Theatre Register

Dooley Wilson

Shows · Dooley Wilson

Actor 1886–1953 On stage 1940–1944

Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film Casablanca. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song "As Time Goes By". Wilson was a drummer and singer who led his own band in the 1920s, touring nightclubs in London and Paris. In the 1930s he took up acting, playing supporting roles onstage on Broadway and in a series of modest films. His role in Casablanca was by far his most prominent, but his other films included My Favorite Blonde (1942) with Bob Hope, Stormy Weather (1943) with Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers, and the Western Passage West (1951).

On stage 3 productions, 4 years

1940 Cabin In The Sky Martin Beck Theatre · Original · directed by George Balanchine, Albert Lewis 156 perf.
1940 The Strangler Fig Lyceum Theatre · Original · directed by Frank Coletti 8 perf.
1944 Bloomer Girl Shubert Theatre · Original · directed by E. Y. Harburg, William Schorr 654 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

In the literature2 passages

  • Cast: Ethel Waters, Todd Duncan, Dooley Wilson, Katherine Dunham, Rex Ingram, J. Rosamond Johnsonebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Celeste Holm, David Brooks, Dooley Wilson, Joan McCracken, Richard Huey, Margaret Douglass, Mabel Taliaferro, Matt Briggs, Herbert Rossebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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