---
name: "Jack Oakie"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jack-oakie"
fi1m_id: "jack-oakie"
imdb_id: "nm0642988"
tmdb_id: 14028
wikidata_id: "Q545846"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "12 November 1903"
died: "23 January 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T02:56:01.973710+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jack Oakie

## Identity

Jack Oakie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jack-oakie
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jack-oakie
- **IMDb ID:** nm0642988
- **TMDB ID:** 14028
- **Wikidata ID:** Q545846
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Oakie, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q545846, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642988/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14028

Actor. Born 12 November 1903 in Sedalia, Missouri, USA. Died 23 January 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 12 November 1903, Sedalia, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 23 January 1978
- **Active:** 1940–1956
- **Also known as:** Джек Оуки, Lewis Delaney Offield
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 80 (1), 1950s 63 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Oakie, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q545846, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642988/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14028

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Great Dictator*](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jack Oakie

> Jack Oakie makes broad comedy work through exact timing: the extra look, the widened eyes, the pause before another reaction. We value his cheerfully unsubtle supporting turns, though familiar tricks can leave the characters looking much alike.

Jack Oakie looks once, then again, and sometimes a third time. The widening eyes and emphatic mugging make the reaction something to watch in its own right, rather than a quick acknowledgement of somebody else's joke. This is broad acting, and we like how carefully he times it. His good-natured, wisecracking supporting characters need that care if they are to remain company worth keeping. The limitation is plain enough: the familiar routine can tell us more about Oakie than about the person he is playing.

Paramount's early talkies gave him regular work before he began freelancing after 1934. In *Million Dollar Legs* (1932), he had one of his rare romantic leads; *Alice in Wonderland* (1933) put him in the part of Tweedledum. Song-and-dance and physical comedy gave him several ways to make himself useful, even when the characters were much alike. The career revival came with *The Great Dictator* (1940), in which he plays Benzino Napaloni, a part that made full use of his expansive manner.

Charles Chaplin, directing and co-starring, gives Oakie a film broad enough to accommodate him. We laughed at Oakie's emphatic reactions because his timing keeps the mugging brisk even when the acting is large. He makes Napaloni's flamboyance entertaining without asking us to mistake it for subtle character work. The pleasure is in watching a performer judge how far he can push a familiar routine, and how much time to give it. Chaplin's own two performances carry the film, but Oakie's energy belongs in this company.

That does not make every extended joke in *The Great Dictator* worth its time. We rate the film highly while finding its construction loose and some of its lesser jokes overlong, faults that enthusiasm alone cannot repair. Oakie's later work included the dramatic supporting part of Slob in *Thieves' Highway* (1949), a departure from the comic roles that recur through his work. Start with *The Great Dictator*, with a little patience for an actor who likes to make quite certain the joke has been noticed.

## Biography

Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the late 1920s onwards, as well as on stage, radio and television.

Oakie is best known for his role as Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria, in Charlie Chaplin's *The Great Dictator* (1940), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His other film credits include *Alice in Wonderland* (1933), *Call of the Wild* (1935), *Thieves' Highway* (1949), *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956) and *Lover Come Back* (1961). He also appeared in episodes of television series such as *Bonanza*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), Fi1m 63, as SS Henrietta Captain — [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md)
- *The Great Dictator* (1940), Fi1m 80, as Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md)

## Complete filmography (101)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *One to One: John & Yoko* (2025), as Napaloni - Dictator of Bactera (archive footage)
- *Hitler: The Comedy Years* (2007), as Benzini Napaloni (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Kilroy* (1965), as Joe Kelsey
- *Daniel Boone* (1964), series, as Otis Cobb
- *Breaking Point* (1963), series, Actor
- *Lover Come Back* (1961), as J. Paxton Miller
- *The New Breed* (1961), series, as Ham Tucker
- *Target: The Corruptors!* (1961), series, Actor
- *The Rat Race* (1960), as Mac
- *The Wonderful Country* (1959), as Travis Hyle
- *Bonanza* (1959), series, as Thaddeus Cade
- *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), as SS Henrietta Captain — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md)
- *Tomahawk* (1951), as Sol Beckworth
- *Last of the Buccaneers* (1950), as Sgt. Dominick
- *Thieves' Highway* (1949), as Slob
- *When My Baby Smiles at Me* (1948), as Bozo Evans
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Frank Rey
- *Northwest Stampede* (1948), as Mike Kirby
- *She Wrote the Book* (1946), as Jerry Marlowe
- *On Stage Everybody* (1945), as Michael Sullivan
- *That's the Spirit* (1945), as Steve 'Slim' Gogarty
- *Bowery to Broadway* (1944), as Michael O'Rourke
- *Sweet and Low-Down* (1944), as Popsy
- *The Merry Monahans* (1944), as Pete Monahan
- *Take It or Leave It* (1944), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *It Happened Tomorrow* (1944), as Uncle Oscar Smith
- *Wintertime* (1943), as Skip Hutton
- *Hello, Frisco, Hello* (1943), as Dan Daley
- *Something to Shout About* (1943), as Larry Martin
- *Iceland* (1942), as Slip Riggs
- *Song of the Islands* (1942), as Rusty Smith
- *Rise and Shine* (1941), as Boley Bolenciecwcz
- *Navy Blues* (1941), as 'Cake' O'Hara
- *The Great American Broadcast* (1941), as Chuck Hadley
- *Tin Pan Alley* (1940), as Harry Calhoun
- *Little Men* (1940), as William "Willie" Deming
- *The Great Dictator* (1940), as Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md)
- *Young People* (1940), as Joe Ballantine
- *Thanks for Everything* (1938), as Bates
- *Annabel Takes a Tour* (1938), as Lanny Morgan
- *The Affairs of Annabel* (1938), as Lanny Morgan
- *Radio City Revels* (1938), as Harry
- *Hitting a New High* (1937), as Corny Davis
- *Fight for Your Lady* (1937), as "Honest Ham" Hamilton
- *The Toast of New York* (1937), as Luke
- *Super-Sleuth* (1937), as Bill Martin
- *Champagne Waltz* (1937), as Happy Gallagher
- *That Girl from Paris* (1936), as Whammo Lonsdale
- *The Texas Rangers* (1936), as Henry B. 'Wahoo' Jones
- *Florida Special* (1936), as Bangs Tucker
- *Colleen* (1936), as Joe Cork
- *King of Burlesque* (1936), as Joe Cooney
- *Collegiate* (1935), as Jerry Craig
- *The Big Broadcast of 1936* (1935), as Spud Miller
- *Call of the Wild* (1935), as 'Shorty' Hoolihan
- *College Rhythm* (1934), as Francis J. Finnegan
- *Hollywood Rhythm* (1934), Actor
- *Shoot the Works* (1934), as Nicky Nelson
- *Murder at the Vanities* (1934), as Jack Ellery
- *Looking for Trouble* (1934), as Casey
- *Alice in Wonderland* (1933), as Tweedledum
- *Sitting Pretty* (1933), as Chick Parker
- *Too Much Harmony* (1933), as Benny Day
- *College Humor* (1933), as Barney Shirrel
- *The Eagle and the Hawk* (1933), as Mike 'Slug' Richards
- *Sailor Be Good* (1933), as Kelsey Jones
- *From Hell to Heaven* (1933), as Charlie Bayne
- *Uptown New York* (1932), as Eddie Doyle
- *If I Had a Million* (1932), as Private Mulligan
- *Madison Square Garden* (1932), as Eddie Burke
- *Once in a Lifetime* (1932), as George Lewis
- *Million Dollar Legs* (1932), as Migg Tweeny
- *Make Me a Star* (1932), as Jack Oakie (uncredited)
- *Sky Bride* (1932), as Alec Dugan
- *Dancers in the Dark* (1932), as Duke Taylor
- *Touchdown!* (1931), as Babe Barton
- *Dude Ranch* (1931), as Jennifer
- *The Stolen Jools* (1931), as Jack Oakie
- *June Moon* (1931), as Frederick Martin Stevens
- *The Gang Buster* (1931), as Charlie Case
- *Sea Legs* (1930), as Searchlight Doyle
- *Let's Go Native* (1930), as Voltaire McGinnis
- *The Sap from Syracuse* (1930), as Littleton Looney
- *The Social Lion* (1930), as Marco Perkins
- *Hit the Deck* (1929), as Bilge
- *Sweetie* (1929), as Tap-Tap Thompson
- *Fast Company* (1929), Actor
- *Street Girl* (1929), as Joe Spring
- *Hard to Get* (1929), as Marty Martin
- *The Man I Love* (1929), as Lew Layton
- *Close Harmony* (1929), as Ben Barney
- *The Wild Party* (1929), as Al
- *Chinatown Nights* (1929), as James "Jimmy" Williams, the reporter
- *The Dummy* (1929), as Dopey Hart
- *Sin Town* (1929), as 'Chicken' O'Toole
- *Someone to Love* (1928), as Michael Casey
- *The Fleet's In* (1928), as Searchlight Doyle
- *Road House* (1928), as Sam
- *Finders Keepers* (1928), as B. B. Brown
- *Big Brother* (1923), Actor
- *His Children's Children* (1923), as Minor Role (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Jack Oakie](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-8524c099af27.jpg) Jack Oakie — Rudolph Fromme, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Clark_Gable_and_Jack_Oakie_As_They_Sight_The_%22Wolves%22_in_%22The_Call_of_The_Wild%22%2C_Mount_Baker_National_Forest%2C_1935._-_NARA_-_299074.jpg/1280px-Clark_Gable_and_Jack_Oakie_As_They_Sight_The_%22Wolves%22_in_%22The_Call_of_The_Wild%22%2C_Mount_Baker_National_Forest%2C_1935._-_NARA_-_299074.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Charlie Chaplin from the film The Great Dictator (1940).](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-9af3ae58eb78.jpg) Charlie Chaplin from the film The Great Dictator (1940). — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Dictator_charlie4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Stuart Erwin, Eugene Pallette, Clive Brook, Kay Francis, Garry Cooper [i.e. Gary Cooper, film star], Jack Oakie, "Skeets" Gallagher, William Boyde, Richard Arle](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-127c069da5a6.jpg) Stuart Erwin, Eugene Pallette, Clive Brook, Kay Francis, Garry Cooper [i.e. Gary Cooper, film star], Jack Oakie, "Skeets" Gallagher, William Boyde, Richard Arle — Ted Hood and Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Gary_Cooper%2C_Carole_Lombard_et_al%2C_Cornwall_Apartments%2C_c._1930s%2C_by_unknown_photographer_%284389108962%29.jpg/1280px-Gary_Cooper%2C_Carole_Lombard_et_al%2C_Cornwall_Apartments%2C_c._1930s%2C_by_unknown_photographer_%284389108962%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Still from the American musical film Hit the Deck (1930). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actors, actresses](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-e492b5b1f69d.jpg) Still from the American musical film Hit the Deck (1930). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actors, actresses — Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Hit_the_Deck_%28SAYRE_15087%29.jpg/1280px-Hit_the_Deck_%28SAYRE_15087%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Oakie](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-3b83daac44ea.jpg) Jack Oakie — Image via TMDB
- ![Jack Oakie](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-c64a030db953.jpg) Jack Oakie — Image via TMDB
- ![Still from the American musical film Hit the Deck (1930). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actresses, actors](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-eb278db0894c.jpg) Still from the American musical film Hit the Deck (1930). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actresses, actors — Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Hit_the_Deck_%28SAYRE_15268%29.jpg/1280px-Hit_the_Deck_%28SAYRE_15268%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Back view of Oakridge. (2025)](https://film.one/media/person/102827/gallery-b00904882751.jpg) Back view of Oakridge. (2025) — Caterpillar84, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Oakie.jpg/1280px-Oakie.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1941: Best Supporting Actor (nominated), for *The Great Dictator*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jack-oakie