Erik Rhodes

Acting

Erik Rhodes

Born February 10, 1906 · El Reno, Oklahoma Territory, USA

Died February 17, 1990 · aged 84

Erik Rhodes (born Ernest Sharpe; February 10, 1906 - February 17, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actor best remembered for his comedic performances as delightful hyperactive Italian gentlemen in the classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Hollywood musicals The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Top Hat (1935). With a good baritone voice, he was successful, both prior to and subsequent his …

Known For

The Gay DivorceeThe Gay Divorcee · 1934
The Gay Divorcee
6.91934
MovieComedyRomance
Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.
Mysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. Moto · 1938
Mysterious Mr. Moto
6.21938
MovieMysteryThriller
The Japanese detective rounds up a league of assassins for Scotland Yard.
Top HatTop Hat · 1935
Top Hat
7.31935
MovieMusicComedy
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.
Charlie Chan in ParisCharlie Chan in Paris · 1935
Charlie Chan in Paris
6.61935
MovieCrimeMystery
Charlie's visit to Paris, ostensibly a vacation, is really a mission to investigate a bond-forgery racket. But his agent, apache dancer Nardi is killed before she can tell him much. The case, complicated by a false murder accusation for banker's daughter Yvette, climaxes with a strange journey through the Paris sewers.
Beg, Borrow or StealBeg, Borrow or Steal · 1937
Beg, Borrow or Steal
6.01937
MovieComedyRomance
We find con-man Ingraham Steward living by his wits by steering wealthy Paris visitors to sellers of fake paintings and other assorted dodges. He and his wife, Agatha, have been separated for 15 years, but he promises to give their daughter, Joyce, a lavish wedding at his "château" in France. The fact that he doesn't have a château in France is just a minor trifle. He induces the caretaker, Bill Cherau, of a large country estate to allow it to be used for the wedding. The wedding party arrives and Bill falls madly in love with Joyce and she with him, but a gal has gotta do what a gal has gotta do, and her intended marriage to stuffed-shirt Horace Miller stays on the books. But Steward has a change of heart and he tells one and all that he and his friends, Von Gersdorff, Lefevre, Iznamof, Clifton Summitt and Sasch, are all frauds and crooks. Horace and his family stalk out, which is just fine with Joyce as her true love, the caretaker, is waiting on the grounds.
Dramatic SchoolDramatic School · 1938
Dramatic School
6.51938
MovieDramaRomance
Aspiring actress Louise Muban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at night. She daydreams and "acts" her way through life, and her fellow students at school begin to suspect her stories are just that - fabrications. After Louise begins to weave an actual meeting with a debonair playboy into a fantasy of club dates and romance, her classmate Nana discovers the lie when she too meets the playboy. Nana sets a trap for Louise, and the result is an end to one fantasy and the realization of another.
The Silver Screen: Color Me LavenderThe Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender · 1997
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
5.11997
MovieHistoryDocumentary
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
Fight for Your LadyFight for Your Lady · 1937
Fight for Your Lady
5.61937
MovieComedyMusic
Wrestling trainer puts himself in charge of a singer's love life when the singer is jilted by a rich girl.

Movies

The Gay DivorceeThe Gay Divorcee · 1934
The Gay Divorcee
6.91934
MovieComedyRomance
Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.
Mysterious Mr. MotoMysterious Mr. Moto · 1938
Mysterious Mr. Moto
6.21938
MovieMysteryThriller
The Japanese detective rounds up a league of assassins for Scotland Yard.
Top HatTop Hat · 1935
Top Hat
7.31935
MovieMusicComedy
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.
Charlie Chan in ParisCharlie Chan in Paris · 1935
Charlie Chan in Paris
6.61935
MovieCrimeMystery
Charlie's visit to Paris, ostensibly a vacation, is really a mission to investigate a bond-forgery racket. But his agent, apache dancer Nardi is killed before she can tell him much. The case, complicated by a false murder accusation for banker's daughter Yvette, climaxes with a strange journey through the Paris sewers.
Beg, Borrow or StealBeg, Borrow or Steal · 1937
Beg, Borrow or Steal
6.01937
MovieComedyRomance
We find con-man Ingraham Steward living by his wits by steering wealthy Paris visitors to sellers of fake paintings and other assorted dodges. He and his wife, Agatha, have been separated for 15 years, but he promises to give their daughter, Joyce, a lavish wedding at his "château" in France. The fact that he doesn't have a château in France is just a minor trifle. He induces the caretaker, Bill Cherau, of a large country estate to allow it to be used for the wedding. The wedding party arrives and Bill falls madly in love with Joyce and she with him, but a gal has gotta do what a gal has gotta do, and her intended marriage to stuffed-shirt Horace Miller stays on the books. But Steward has a change of heart and he tells one and all that he and his friends, Von Gersdorff, Lefevre, Iznamof, Clifton Summitt and Sasch, are all frauds and crooks. Horace and his family stalk out, which is just fine with Joyce as her true love, the caretaker, is waiting on the grounds.
Dramatic SchoolDramatic School · 1938
Dramatic School
6.51938
MovieDramaRomance
Aspiring actress Louise Muban attends the prestigious Paris School of Drama during the day and works at a dreary factory assembling gas meters at night. She daydreams and "acts" her way through life, and her fellow students at school begin to suspect her stories are just that - fabrications. After Louise begins to weave an actual meeting with a debonair playboy into a fantasy of club dates and romance, her classmate Nana discovers the lie when she too meets the playboy. Nana sets a trap for Louise, and the result is an end to one fantasy and the realization of another.
The Silver Screen: Color Me LavenderThe Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender · 1997
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
5.11997
MovieHistoryDocumentary
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
Fight for Your LadyFight for Your Lady · 1937
Fight for Your Lady
5.61937
MovieComedyMusic
Wrestling trainer puts himself in charge of a singer's love life when the singer is jilted by a rich girl.
Criminal LawyerCriminal Lawyer · 1937
Criminal Lawyer
6.51937
MovieActionRomance
Barry Brandon, a criminal lawyer, visits the night club of Denny Larkin, his primary client, with Betty Walker, a spoiled society girl. The police raid the club and Brandon pleads that the whole group is guilty, just to get even with Larkin for a rebuke. On the same night in court, Madge Carter is on trial for disorderly conduct, and Brandon volunteers to defend her, and proves the case against her if a frame-up. Finding that she is penniless, Brandon hires her as his secretary, and falls in love with her. Brandon is appointed district attorney and has ambitions of becoming the state governor. Having dinner at Betty's home, she maneuvers him, while he is drunk, into marrying her. Later, Madge is a witness when Larkin shoots down a fellow gangster. By threatening Brandon's life, he forces her to commit perjury at his trial, and say he fired in self-defense. Brandon, the prosecuting attorney (who has had his marriage to Betty annulled) knows she is lying but doesn't know why.
Two in the DarkTwo in the Dark · 1936
Two in the Dark
6.11936
MovieCrimeDrama
When Mr. X (Walter Able) wakes up in the city park with amnesia, bloody and apparently connected to a murder of a well-known producer. Fast talking Marie Smith (Margot Grahame) takes pity on him, they solve the case and discover his identity.
A Night at the RitzA Night at the Ritz · 1935
A Night at the Ritz
6.51935
MovieComedy
A PR man talks a swanky hotel into hiring his girlfriend's brother as chef.
Music for MadameMusic for Madame · 1937
Music for Madame
6.31937
MovieComedyRomance
An Italian immigrant singer, Nino, hoping to succeed in Hollywood, falls in with a gang of crooks who use his talent to distract everyone at a party while they steal the jewels.
Woman Chases ManWoman Chases Man · 1937
Woman Chases Man
5.91937
MovieComedyRomance
A pretty architect devises a wild scheme to convince a handsome millionaire to fund a new housing development project.
Meet the GirlsMeet the Girls · 1938
Meet the Girls
5.01938
MovieCrimeComedy
Entertainers lose their jobs and their fares from Honolulu back to San Francisco so they must become stowaways.
Old Man RhythmOld Man Rhythm · 1935
Old Man Rhythm
7.01935
MovieMusicComedy
Romantic rivalries between father and son enrolled at the same college.
The NitwitsThe Nitwits · 1935
The Nitwits
6.71935
MovieComedyMusic
A would-be songwriter and a would-be inventor run a cigar stand and get mixed up in the murder of a song publisher.
Another FaceAnother Face · 1935
Another Face
4.81935
MovieComedyDrama
The surgeon who did the job was dead. Only the nurse knew what this gangster looked like in his new face. He learned about women from her!
On Your ToesOn Your Toes · 1939
On Your Toes
4.51939
MovieComedy
A Russian dance company agrees to stage the new ballet written by a vaudeville hoofer.
Say It in FrenchSay It in French · 1938
Say It in French
7.51938
MovieComedy
An American golf pro falls in love with a woman while visiting France; before long they are married and in the US. Upon their arrival, they are dismayed to discover that the golfer's parents have arranged for him to marry a wealthy socialite so they can use her money to support their business....
Special InvestigatorSpecial Investigator · 1936
Special Investigator
5.41936
MovieCrimeDrama
A lawyer changes from defending public enemies to bringing them to justice after his brother is killed.
Second WifeSecond Wife · 1936
Second Wife
7.01936
MovieDrama
Kenneth discovers that his son by his first wife is ill in a remote Swiss village, and is forced to leave Wife Number Two alone during childbirth.
One Rainy AfternoonOne Rainy Afternoon · 1936
One Rainy Afternoon
5.01936
MovieComedy
Suave French actor Philippe Martin provokes a scandal when, in a darkened theater, he mistakes young Monique for his mistress, Yvonne, and tries to kiss her. Charged with assault, the quick-thinking Philippe claims it's French tradition to do as he did, and is let go. To his surprise, Philippe learns that Monique has paid his fine. As the tabloids exploit the situation, Monique dates Philippe, until a photo appears of him kissing Yvonne.
Smartest Girl in TownSmartest Girl in Town · 1936
Smartest Girl in Town
5.81936
MovieComedy
A girl in search of a rich husband mistakes a millionaire for a male model.
The Canary Comes AcrossThe Canary Comes Across · 1938
The Canary Comes Across
5.31938
MovieMusic
A prisoner with a good singing voice escapes, only to grow jealous when an opera singer who looks like him is delivered back to the prison and receives attention, especially from Ann, the warden's daughter who leads the prison glee club.

TV Shows

Perry MasonPerry Mason · 1957
Perry Mason
7.71957
SeriesMysteryDrama
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
Naked CityNaked City · 1958
Naked City
5.71958
SeriesDramaCrime
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
The Bob Hope ShowThe Bob Hope Show · 1950
The Bob Hope Show
7.01950
SeriesComedyFamily
The Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night block known as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (Sept. 1950 to Dec. 1955). Also known as, "The Chevy Show with Bob Hope." When the first special debuted in October of 1950 it was the most expensive television program made up to that point - costing an astronomical $1,500 a minute to produce. Bob Hope had his own television show and radio show at the same time. For the next three seasons, The Bob Hope Show was broadcast once a month on Tuesday nights, giving Milton Berle a week off. Bob ended his radio show in April, 1956. Bob Hope also had another show by a similar name, "The Bob Hope Show (All Star Revue)". In addition, he performed in "Specials" for many years. It is the longest running variety program in television's history with a record of 45 years of televised entertainment.