(Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) | 'Slim' Whitaker Full name: Charles Orbie Whitaker 1893 - 1960 And there are many confirmations that his middle name was "Orbie", not "Orby". |
Special thanks to Debbie and Tom Bahn for their help and assistance in the creation of this profile on Charles 'Slim' Whitaker. Debbie is Slim's great granddaughter. Many of the photos are from the collection of Slim's daughter, Leota Whitaker Gandrau. |
(Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Unknown period on the above photo of Slim wrestling with a dog ... from late silent or early sound film. (Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Above portrait shot of Slim, probably from late silent period or early sound film days. (Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Above portrait shot of Slim, probably silent era. (Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Above - heroine Veda Ann Borg appears to be getting the best of Slim in THE LAW COMES TO TEXAS (Columbia, 1939), which starred Bill Elliott. Rose remembered watching her grandmother Ethel use a toothbrush and shoe polish to dye Slim's hair. She remembers that the dye was for a part in a movie and that Slim was polishing his boots at the same time. |
Les Adams on Slim: Jack Montgomery was the father of Peggy Montgomery who was a popular kid star in in the silents and a few early sound films as 'Baby Peggy'. The comment that Slim could have been a good comedian is borne out in the Bob Livingston/Lone Rider WOLVES OF THE RANGE (PRC, 1943) when Whitaker (as 'Pasha the Swami') and Al St. John do a turn together. Plus, even in a few of his villain roles, he played some of them in a Wallace Berry vein, especially at Columbia in the Larry Darmour films. And he was one of the few day-players who got some sidekick roles. Actually, for a period of a few years in the late 30's and early 40's, while never a contract player, he was more than just a day-player who made the casting call and got a role; at RKO and Columbia, he was cast by the director or producer, who probably appreciated his talent and professionalism from past experience, and he got a lot of 3rd-4th billing roles.
In the cast may well be the most overlooked and underpraised toiler of them all ... one Charles 'Slim' Whitaker. No matter his role --- killer, sidekick, dog heavy, father or just a townie bit --- Whitaker always seemed to find more in the role than the script indicated, even when he played it heavy handed, which he often did. For certain, he propped up a lot of wooden performers --- Jack Perrin for one --- in his time. | Above is a screen capture of 'Slim' Whitaker (as 'Pasha the Swami') vs. Al 'Fuzzy' St. John in the Bob Livingston Lone Rider adventure WOLVES OF THE RANGE (PRC, 1943). |
(Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Above, employee ID photo circa 1949 when Slim was a security guard or a fireman. Right is a pressbook ad for PRAIRIE LAW (RKO, 1940) which starred George O'Brien and included Slim as the sidekick. Note the misspelling of Whittaker (with 2 tt's) - but spelling errors and typos were fairly common in the film title credits and ad work. | (Courtesy of Les Adams) |
(Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Above are Wally Wales (Hal Taliaferro) and Charles 'Slim' Whitaker in an unidentified still, probably from one of the six Bob Allen oaters for producer Larry Darmour that were released in 1936 - 1937 by Columbia Pictures. Slim's daughter Leota Whitaker Gandrau recalled that "Wally Wales, Charlie King and Al Bridge were like her uncles. They spent so much time at her house that it was as if they lived there." (Courtesy of Leota Whitaker Gandrau) Slim in the early 1930s - all costumed up and ready to create mayhem. |