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Jay C. Flippen

The grizzled face of character actor Jay C. Flippen was familiar to audiences of Hollywood's Golden Age as he appeared in more than 60 films in a career that spanned more than 40 years. With his bulldog jowls and arching eyebrows, he was often cast in roles as gruff or even villainous characters, yet Flippen's background was in comedy, having worked in vaudeville and minstrel shows before moving into radio and onto Broadway. He made his film debut in a largely forgotten comedy short called "Home Edition" in 1929, but it wasn't until the latter half of the '40s that his film career began to take off. In the 1950s, he appeared in nearly 40 films and successfully broke into television; he went on to make guest appearances on TV throughout his career. Flippen, a reliable supporting actor, appeared alongside legendary screen star James Stewart in eight films, many of which were westerns like the classic "Winchester '73." Yet Flippen took on a wide array of genres during his career, from the Stanley Kubrick film noir "The Killing," to the classic Marlon Brando motorcycle gang drama "The Wild One," to the western musical "Oklahoma!" In his later years, he suffered from illness but continued performing even after having a leg amputated. Flippen's career drew its final curtain in 1971, when the beloved character actor died of an aneurysm. He was survived by his wife of 25 years, screenwriter Ruth Brooks Flippen.