
Cast
Acting
Cast
Known for
Acting
Born
1901-11-28
From
Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico
Died
1975-11-16
Also known as Maxwell Wagner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 β 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 VΓ©lez, 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.

as Cashier / Nick's Assistant Bouncer (uncredited)

as Man in Dream Sequence (uncredited)

as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

as Prisoner

as Townsman (uncredited)

as Villager (uncredited)

as Spectator (uncredited)

as Barfly (uncredited)

as Guard (uncredited)

as Workman (uncredited)

as Mike (uncredited)

as Church Member

as Moving Man (uncredited)

as Bartender (uncredited)

as Mongul Guard (uncredited)

as Projectionist (uncredited)

as Gangster (uncredited)


as Barfly (uncredited)

as Deputy (uncredited)

as Baggage Man (uncredited)

as Bartender (uncredited)

as Fisherman (uncredited)

as Man in CafΓ© (uncredited)

as Brakeman

as Reporter (uncredited)

as Expressman (uncredited)

as Convict Football Player

as Assistant Overseer (uncredited)

as Recruiting Sergeant

as Bus Driver Jackson (uncredited)

as Army Sgt. Rinaldi

as Moving Man (uncredited)

as Actor Impersonating Kruger in Newsreel (uncredited)

as Second Investigating Detective (Uncredited)

as Ship Porter (uncredited)

as Deputy Charlie (uncredited)

as Townsman Watching Fight (uncredited)

as Cashier (uncredited)

as Blackjack Dealer

as Nolan's Henchman (uncredited)

as Cherry's Cabbie

as Drunk (uncredited)

as Pete

as Prison Runner


as Guest

as Reporter (uncredited)

as Tom's Best Man (uncredited)

as Citizen (uncredited)

as Sweeney, Driver (uncredited)

as Jack Purcell (uncredited)

as Jim

as Milkman's Helper on Dock

as Baggage Man

as Barfly (uncredited)

as Fats Delaney

as Dan - Corridor Guard (uncredited)

as Jailer (uncredited)

as Durko (uncredited)

as Marine Corporal (uncredited)

as Highway Patrol Officer

as Military Police Driver (uncredited)

as Himself (uncredited)

as Student

as Jake (uncredited)

as Convict Road Laborer (extra)

as Bar Patron (uncredited)

as Reporter (uncredited)

as Truck Driver

as Slade

as Villa Luigi Headwaiter

as Taxi Driver Henchman

as Truck Driver in Diner (uncredited)

as Simmons

as Party Guest (uncredited)


as Townsman (uncredited)

as Waiter (uncredited)

as Jack - Diner Counterman (uncredited)

as Music Hall Drunk (Uncredited)

as Gangster

as Townsman (uncredited)

as Marine

as Chuck Cannon

as Pirate (uncredited)

as Station Agent (uncredited)

as Rudy the Sailor

as Hold-Up Man

as Boss Mechanic

as Henchman Mike (uncredited)

as Slade

as Party Guest (uncredited)

as Cell Block E Convict (uncredited)

as Streetcar Conductor

as Bartender

as Police Detective (uncredited)

as Charles McMahon


as Guest

as Evans - Bob's Chauffeur

as Fireman

as Sailor at Wrestling Match

as Visitor (uncredited)

as Convention Delegate (uncredited)

as Thug

as Soldier

as Policeman (uncredited)

as Sergeant Goring

as Truck Driver

as Davis

as Sam Johnson - Milk Man (uncredited)

as Chinatown Barker

as Shirtless Ditchdigger (uncredited)

as Grip

as Sophomore

as Bartender (uncredited)

as Reporter

as Headwaiter - Mexican Pete's

as Police Lt. Joe Wilson

as Sailor (uncredited)

as Umpire (uncredited)

as Hanley's Strong-Arm Man

as Headwaiter

as Bennie

as Ferguson - Pilot

as Shakey

as Soldier

as Policeman Temple (uncredited)

as Guard (uncredited)

as Morley

as Max

as Sergeant

as Military Policeman

as Cowboy

as Policeman (uncredited)

as Max - Radioman

as Radio Operator (uncredited)

as Sailor

as Salesman

as Cab Driver (Uncredited)

as George

as Bet Placing Taxi Driver (uncredited)

as Reporter

as Man Outside Hotel

as Buck

as School Bus Driver (uncredited)

as Brings in Rustler

as Burglar

as Reporter

as Joey

as Reporter

as Policeman in Car (uncredited)

as Lester - O'Bannion's Driver

as Workman

as Bill - Policeman in Car 43

as Henchman

as Tough Casino Decoy

as Pug O'Leary

as Thug

as Gibson

as Joe - Truck Driver-Henchman

as Joe

as Jake - Trucker in Cafe (uncredited)

as Diner Trying to Date Helen

as Vorobiov

as Tough Guy

as Ernest Dallas

as Partner

as Mike

as Sam, Second Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)

as Bartender


as Ernie - Counter Girl's Boyfriend

as A Hood

as Bartender

as Henchman Kincaid

as Drunken Brawler

as Blackie

as Gus

as Student

as Jamison

as Bob

as Hobo

as Sergeant George Dunne