Arthur Lake (born Arthur Silverlake Jr., April 17, 1905 â€" January 9,
1987) was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead,
the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio, and
television.Lake was born in 1905, when his father and uncle were
touring with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying
Silverlakes". His mother, Edith Goodwin, was an actress. His parents
later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling
throughout the South and Southwest United States. Arthur first
appeared on stage as a baby in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and his sister,
Florence, and he became part of the act in 1910. Their mother brought
the children to Hollywood to get into films, and Arthur made his
screen debut in the silent Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). Florence
became a successful actress, achieving a degree of fame as one of the
screen wives of comedian Edgar Kennedy.Universal Pictures signed him
to a contract, where he acted in Westerns as an adolescent character
actor. Shortly after the formation of RKO Pictures in 1928, he signed
with that studio, where he made Dance Hall (1929) and Cheer Up and
Smile (1930).Moviegoers first heard Lake speak when he appeared as
Harold Astor, the young male lead of a musical comedy in danger of
folding, in the 1929 production On with the Show!. The picture is
notable as the first all-talking feature film (using the Vitaphone
process) and Warner Bros.' first all-color film (shot in two-strip
Technicolor). In the early sound film era, he typically played light
romantic roles, usually with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them, in
films such as Indiscreet (1931), which starred Gloria Swanson. He also
had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film Topper.
1987) was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead,
the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio, and
television.Lake was born in 1905, when his father and uncle were
touring with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying
Silverlakes". His mother, Edith Goodwin, was an actress. His parents
later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling
throughout the South and Southwest United States. Arthur first
appeared on stage as a baby in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and his sister,
Florence, and he became part of the act in 1910. Their mother brought
the children to Hollywood to get into films, and Arthur made his
screen debut in the silent Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). Florence
became a successful actress, achieving a degree of fame as one of the
screen wives of comedian Edgar Kennedy.Universal Pictures signed him
to a contract, where he acted in Westerns as an adolescent character
actor. Shortly after the formation of RKO Pictures in 1928, he signed
with that studio, where he made Dance Hall (1929) and Cheer Up and
Smile (1930).Moviegoers first heard Lake speak when he appeared as
Harold Astor, the young male lead of a musical comedy in danger of
folding, in the 1929 production On with the Show!. The picture is
notable as the first all-talking feature film (using the Vitaphone
process) and Warner Bros.' first all-color film (shot in two-strip
Technicolor). In the early sound film era, he typically played light
romantic roles, usually with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them, in
films such as Indiscreet (1931), which starred Gloria Swanson. He also
had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film Topper.
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