---
name: "James Burke"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-burke"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "23 September 1886"
died: "23 May 1968"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 88
updated: "2026-09-16T21:18:22.578401+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."
---

# James Burke

Actor. Born 23 September 1886 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 23 May 1968.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 23 September 1886, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 23 May 1968
- **Active:** 1934–1941
- **Also known as:** Jim Burke, James Michael Burke

## Biography

James Burke (also credited as Jim Burke or James Michael Burke) was an American character actor. Born in New York City on 24 September 1886, he made his stage debut in New York around 1912 and moved to Hollywood in 1933. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1932 and 1964, frequently cast as a police officer.

Burke played Luke in *The Maltese Falcon* (1941). Other film credits include *It Happened One Night* (1934), *You Can't Take It with You* (1938), *Dead End* (1937) and *Nightmare Alley* (1947). On television he appeared in series such as *I Love Lucy* (1951) and *Stagecoach West* (1960–1961). He was married to Eleanor Durkin until her death in 1957. Burke died in Los Angeles on 23 May 1968.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Maltese Falcon* (1941), Fi1m 87, as Luke — [page](https://film.one/film/the-maltese-falcon.md)
- *It Happened One Night* (1934), Fi1m 88, as Detective (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/it-happened-one-night.md)

## Also known for

- *You Can't Take It with You* (1938), Chief Detective (uncredited)
- *I Love Lucy* (1951), Mr. Watson
- *Nightmare Alley* (1947), Rural Marshal (uncredited)
- *The Big Clock* (1948), O'Brien
- *Anchors Aweigh* (1945), Studio Cop
- *Dead End* (1937), Mulligan
- *Queen Christina* (1934), Blacksmith - 4th Rabble Rouser (uncredited)
- *The Scarlet Empress* (1934)

---
© 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/james-burke