Arthur Lake

 Arthur Lake (April 17, 1905—January 9, 1987)

Lake was known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio and television. Arthur made his screen debut in the silent Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). Universal Pictures signed him to a contract, where he acted in westerns as an adolescent character actor. Shortly after the formation of RKO Pictures in 1928, he signed with that studio, where he made Dance Hall (1929) and Cheer Up and Smile (1930). During this early sound film era, he typically played light romantic roles, usually with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them, in films such as Indiscreet (1931) with Gloria Swanson. He also had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film, Topper. Lake was in the Blondie comic strip character of Dagwood Bumstead, twenty-eight Blondie films produced by Columbia Pictures from 1938-50. He was also the voice of Dagwood on the radio series, which ran from 1938-45, earning him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6646 Hollywood Blvd. Many of the actors on the radio show have noted of Lake's commitment to the program, stating that on the day of the broadcast, Lake was Dagwood Bumstead. He became very friendly with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies. He was a frequent guest at the beach house of Davies, where he met his future wife Patricia Lake (née Van Cleeve), niece of Davies. Arthur Lake died of a heart attack at age 81, and is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.