Albert Jerome Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was teamed with Broadway comic Robert Woolsey, and they went on to fame as Wheeler & Woolsey.

Biography

Wheeler was born in Paterson, New Jersey on April 7, 1895. He began his career performing in vaudeville in an act with Russ Brown. He worked with Robert Woolsey on Broadway until their film debut in 1929, Rio Rita, established them in the Hollywood film industry. By 1931 Wheeler & Woolsey were so popular that RKO attempted to generate twice the Wheeler & Woolsey income by making two solo pictures—one with Wheeler (Too Many Cooks) and one with Woolsey (Everything's Rosie). This experiment failed, and they returned to performing as a team. They continued to make popular feature films until 1937, when Woolsey became too ill to work. In 1938, after Robert Woolsey died, Bert Wheeler struggled to restart his career. Their friend and former film costar Dorothy Lee agreed to tour with him in a vaudeville act. He continued to work off and on through the 1960s. In 1943 he worked on radio on The Frank Sinatra Show. In 1945 he co-starred with Jackie Gleason in a nightclub engagement; five years later Gleason invited him to appear on his TV variety hour Cavalcade of Stars. Wheeler's last theatrical films were two slapstick shorts for Columbia Pictures, filmed in 1950 and produced by Jules White. Wheeler also kept up a busy schedule of live performances in nightclubs and on the legitimate stage, in such plays as Harvey (in the leading role of Elwood P. Dowd) and Three Wishes for Jamie. In 1955 Wheeler co-starred with Keith Larsen in the CBS western series Brave Eagle; Wheeler played the "half-breed" Smokey Joe, known for his tall tales and tribal wisdom. Bert Wheeler died of emphysema in New York City on January 18, 1968. He had been a member of The Lambs Club since 1927.

Filmography

(As per the AFI database)

Marriages

Wheeler was married five times. His only child, with Speer, was Patricia Anne Wheeler.

Home video releases

Nine of Wheeler's 21 movies were released in a DVD collection entitled "Wheeler & Woolsey: RKO Comedy Classics Collection" in March 2013 by Warner Archive.