---
name: "Ralph Dumke"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ralph-dumke"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 July 1899"
died: "4 January 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T03:38:27.716869+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."
---

# Ralph Dumke

Actor. Born 25 July 1899 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. Died 4 January 1964.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 July 1899, South Bend, Indiana, USA
- **Died:** 4 January 1964
- **Also known as:** Ralph Ernest Dumke, Ralph E. Dumke, Ralph Dumkey
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 74 (1), 1960s 78 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Dumke, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3418248, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241589/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/83801

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*All the King's Men*](https://film.one/film/all-the-kings-men.md) (74)

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

## Biography

Ralph Dumke was an American actor and comedian. Born in South Bend, Indiana, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he played varsity football. He began his career in vaudeville in the 1920s as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, later appearing on the NBC radio programme Sisters of the Skillet.

In the 1940s he performed on Broadway in musicals, including the role of Cap'n Andy in the 1946 revival of Show Boat. From 1949 he worked extensively in film and television as a character actor. His screen credits include Tiny Duffy in All the King's Men (1949), Police Chief Nick Grivett in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and appearances in The War of the Worlds (1953), The Desperate Hours (1955) and Elmer Gantry (1960). He also guest-starred in series such as Perry Mason, The Untouchables and The Andy Griffith Show.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these

- *All the King's Men* (1949), Fi1m 74, as Tiny Duffy — [page](https://film.one/film/all-the-kings-men.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Elmer Gantry* (1960), Fi1m 78, as Salesman in Saloon (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/elmer-gantry.md)

## Complete filmography (60)

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

- *All in a Night's Work* (1961), as Baker
- *The Andy Griffith Show* (1960), series, as Greendale Mayor Purdy
- *Elmer Gantry* (1960), as Salesman in Saloon (uncredited) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/elmer-gantry.md)
- *Wake Me When It's Over* (1960), as Senator Gillespie (uncredited)
- *The Untouchables* (1959), series, as Judge Albert Humboldt (uncredited)
- *Dennis the Menace* (1959), series, as Mr. Burnley
- *Rawhide* (1959), series, as Judge Aikens
- *The Texan* (1958), series, as Doc Fry
- *The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen* (1958), series, Actor
- *The Ed Wynn Show* (1958), series, as Hartley
- *Shirley Temple's Storybook* (1958), series, as Tooley
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Roland Carter, Hudson Nichols
- *Loving You* (1957), as Jim Tallman
- *The Buster Keaton Story* (1957), as Mr. Jennings (uncredited)
- *Annette* (1957), series, as Mr. Abernathy
- *The Gale Storm Show* (1956), series, as Clem Thompson
- *The Solid Gold Cadillac* (1956), as Warren Gillie
- *Francis in the Haunted House* (1956), as Mayor Hargrove
- *When Gangland Strikes* (1956), as Walter Pritchard
- *Forever, Darling* (1956), as Henry Opdyke
- *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1956), as Police Chief Nick Grivett
- *Artists and Models* (1955), as Mr. Trimm (uncredited)
- *The Desperate Hours* (1955), as Clint
- *Hell's Island* (1955), as Casino Drunk
- *Violent Saturday* (1955), as Hotel Desk Clerk
- *They Rode West* (1954), as Dr. Gibson
- *December Bride* (1954), series, as Dr. Nelson, Henry, Tourist
- *Father Knows Best* (1954), series, as Howard 'Mac' McGrath
- *Studio 57* (1954), series, as MacMurdo
- *Lassie* (1954), series, as Mr. Tumulty (uncredited)
- *Massacre Canyon* (1954), as Phineas J. Canfield
- *Rails Into Laramie* (1954), as Frank Logan
- *She Couldn't Say No* (1954), as Sheriff
- *Alaska Seas* (1954), as Dad Jackson
- *It Should Happen to You* (1954), as Beckhard (uncredited)
- *Hannah Lee: An American Primitive* (1953), as Alesworth
- *The President's Lady* (1953), as Col. Stark
- *The War of the Worlds* (1953), as Buck Monahan (uncredited)
- *Count the Hours!* (1953), Actor
- *Lili* (1953), as M. Corvier
- *The Mississippi Gambler* (1953), as Caldwell
- *The Life Of Riley* (1953), series, as Coach Donovan
- *The Ford Television Theatre* (1952), series, as Mayor Holcomb, Mayor, Sam
- *Hurricane Smith* (1952), as Ben Hawkins
- *Holiday for Sinners* (1952), as Mike Hennighan
- *We're Not Married!* (1952), as Twitchell (uncredited)
- *The San Francisco Story* (1952), as Winfield Holbert (as Ralph E. Dumke)
- *Carbine Williams* (1952), as Andrew White
- *Boots Malone* (1952), as Beckett
- *I Love Lucy* (1951), series, as Husband (uncredited)
- *The Mob* (1951), as Police Commissioner
- *The Law and the Lady* (1951), as James Horace Caighn
- *When I Grow Up* (1951), as Carp
- *Where Danger Lives* (1950), as Klauber
- *The Fireball* (1950), as Bruno Crystal
- *The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show* (1950), series, as Mr. McAfee
- *The Breaking Point* (1950), as Hannagan
- *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Kibbe, Kabner, Granger, Thurston
- *Mystery Street* (1950), as Jim Black the Tattooist
- *All the King's Men* (1949), as Tiny Duffy — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/all-the-kings-men.md)

## Gallery

- ![Ralph Dumke](https://film.one/media/person/1235989/gallery-ff1c0c610c06.jpg) Ralph Dumke — TV episode screenshot (ABC), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Ralph_Dumke_in_My_Little_Margie_%28Margie%27s_Millionth_Member%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ralph Dumke](https://film.one/media/person/1235989/gallery-419b37fa11c0.jpg) Ralph Dumke — 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/ralph-dumke