The 'brains' and 'action' heavies who had meaty roles and lots of dialog ... and the players who were fathers, ranch owners, lawman, mayors, judges, lawyers, storekeepers, newspaper editors, wardens, etc.

Richard Fiske Real name: Thomas Ralph Potts 1914 - 1944

Born November 20, 1914 in Mason County, Washington, 24 year old Tom Potts wound up in Hollywood in 1938. Army records and census information note that he had a year or so of college and he may have picked up some stage/acting experience there.

Fiske became a very busy Columbia contract player, doing credited and uncredited roles in a mix of shorts, features and serials. His movie career spanned about ninety films over a four+ year period from 1938 through early 1942.

Below is an overview of Fiske at Columbia - not everything, but some highlights including B westerns and cliffhangers. He worked in:

• 9 Three Stooges shorts
• 8 comedy shorts with Andy Clyde, Walter Catlett, Roscoe Karns, and the "Glove Slingers"
• 6 Charley Chase comedy shorts
• 4 Buster Keaton comedy shorts
• 5 Lone Wolf and Boston Blackie mysteries
• 5 Blondie and Dagwood comedies
• 2 features with Boris Karloff
• 4 serials:
  THE SPIDER'S WEB (Columbia, 1938)
  FLYING G-MEN (Columbia, 1939)
  OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON (Columbia, 1939)
  PERILS OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (Columbia, 1942)
• 9 Bill Elliott westerns (8 B westerns and the 1939 KIT CARSON serial)
• 6 Charles Starrett westerns

Some memorable Fiske roles:

• He was Warren Hull's helper in one of Columbia's best serials, THE SPIDER'S WEB (Columbia, 1938).
• Fiske was a cavalry officer working with Wild Bill Elliott to thwart outlaw leader "Pegleg" and his Black Raiders in the chapterplay OVERLAND WITH KIT CARSON (Columbia, 1939).
• In the Three Stooges' BOOBS IN ARMS (Columbia, 1940), the zany trio escape a jealous husband (Fiske) and soon after, wind up in the army. Guess who turns up as their bootcamp Sergeant.
• While Fiske often portrayed henchman/gang members in the Charles Starrett and Bill Elliott oaters, he had a meaty role in ACROSS THE SIERRAS (Columbia, 1941). In that, he's a pal of Wild Bill Hickok (Elliott) but goes astray and joins the gang run by prolific heavy Dick Curtis. In a gun battle, Fiske is killed by Elliott.

Above - 1941 newspaper ad.

In the late 1930s - early 1940s, Boris Karloff was doing films for RKO, Universal, Warners, Monogram ... and five for Columbia Pictures: THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939; directed by Nick Grinde), THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES (1940; directed by Nick Grinde), BEFORE I HANG (1940; directed by Nick Grinde), THE DEVIL COMMANDS (1941; directed by Edward Dmytryk), and THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU (1942; directed by Lew Landers). Fiske had roles in two of the five. There was a minor, unbilled part in BEFORE I HANG. In THE DEVIL COMMANDS, he gets lots of dialog and screen time and is second billed in a rather dull story about Karloff using brain waves to contact his dead wife.

(Courtesy of Boyd Magers) Above are Bill Elliott (as Wild Bill Hickok) and Richard Fiske in a still from ACROSS THE SIERRAS (Columbia, 1941).

Fiske was good looking, talented, had a flair for comedy, and seemed comfortable in front of the camera. And he was able to handle a variety of roles, be it an uncredited B western henchman, a helper to a serial or western hero, the younger man who took a wrong turn ... and a target for the Three Stooges. As mentioned - Columbia took full advantage of contractee Fiske - they used him often.

His career was interrupted by World War II and he enlisted in the U. S. Army in May, 1942. In his last film for Columbia, he wore a mountie uniform in PERILS OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED (Columbia, 1942), a cliffhanger starring Robert Kellard (AKA Robert Stevens) and Nell O'Day which was released in May, 1942. Between his Columbia exit and Army start date, Fiske free-lanced in a couple of movies - there were minor but credited roles in VALLEY OF THE SUN (RKO, 1942) with James Craig and Lucille Ball and THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (Paramount, 1942) with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland.

First Lieutenant Thomas Ralph Potts, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, participated in the Normandy invasion and was killed in action on August 10, 1944 in LeCroix, France. He was a few months shy of his thirtieth birthday. Potts was awarded the Bronze Star, the Oak Leaf Cluster (signifying a second Bronze Star equivalent), and the Purple Heart. He is interred at the Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France.

  Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Richard Fiske: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0279961/

The ThreeStooges.net website has info on Fiske with the Three Stooges: http://www.threestooges.net/cast/actor/164/

Daniel Neyer's "The Files of Jerry Blake" serial website has a detailed writeup on Fiske in Columbia serials: http://filesofjerryblake.com/serial-sidekicks/richard-fiske/

Jim Tipton's Find A Grave website has a photo of the marker for U. S. Army Lieutenant Thomas R. Potts who is interred at the Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8537837

The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), various articles from the Newspaper Archive, and other sources have information on Richard Fiske:

• Ancestry had the Washington state birth index (not the birth certificate): Thomas Ralph Potts was born November 20, 1914 in Mason County, Washington to Frank R. Potts and Bernice Fisk Potts.
• 1920 census - 29 year old Frank Potts (born Michigan), 26 year old wife Bernice (born Washington) and 5 year old son Thomas R. (born Washington) reside in Shelton, Mason County, Washington: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHFV-V56
  Ancestry had the 1920 census takers worksheet - the family is renting on First Street, Shelton, Washington. Frank's occupation is "Chauffeur-County" and Bernice is "School teacher - public school".
• 1930 census - Potts was living with his mother Bernice's parents. 68 year old Thomas P. Fiske (born Pennsylvania), his 66 year old wife Bertha L. (born Kentucky), 31 year old son Charles A. (born Washington) and 15 year old grandson Thomas R. Potts (born Washington) reside in Longview, Cowlitz County, Washington: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XCSG-D5D
  Ancestry had the 1930 census takers worksheet - the family is renting at 1415 21st Avenue, Longview, Washington. Thomas P. Fiske is an attorney and son Charles A. is a "Civil Engineer-City" and identifies himself as a World War I veteran.
• December 13, 1939 Los Angeles county marriage license of 25 year old Thomas Ralph Potts (born Washington) to 23 year old Marjorie Jean MacGregor (born Washington): https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-29948-35559-70?cc=1804002
• 1940 census - 25 year old Richard Fiske is a boarder and living in Tucson, Arizona: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VY43-K8K
  1940 census takers worksheet - lots of motion picture folks are at several hotels in Tucson, Arizona. Columbia Pictures was in the Tucson area filming ARIZONA (Columbia, 1940) which starred Jean Arthur and William Holden. At the Santa Rita Hotel are Richard Fiske and his 23 year old wife Marjorie Jean Fiske (born Washington). Her occupation is "Acting-Theater", and in 1939, she worked 4 weeks and earned $300.00. His occupation is "Actor-Motion Picture Co.", and in 1939, he worked 40 weeks and earned $4,000.00. His residence in 1935 was Seattle, Washington: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-27892-8846-73?cc=2000219
• Enlistment record for Thomas R. Potts in Los Angeles - he became an Army Private on May 15, 1942. He was born 1914 in Washington; completed one year of college; is married; and civilian occupation of "Actors and actresses": https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KMFM-881
• A syndicated newspaper column titled "Harrison in Hollywood", by Paul Harrison, appeared in many newspapers circa mid November, 1940. Blurb from that column: "... the first actor nabbed by the draft wasn't Sterling Holloway, as first reported, but Richard Fiske, whose number was 158. But Hollywood didn't know about Fiske because he had registered under his real name of Thomas Ralph Potts."
• Ancestry had several voter registrations:
  1940: Richard L. Fiske, occupation actor, home address of 1921 Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles.
  1942 and 1944: Richard L. Fiske, occupation actor, home address of 6200 Glen Oak, Los Angeles.
• April, 1944 divorce announcement in the newspapers: headline reads "MOTHER-IN-LAW GETS BLAME FOR DIVORCE" Excerpts from the article: "Actresss Marjorie Jean Potts blamed the breakup of her marriage on her mother-in-law ... and was awarded a divorce ..." "Shortly after we were married our relations became strained because of my husband's mother ... " "... Fiske, an army lieutenant under his legal name of Thomas Potts ..."
• September 12-13, 1944 newspaper articles on Fiske's death: "First Lieut. Tom Potts, 28 ... a nephew of Minnie Maddern Fiske, stage actress, was killed in action in France Aug. 10, his mother, Mrs. Bernice Potts, schoolteacher, was notified today. His widow, Marjorie, lives in Hollywood."
• From the American Battle Monuments Commission, World War II Memorial Registry:
  Thomas R. Potts, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division
  Awards: Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and Purple Heart
  Date of Death: August 10, 1944
  Interred at: Plot J Row 1 Grave 9, Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France
  http://www.abmc.gov/search-abmc-burials-and-memorializations/detail/WWII_74021

Note the mention of Fiske being a nephew of noted stage actress Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865-1932). Her real name was Mary/Marie Augusta Davey and her husband was theatrical producer Harrison Grey Fiske. In 1912, Adolph Zukor formed the Famous Players film company and signed various Broadway stars including John Barrymore and Minnie Maddern Fiske.
The Internet Broadway Database has many New York stage plays in which she performed, wrote, directed or produced: http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=7827
The Internet Movie Database lists her two films: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0279957/

Fiske was a cousin to Emily Stevens (1882-1928), another Broadway and film actress:
The Internet Broadway Database has a long list of her New York stage performances: http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=61046
The Internet Movie Database has her film credits: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828392/

If you read the IMDb biography on Emily Stevens, someone has mistakely identified her as the sister of actor Robert Kellard (1915-1981), who was sometimes credited as Robert Stevens. She was the sister of theatrical producer, director and actor Robert Stevens (1882-1963). That error also occurs in the IMDb biography of Minnie Maddern Fiske who is listed as the aunt of Robert Kellard.
Info on New York City and Rochester, New York theatrical producer, director and actor Robert Stevens (1882-1963): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stevens_%28theater_director%29

Above on Minnie Maddern Fiske and Emily Stevens is from the June, 1923 issue of Shadowland magazine which is available at the Internet Archive.