Wheeler Oakman

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Wheeler Oakman
Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Resting placeValhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
OccupationActor
Spouse(s)Priscilla Dean (m.1920–div.1926)
Virginia Jennings (m.1927–div.1930?)
Frances Jones (m.1932–div.?)

Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American

film actor.[1][2]

Early years

Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger

William McKinley Manual Training School[5]—after having spent the bulk of his childhood in Fairfax, Virginia.[6]

Career

Doris May, Oakman and Jackie Coogan in Peck's Bad Boy (1921)

Before acting in films, Oakman was active in stock theater in the eastern United States.[7]

Oakman appeared in over 280 films between 1912 and 1948. In silent films, he was often a leading man. Among his leading ladies were Priscilla Dean,[7] Kathlyn Williams, Colleen Moore and Annette Kellerman. One of his features was Mickey, a 1918 comedy-drama, in which he played the love interest of Mabel Normand.

In 1928, he portrayed the crime boss in the first all-talking feature movie ever made, Lights of New York. One clip from this feature has often been revived in compilations, with gang boss Oakman speaking deliberately into a microphone disguised as a telephone: "Take... him for... a ride."[8]

Wheeler Oakman, usually wearing a dapper mustache, generally portrayed villains, gangsters, or henchmen, frequently appearing in crime thrillers, melodramas, and westerns. In 1932, he appeared alongside Buck Jones in Sundown Rider and John Wayne in Texas Cyclone.

He worked steadily throughout the 1930s, usually in low-budget westerns and serials, but he did work at the major studios in important feature films like Operator 13 (M-G-M, 1934) and G Men (Warner Bros., 1935).

In 1941 he accepted a leading role in

The East Side Kids
, among others.

Oakman became a favorite of Monogram producer Sam Katzman, and when Katzman moved to Columbia Pictures, Oakman followed him. Oakman, now in his late fifties, continued to work in Katzman's Columbia serials despite declining health -- in Jack Armstrong he was visibly frail, and was relieved of much of the action by last-minute replacement Charles Middleton.

Later years

Just prior to his death, Oakman was the assistant manager of a North Hollywood theater.[7]

Personal life and death

In 1920, Oakman married popular actress Priscilla Dean, his costar in Outside the Law (1920) and The Virgin of Stamboul (1920).[4] They were divorced in 1926. On September 22, 1927, he married Virginia Jennings in Los Angeles.[9] On December 27, 1932, he married Frances I. Jones in Las Vegas, Nevada.[10]

In 1949, at age 59, Oakman died in

Van Nuys, California.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c "Wheeler Oakman". The New York Times. March 20, 1949.
  2. ^ "Seven Reels of Speech". The New York Times. July 9, 1928.
  3. ^ "Wheeler Oakman". B-Westerns. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-4693-3
    . Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "School Year Closes; Promotions to High School; Second Division. The Evening Star. June 20, 1905. p. 12. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Spiller, L.P. (August 1915). "Wheeler Oakman, Youngest Leading Man". The Movie Magazine. 1 (6): 36. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  7. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  8. ISBN 0-520-22128-1
    .
  9. ^ "California Marriage Records: Index to Marriages". Ancestry.com.
  10. ^ "Actor Oakman weds". New York Daily News. December 28, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved October 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wheeler Oakman.
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