I think most readers are going to be stunned that this guy was still alive in 2007.
Lane was one of the most famous character actors in TV history, appearing on such programs as Petticoat Junction (where he was a regular), I Love Lucy, Dark Shadows, L.A. Law, St. Elsewhere, Little House on the Prairie, The Odd Couple, and...oh, way too many to list here. He was also in the films It's A Wonderful Life, The Road To Singapore, 42nd Street, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and many others. His career spanned over 60 years, his last role as the narrator in the short film The Night Before Christmas in 2006.
Lane passed away quietly on Tuesday in Santa Monica, CA.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-10-2007 @ 7:11PM
TVSeriesFinale.com said...
What an incredible career. He looked basically the same when he appeared on I Love Lucy in 1956 and then L.A. Law in 1989!
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7-10-2007 @ 7:23PM
Elf said...
I think he also played every other client of McMahon and Tate on Bewitched. A sad loss.
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7-10-2007 @ 11:56PM
Jeff N. said...
Wow! I had no idea he was still alive. He defined the meaning of a Character actor. He was one of a kind. RIP Charles.
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7-10-2007 @ 11:57PM
Jeff N. said...
Wow! I had no idea he was still alive. He defined the meaning of a Character actor. He was one of a kind. RIP Charles.
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7-10-2007 @ 7:59PM
Charles Kirk said...
One of Charles lane's most unforgettable lines was on I Love Lucy as the expectant father in the hospital waiting room, nonchalant, but hoping for it to be a boy, after fathering 6 daughters. '
"NINE GIRLS"
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7-10-2007 @ 8:15PM
Joe said...
Damn. Great actor, the classic "that guy" from... well, everything. RIP.
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7-11-2007 @ 1:40AM
James said...
As a longtime Capra fan, I was watching "You Can't Take It With You" a few days ago and remarked how great it was to see Lane in films like that, and how he was still alive.
He's got to be the last person alive from that Best Picture winner, I would think, plus who knows how many other films.
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7-11-2007 @ 2:55AM
Golden Sounds Entertainment said...
His movie credits span all the way from 1931 to 2006. He was acting before classic movies like Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. He did his first movie just 3 years after the famous Steamboat Willy was born. I have the entire filmography listed on my blog at http://goldensoundsentertainment.wordpress.com
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7-11-2007 @ 3:23AM
Brent McKee said...
One of the legendary character actors. He was one of the last survivors of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild and of the Television Academy. His wife of 70 years(!) passed away in 2002, and he smoked until he was at least 85.
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7-11-2007 @ 3:23PM
mike said...
I still love the TV Land award show where they gave him the lifetime acheivment award. He came out in a wheelchair, but after the presentation, in the same full booming voice, he yelled "I'm still available for work!"
Classic moment from an unforgetable actor.
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