner
as Townsman (uncredited)
The Great Diamond Robbery
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Country Girl
as Expressman (uncredited)
Invaders from Mars
as Army Sgt. Rinaldi
Donovan's Brain
as Station Agent (uncredited)
Pier 23
as Bar Patron (uncredited)
The Secret of Convict Lake
as Jack Purcell (uncredited)
The Racket
as Durko (uncredited)
Frenchie
as Drunk (uncredited)
It Happens Every Spring
as Umpire (uncredited)
Flaxy Martin
as Charles McMahon
The Red Pony
as Bartender
Caught
as Projectionist (uncredited)
Reign of Terror
as Citizen (uncredited)
Shed No Tears
as Second Investigating Detective (Uncredited)
The Sainted Sisters
as Townsman (uncredited)
The Miracle of the Bells
as Baggage Man
Tycoon
Actor
Sinbad the Sailor
as Assistant Overseer (uncredited)
Possessed
as Man in Café (uncredited)
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball
as Bartender (uncredited)
It's a Wonderful Life
as Cashier / Nick's Assistant Bouncer (uncredited)
The Truth About Murder
as Henchman Mike (uncredited)
That Brennan Girl
as Moving Man (uncredited)
Radio Stars on Parade
as George
The Lost Weekend
as Mike (uncredited)
Fallen Angel
as Bartender (uncredited)
Circumstantial Evidence
as Truck Driver
A Medal for Benny
as Jake (uncredited)
Boss of Boomtown
as Sergeant George Dunne
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
as Military Police Driver (uncredited)
Hi, Beautiful
as Sailor (uncredited)
Undercover: How to Operate Behind Enemy Lines
as Rudy the Sailor
Matri-Phony
as Guard (uncredited)
Come on Danger
as Tough Guy
The Spoilers
as Deputy (uncredited)
Sabotage Squad
as Recruiting Sergeant
The Wife Takes a Flyer
as Sergeant
Obliging Young Lady
as Jack - Diner Counterman (uncredited)
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
as Villa Luigi Headwaiter
Panama Hattie
as Jailer (uncredited)
A Night to Remember
as Policeman Temple (uncredited)
Moontide
as Fisherman (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
as Tom's Best Man (uncredited)
The Talk of the Town
as Moving Man (uncredited)
Ride on Vaquero
as Partner
Cyclone on Horseback
as Jamison
Texas
as Fats Delaney
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
as Bartender
Millionaire Playboy
as Highway Patrol Officer
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
as Truck Driver
The Grapes of Wrath
as Guard (uncredited)
Charlie Chan in Panama
as Soldier
Mexican Spitfire
as Headwaiter - Mexican Pete's
Buck Benny Rides Again
as Cowboy
The Bank Dick
as Shirtless Ditchdigger (uncredited)
Hired Wife
as Streetcar Conductor
They Drive by Night
as Sweeney, Driver (uncredited)
Men Against the Sky
as Max - Radioman
Lucky Partners
as Waiter (uncredited)
The Mad Doctor
as Cab Driver (Uncredited)
The Ghost Breakers
as Ship Porter (uncredited)
Rhythm on the River
as Cherry's Cabbie
Wildcat Bus
as Bus Driver Jackson (uncredited)
Pop Always Pays
as Bill - Policeman in Car 43
You Can't Fool Your Wife
as Burglar
Wings of the Navy
as Boss Mechanic
Fast and Loose
as Nolan's Henchman (uncredited)
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
as Sailor at Wrestling Match
The Return of the Cisco Kid
as Brings in Rustler
Fifth Avenue Girl
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Girl from Mexico
as Headwaiter
Reno
as Police Lt. Joe Wilson
The Roaring Twenties
as Gangster (uncredited)
The Day the Bookies Wept
as Bet Placing Taxi Driver (uncredited)
I'll Tell the World
as Salesman
Money to Loan
as Hanley's Strong-Arm Man
Our Leading Citizen
as Workman
Cafe Society
as Guest
Off the Record
as Visitor (uncredited)
Scouts to the Rescue
as Joe - Truck Driver-Henchman
Born to Be Wild
as Jake - Trucker in Cafe (uncredited)
Maid's Night Out
as Sam Johnson - Milk Man (uncredited)
Cocoanut Grove
as Brakeman
Tarnished Angel
as Tough Casino Decoy
Professor Beware
as Chinatown Barker
Penrod and His Twin Brother
as Blackie
Painted Desert
as Henchman Kincaid
Submarine Patrol
as Marine Corporal (uncredited)
Alcatraz Island
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Many Unhappy Returns
as Ernie - Counter Girl's Boyfriend
We Who Are About to Die
as Cell Block E Convict (uncredited)
Border Cafe
as Shakey
Wings Over Honolulu
as Marine
The Great O'Malley
as School Bus Driver (uncredited)
Smart Blonde
as Chuck Cannon
San Quentin
as Prison Runner
Stage Door
as Baggage Man (uncredited)
Black Legion
as Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)
You Only Live Once
as Dan - Corridor Guard (uncredited)
Love on a Bet
as Reporter
The Crime Patrol
as Bennie
Walking on Air
as Sam, Second Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
Two in Revolt
as Davis
Paddy O'Day
as Milkman's Helper on Dock
Night Waitress
as Diner Trying to Date Helen
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Pug O'Leary
The Girl from Mandalay
as Drunken Brawler
Love Begins at Twenty
as Lester - O'Bannion's Driver
Sons o' Guns
as Soldier
The Girl on the Front Page
as Fireman
Chatterbox
as Himself (uncredited)
The House of a Thousand Candles
as Henchman
The Big Game
as Man Outside Hotel
Bullets or Ballots
as Actor Impersonating Kruger in Newsreel (uncredited)
Dancing Pirate
as Pirate (uncredited)
Charlie Chan in Shanghai
as Taxi Driver Henchman
The Fighting Marines
as Gibson
The Miracle Rider
as Morley
Dr. Socrates
as Gangster
The Daring Young Man
as Reporter
Mary Burns, Fugitive
as Sailor
3 Kids and a Queen
as Reporter
A Notorious Gentleman
as Taxicab Driver
Name the Woman
as Reporter
Hell Bent for Love
as Ernest Dallas
Gridiron Flash
as Convict Football Player
Blind Date
as Evans - Bob's Chauffeur
The Oil Raider
as Simmons
The Lost Jungle
as Slade
The Lost Jungle
as Slade
She Had to Choose
as Hold-Up Man
Before Dawn
as Policeman in Car (uncredited)
Cock of the Air
as Military Policeman
The World and the Flesh
as Vorobiov
Rockabye
as Reporter (uncredited)
Suicide Fleet
as Radio Operator (uncredited)
Numbered Men
as Convict Road Laborer (extra)
Going Wild
as Ferguson - Pilot
El Valiente
as Sargento de Policia
The Thrill Seekers
as A Hood
The Relay
as Sophomore
Flashing Oars
as Student
The First Auto
as Bartender
Making Good
as Student