Carl Stockdale also known as Carlton Stockdale (February 19, 1874 – March 15, 1953) was one of the longest-working Hollywood veteran actors, with a career dating from the early 1910s. He also made the difficult transition from silent films to talkies. Stockdale was born on February 19, 1874, in Worthington, Minnesota, graduated from Minneapolis Central High School, and attended the University of North Dakota. Before he began working with films, Stockdale was a property man with a repertory theatrical company headed by his brother. He went on to act on stage in repertory theater and in vaudeville. Stockdale was in Hollywood as early as 1913 with a small role in Gilbert M. Anderson's Broncho Billy's Last Deed. He worked with that film franchise for two years before joining D. W. Griffith's film company. He remained busy into the 1940s. His last film was released in 1943.

Connection to the Murder of William Desmond Taylor

Stockdale told reporters in an interview at his home in 1937 that he was with Charlotte Shelby from 7 to 9 p.m. at her home on February 1, 1922, when William Desmond Taylor was killed.

Personal life and death

On January 11, 1908, Stockdale married actress Clara Byers. The couple then acted together for two seasons at the Alisky and Grand theaters in Sacramento as members of the Lawrence and Sandusky stock theater troupe. On March 26, 1915, she sued him for divorce. He died of a heart attack on March 15, 1953, in Woodland Hills, California. He is buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography