Revered character actor Charles Lane has died in California. He was 102.
Lane made his name playing curmudgeons and appeared in hundreds of films, such as It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
He also had a recurring role as scheming Homer Bedloe on the 1960s TV sitcom Petticoat Junction and also appeared on TV comedy I Love Lucy.
A theater-trained actor, Lane‘s career spanned more than 60 years. His first film role was opposite movie greats Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney in Smart Money in 1931.
He once revealed he was paid $35 a day to appear in three or four Warner Bros. pictures, where he would be rushed from one set to another.
The highlight of his career was the nine movies Lane made with filmmaker Frank Capra in the 1930s and 1940s, including playing a rent collector in Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life.
COPYRIGHT 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All Global Rights Reserved.
