---
name: "Percy Kilbride"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/percy-kilbride"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "16 July 1888"
died: "11 December 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-19T22:28:56.875926+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."
---

# Percy Kilbride

Actor. Born 16 July 1888 in San Francisco, California, USA. Died 11 December 1964.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 16 July 1888, San Francisco, California, USA
- **Died:** 11 December 1964
- **Also known as:** Percy William Kilbride
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Kilbride, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3375213, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452939/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/94929

## Biography

Percy Kilbride was an American character actor. Born in San Francisco, he began working in theatre as a call boy at the age of twelve and made his Broadway debut in 1928. He appeared in hundreds of stage roles, often as rustic characters, before moving to film.

Kilbride's screen career began with early parts in *White Woman* (1933) and *Soak the Rich* (1936). It developed in earnest from 1942, with roles including Orion Peabody in *Keeper of the Flame* (1942), Dave Miller in *State Fair* (1945), Pop in *Fallen Angel* (1945) and W. Harmie in *The Southerner* (1945). He became best known as Frank 'Pa' Kettle opposite Marjorie Main in *The Egg and I* (1947) and the subsequent Ma and Pa Kettle series, appearing in eight films in the role until 1955.

A veteran of the First World War, Kilbride died in Los Angeles in 1964.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *State Fair* (1945), Fi1m 70, as Dave Miller — [page](https://film.one/film/state-fair.md)

## Complete filmography (33)

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

- *Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki* (1955), as Pa Kettle
- *Ma and Pa Kettle at Home* (1954), as Pa Kettle
- *Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation* (1952), as Pa Kettle
- *Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair* (1952), as Pa Kettle
- *Ellis in Freedomland* (1952), as The Dehumidifier (voice)
- *Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm* (1951), as Pa Kettle
- *Riding High* (1950), as Pop Jones
- *Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town* (1950), as Pa Kettle
- *Free For All* (1949), as Henry J. Abbott
- *Mr. Soft Touch* (1949), as Rickle
- *The Sun Comes Up* (1949), as Mr. Willie B. Williegood
- *Ma and Pa Kettle* (1949), as Frank 'Pa' Kettle
- *You Gotta Stay Happy* (1948), as Mr. Racknell
- *Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'* (1948), as Billy Caswell
- *Black Bart* (1948), as Jersey Brady
- *You Were Meant for Me* (1948), as Andrew Mayhew
- *Riff-Raff* (1947), as Pop
- *Welcome Stranger* (1947), as Nat Dorkas
- *The Egg and I* (1947), as Frank 'Pa' Kettle
- *The Well Groomed Bride* (1946), as Mr. Dawson
- *She Wouldn't Say Yes* (1945), as Judge Whittaker
- *Fallen Angel* (1945), as Pop
- *State Fair* (1945), as Dave Miller — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/state-fair.md)
- *The Southerner* (1945), as W. Harmie
- *Guest in the House* (1944), as John
- *She's a Soldier Too* (1944), as Jonathan Kittredge
- *Knickerbocker Holiday* (1944), as Schermerhorn
- *The Woman of the Town* (1943), as Rev. Samuel Small
- *Crazy House* (1943), as Col. Cornelius Merriweather
- *Keeper of the Flame* (1943), as Orion Peabody
- *George Washington Slept Here* (1942), as Mr. Kimber
- *Soak the Rich* (1936), as Everett, 2nd Detective
- *White Woman* (1933), as Jakey

## Gallery

- ![Percy Kilbride, stage actor Subjects: actors (1910)](https://film.one/media/person/1226797/gallery-67a9599642c5.jpg) Percy Kilbride, stage actor Subjects: actors (1910) — Davies, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Percy_Kilbride%2C_stage_actor_%28SAYRE_4622%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Percy Kilbride, stage actor Subjects: actors (1910)](https://film.one/media/person/1226797/gallery-2b0271da3966.jpg) Percy Kilbride, stage actor Subjects: actors (1910) — Davies, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Percy_Kilbride%2C_stage_actor_%28SAYRE_4371%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Percy Kilbride](https://film.one/media/person/1226797/gallery-2f4d18ac78e0.jpg) Percy Kilbride — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Percy_Kilbride_in_George_Washington_Slept_Here_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Percy Kilbride](https://film.one/media/person/1226797/gallery-38bc89e56e7f.jpg) Percy Kilbride — Image via TMDB
- ![Percy Kilbride](https://film.one/media/person/1226797/gallery-6a7d04db95b7.jpg) Percy Kilbride — Image via TMDB

---
© 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/percy-kilbride