Walter Baldwin
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Walter S. Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio from a theatrical family and served in the First World War. He was probably best known for playing the father of the handicapped sailor in The Best Years of Our Lives. He was the first actor to portray "Floyd the Barber" on The Andy Griffith Show. Prior to his first film roles in 1939, Baldwin had appeared in more than a dozen Broadway plays. He played Whit in the first Broadway production of Of Mice and Men, and also appeared in the original Grand Hotel in a small role, as well as serving as the production's stage manager. He originated the role of Bensinger, the prissy Chicago Tribune reporter, in the Broadway production of The Front Page. In the 1960s he had small acting roles in television shows such as Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. He continued to act in motion pictures, and one of his last roles was in Rosemary's Baby. Baldwin was known for playing solid middle class burghers, although sometimes he gave portrayals of eccentric characters. He played a customer seeking a prostitute in The Lost Weekend and the rebellious prison trusty Orvy in Cry of the City. Walter Baldwin was featured in a lot of John Deere Day Movies from 1949-59 where he played the farmer Tom Gordon. In this series of Deere Day movies over a decade he helped to introduce many new pieces of John Deere farm equipment year-by-year. In each yearly movie he would be shown on his in A Tom Gordon Family Film where he would be buying new John Deere farm equipment or a new green and yellow tractor.A picture of Walter Baldwin playing Tom Gordon can be found on page 108 of Bob Pripp's book John Deere Yesterday & Today Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie: "With a pinched Midwestern countenance that enabled him to portray taciturn farmers, obsequious grocery store clerks and the occasional sniveling coward, Baldwin was a familiar (if often unbilled) presence in Hollywood films for three decades."
Known For
Mr. Parrish
The Best Years of Our Lives
Orvy
Cry of the City
Seth Marcy
The Devil Commands
Martin Knox
Scattergood Rides High
Sullivan
The Racket
Jim Bracken (uncredited)
Cheaper by the Dozen
(uncredited)
Framed
Mr. Brown
Peaceful Relations
Judge Maynard
The Unsuspected
Jim Owens
Interrupted Melody
Stagecoach driver
The Man from Colorado
Mr. Castle
Winter Meeting
Jeremy Wright (uncredited)
Cheyenne Autumn
Diamond Ed Barnaby
After Midnight with Boston Blackie
Watch Buyer (uncredited)
The Jackpot
Lem Wiggins
Miss Polly
Uncle Sam Bates
Dark Mountain
Pa Alexander (uncredited)
The Winning Team
Pop Peters (uncredited)
Special Agent
Muley Wilson
Return of the Bad Men
Tom Cooney
A Stranger in Town
George Kress Sr.
I Want You
Mr. Wees (uncredited)
Rosemary's Baby
Michael Hayward
Scandal at Scourie
Mr. Spangler (uncredited)
Wild in the Country
Hank (uncredited)
All That Money Can Buy
Man Who Warns Vinny (uncredited)
The Fastest Gun Alive
Boxing fan at Dundee fight (uncredited)
The Harder They Fall
Superintendent
Hazard
Cricket Adams
Rough Riders of Durango
Homer-the Barber
The Man Who Returned to Life
Mr. Meeber - Carrie's Father
Carrie
Finch (uncredited)
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
Claude Jarman (uncredited)
Come to the Stable
Man from Albany (uncredited)
The Lost Weekend
Tom Wilson (uncredited)
Dragonwyck
Mr. Ferguson (uncredited)
Sister Kenny
Officer Riley (uncredited)
Thieves' Highway
Wilbur Harris
Why Girls Leave Home
Vince Webb
Stranger on Horseback
Herb, the Sheriff (uncredited)
Christmas in Connecticut
Amos Ames
Mourning Becomes Electra
Fireman (uncredited)
The Mark of the Whistler
Editor Stoneham
The Gay Amigo
Syncopation
Wilson Campaign Orator (uncredited)
Wilson
Mr. Mason (uncredited)
Those High Grey Walls
Man Who Declares for the South
Arizona
Gallus
Rachel and the Stranger
Jake Hibbs (uncredited)
Happy Land
Rennick (uncredited)
Angels Over Broadway
Bill
Look Who's Laughing
Coroner Bledsoe
Storm Warning
Jones
Cafe Hostess
Doan, Jury Foreman
Faces in the Fog
Henry (uncredited)
Bring on the Girls
Bart Jackson
Trail to Vengeance
Jed Morton
Rhythm Round-Up
Judge Fred Martin
Albuquerque
Settler (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On
Judge Lorrimer
The Kansan
Ward Harlan
Oklahoma Territory
Doctor Peabody (uncredited)
The Incredible Stranger
Mr. Hodges (uncredited)
The Bride Wore Boots
Hugo French
The Remarkable Andrew
Jerry the Nitrate Technician (uncredited)
Powder Town
Isaiah Jackson
Living It Up
Adam Smith
Ride, Vaquero!
Pa
Eyes Aloft
George Newton
Reconnaissance Pilot
Henry Skinner
Destry
Vic Hardy (uncredited)
Murder, He Says
Music Conductor
Reckless Age
Deputy Sheriff
The Ghost That Walks Alone
George Patterson
The Desperate Hours
Dempsey (uncredited)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Doc Brock
Glory
Attorney
I'm from Arkansas
Doc Purdy
Calamity Jane and Sam Bass
Worker (uncredited)
In This Our Life
Miller (Uncredited)
Young Widow
1st Proprietor
You Can't Run Away from It
Bill (uncredited)
For Me and My Gal
Town Sheriff (uncredited)
The Missing Juror
Deputy with Rifle (Uncredited)
Scared Stiff
Uncle Edgar
The Long, Long Trailer
Conductor (uncredited)
Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man
Stan - Depot Master (uncredited)
Tall in the Saddle
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
88
Gender
Male
Birthday
1889-01-01
Place of Birth
Lima, Ohio, USA
Also Known As
Walter S. Baldwin Jr.