Victor Potel
Known for: Acting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in over 430 films in his 38-year career. Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and his acting career goes back almost to the beginning of the commercial film industry in the United States. He made his first silent film in 1910, a comedy short filmed in Chicago by Essanay Film Manufacturing Company called A Dog on Business. Potel continued to make films for Essanay, appearing in dozens of films every year, including most of the Broncho Billy series, and played a character called "Slippery Slim" in 80 movies. He also appeared in Universal Pictures' "Snakeville" series. Potel's first talking picture was Melody of Love, starring Walter Pidgeon, made for Universal in 1928. and in the sound era he continued to work continuously and constantly, playing small parts and sometimes uncredited bit parts, all primarily comic roles due to his height (6 ft 1 in or 1.85 m) and gawkiness. In addition to acting, on several occasions Potel also wrote and directed. In the 1920s he directed two silent shorts, The Rubber-Neck in 1924 and Action Craver in 1927, and contributed the story for Saxophobia in 1927. In the following decade, in the sound era, he was the dialogue director for The Big Chance (1933), and wrote the story for Inside Information in 1934). In 1935 he provided continuity and dialogue for Million Dollar Haul and the screenplay for Hot Off the Press. In the 1940s, Potel was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in nine films written and directed by Sturges. Potel continued to work right up until his death on 8 March 1947. The final film he worked on, Relentless finished filming on 28 February of that year.
Filmography
Film
The Lady Eve
Second Steward (uncredited)
1941
Film
Sullivan's Travels
Cameraman
1941
Film
Christmas in July
Davenola Salesman
1940
Film
Fury
Jorgeson (uncredited)
1936
Film
His Regeneration
Pawn Shop Clerk
1915
Film
The Palm Beach Story
Mr. McKeewie
1942
Film
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
Film
Young Tom Edison
Mr. Tompkins
1940
Film
Pot o' Gold
Olaf Svenson (uncredited)
1941
Film
Captain Swagger
Jean
1928
Film
Ruggles of Red Gap
Curly - Cowboy
1935
Film
Hail the Conquering Hero
Progressive Bandleader (uncredited)
1944
Film
The Egg and I
Crowbar
1947
Film
Partners
Deputy Lem
1932
Film
Contraband
George Bogardus
1925
Film
Flame of Barbary Coast
Train Fireman
1945
Film
The Great McGinty
Cook (uncredited)
1940
Film
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Newspaper Editor
1944
Film
Blondie Brings Up Baby
Lars (uncredited)
1939
Film
Three Godfathers
'Buck Tooth'
1936
Film
Mississippi
Guest (uncredited)
1935
Film
Li'l Abner
Fantastic Brown
1940
Film
Second Fiddle
Steve - Crane Operator
1939
Film
Sentimental Sophie
Slippery Slim
1915
Film
Alkali Ike Bests Broncho Billy
1912
Film
The Girl of the Golden West
Lem - Stagecoach Driver
1938
Film
Three Faces West
Postman
1940
Film
In Mizzoura
Dave
1919
Film
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
Prof. Potelle
1947
Film
Ten Cents a Dance
Smith, a Sailor
1931
Film
Refuge
Alphonse
1923
Film
Itching Palms
The Village Dumbbell
1923
Film
Hollywood Cavalcade
Slim
1939
Racing Romance
Constable
1926
Film
The Amateur Adventuress
Gregory Charles Sentel
1919
Film
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Suspect
1939
Film
God's Country and the Woman
Turpentine
1937
Film
Laughing at Trouble
Lem Parker
1936
Film
Stand Up and Fight
Coach Driver
1939
Film
Gun Play
Brawler (uncredited)
1935
Film
The Cowboy and the Bandit
Lanky
1935
Film
Frontier Days
Deputy Tex Hatch
1934
Film
The Squaw Man
Andy
1931
Film
The Adventures of Rex and Rinty
Kinso
1935
Film
Slightly Honorable
Gasoline Station Proprietor (Uncredited)
1939
Film
She Couldn't Take It
Farmer
1935
Film
Modern Matrimony
Junior Rutherford
1923
Down to the Sea
Andy
1936
Film
Waterfront Lady
Alex
1935
Film
Bob Hampton of Placer
Willie McNeil
1921
Film
The Bar-C Mystery
1926
Film
Yankee Fakir
Contest Chairman
1947
Film
Billions
Pushkin
1920
Film
Song of the Saddle
Little Casino
1936
Film
Western Frontier
Slim
1935
Film
The Great Moment
First Dental Patient
1944
Film
A Medal for Benny
Pantera Pepster Club Member (uncredited)
1945
Film
O'Malley of the Mounted
Gabby - the Cook
1936
Film
The Fighting Marines
Fake Native Chief [Ch. 12]
1935
Film
Paradise Island
Swede
1930
Film
Let Freedom Ring
Ole Swensen (uncredited)
1939
Film
King of the Wild
Peterson
1931
Film
Shipmates Forever
Loafer (uncredited)
1935
Film
The Last of the Clintons
Jed Clinton
1935
Film
Trail of the Vigilantes
Conductor
1940
Film
A Tailor-Made Man
Peter
1922
Film
The Virginian
Nebrasky
1929
Film
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
The General
1933
Film
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
1947
Film
Scandal Sheet
Reporter
1931
Film
The Villain Still Pursued Her
Policeman (uncredited)
1940
Film
Western Gold
Jasper
1937
Film
The Meanest Man in the World
Lute Boon
1923
Film
The Captain's Kid
Deputy Jake Hutchinson
1936
Film
Below the Line
'Cuckoo' Niles
1925
Film
Doughboys
Svendenburg
1930
Film
Quincy Adams Sawyer
Hiram Maxwell
1922
Film
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Ranch Hand
1939
Film
Man Hunt
Townsman Pointing Out Shefiff's Office (uncredited)
1936
Film
The Glass Alibi
Gas Attendant (as Vic Potel)
1946
Film
Face in the Sky
Ed Burns, Carnival Patron (uncredited)
1933
Film
Damaged Lives
Undetermined Role
1933
Film
The Lady from Cheyenne
Lem
1941
Film
Call of the West
Trig Peters
1930
Film
Small Town Boy
Abner Towner
1937
Film
The Virtuous Sin
Sentry
1930
Film
Adventure's End
Tall Sailor (uncredited)
1937
Film
The Man in the Trunk
Deaf Floor Man (uncredited)
1942
Film
Chip of the Flying U
Station Agent
1939
Film
The Bad One
Sailor
1930
Film
The Good Fellows
Branders (uncredited)
1943
Film
The Law Forbids
Joel Andrews
1924
Film
A Lost Lady
Ivy Peters
1924
Film
Yellow Dust
Jugger - the Bartender
1936
Film
Twisted Rails
Tom Watson
1934
Film
On the Great White Trail
Lyons
1938
Just a Few Little Things
Archie
1916
Film
A Romance of the Hills
1913
Film
Moonlight on the Prairie
Tall Saloon Cowboy
1935
Film
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Man in Store
1939
Film
Rhythm Round-Up
Slim Jensen
1945
Film
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
Steve
1938
The Two Reformations
1911
Film
Reno
Detective McRae
1923
Film
Alkali Ike's Pants
1912
Film
The Bachelor's Burglar
1915
Film
Girl from God's Country
Barber
1940
A Self-Made Failure
Pokey Jones
1924
Film
Ride on Vaquero
Ole
1941
Film
Strange Illusion
Mac
1945
Film
Sophie Finds a Hero
Slippery Slim
1914
The Loafer
1912
Film
Border Romance
Slim
1929
Film
Lavender and Old Lace
Joe Pendleton
1921
Film
Sophie Gets Stung
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
White Bondage
Luke Stacey
1937
Film
A Gamblers' Way
The Bartender
1914
Selling Shorts
Slim Bassil
1931
Broncho Billy Steps In
1915
Film
The Drunkard
Farmer Gates
1935
Film
Who's Your Father?
Comedy Role
1918
Film
The Wooing of Sophie
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Mary's Ankle
Johnny Stokes
1920
Film
Alkali Ike Stung!
1912
Film
Inside Information
Rice - Thin Detective
1934
Film
Whispering Smith Speaks
Bill Prouty
1935
Film
Pie for Sophie
Snicklefritz
1914
Film
Sophie Pulls a Good One
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Sophie's Hero
Slippery Slim
1913
Film
Water, Water, Everywhere
Steve Brainard
1920
Film
Wagon Wheels West
Posse Rider (uncredited)
1943
Film
Alkali Ike's Auto
1911
Film
The Loaded Door
Slim
1922
Broncho Billy's Sermon
The Sheriff
1914
Patricia of the Plains
1910
Film
Forward, March!
1930
Film
A Child of the West
1912
Film
The Lodge in the Wilderness
Goofus
1926
Film
Slippery Slim and the Impersonator
Slippery Slim
1914
Morganson's Finish
Ole Jensen
1926
Film
Sophie and the Man of Her Choice
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
A Night on the Road
Sheriff's Assistant
1914
Film
Thunder Over Texas
Dick
1934
Film
Broncho Billy's Leap
1914
Alkali Ike's Homecoming
Slippery Slim
1913
An Indian Sunbeam
A Cowboy
1912
Sophie's Sweetheart
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Snakeville's New Doctor
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Broncho Billy, a Friend in Need
1914
Film
Broncho Billy's Squareness
1913
The Prospector's Legacy
1912
The Broken Coin
1936
Film
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1919
Film
The Heart of a Child
Charley Peastone
1920
A Cowboy's Vindication
1910
Film
Sophie's Home-Coming
Slippery Slim
1915
Film
The Snakeville Volunteer
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Sophie's New Foreman
Slippery Slim
1913
Film
Broncho Billy for Sheriff
1912
Film
Broncho Billy Reforms
A Thief
1913
Film
Slippery Slim -- Diplomat
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Snakeville's Rising Sons
Slippery Slim
1914
The Sheriff's Chum
1911
Film
What Came to Bar Q
Bartender
1914
Film
Snakeville's Reform Wave
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Broncho Billy's Narrow Escape
1912
The Border Ranger
1911
Film
Two Gun Law
Cassius
1937
Film
Ingomar of the Hills
1915
Film
Big Boy Rides Again
Ranch Foreman Scarface
1935
Film
Snakeville's Blind Pig
Slippery Slim
1914
The Two Fugitives
1911
Film
Broncho Billy's Mexican Wife
1912
Film
Slippery Slim, The Mortgage and Sophie
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Broncho Billy Rewarded
The Hotel Proprietor
1914
Film
Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner
1911
Film
Step on It!
Noisy Johnson
1922
Film
Snakeville's New Waitress
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Captain Kidd, Jr.
Constable Sam
1919
Widow Jenkins' Admirers
1912
Film
Versus Sledge Hammers
The Count
1915
Film
The Three Gamblers
1913
Broncho Billy's Wild Ride
1914
Film
A Westerner's Way
1910
The Bearded Bandit
1910
The Sheik of Hollywood
1923
Film
Ten Days
1925
Film
Broncho Billy's Adventure
Cowboy
1911
Film
Sophie's Fatal Wedding
Slippery Slim
1914
The Marriage Bargain
Jeff Thompson
1935
Film
The Last Laugh
1913
What Darwin Missed
Professor Alonzo Bozzle
1916
Film
Broncho Billy's Promise
1912
Film
Down the Wyoming Trail
Slim
1939
Film
Slim the Brave and Sophie the Fair
Slippery Slim
1915
Uneasy Payments
Press Agent
1927
Film
Broncho Billy and the Sheriff's Kid
Jailer
1913
Film
Melody of Love
The Gawk
1928
Film
A Horse on Sophie
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Broncho Billy and the Schoolmistress
1912
The Tout's Remembrance
1910
Film
Town Hall, Tonight
The Tall Schultz Brother
1911
Film
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come
Tom Turner
1928
A Hungry Pair
Skinny
1911
Film
Broncho Billy and the Western Girls
Outlaw
1913
The Accusation of Broncho Billy
1913
Film
A Story of Montana
1912
Film
Sophie Starts Something
Slippery Slim
1914
Baseball Madness
1917
The Count and the Cowboys
The Count
1911
Film
Broncho Billy and the Mine Shark
The Hotel Clerk
1914
Broncho Billy's Gun Play
1913
Film
Broncho Billy and the Vigilante
A Cattle Owner
1915
Broncho Billy Wins Out
The School Trustee
1914
Film
Snakeville and the Corset Demonstrator
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Broncho Billy-Guardian
1914
Along Came Ruth
Oscar Sims
1924
Film
One a Minute
Jingo Pitts
1921
Film
A Petal on the Current
1919
Film
The Corporation and the Ranch Girl
1911
Broncho Billy and the Land Grabber
1915
Film
At the Sign of the Jack'O Lantern
The Poet
1922
Film
The Good-for-Nothing
Old Clerk
1914
Film
When Slippery Slim Bought the Cheese
Slippery Slim
1915
Film
Broncho Billy's Gratefulness
Dr. Huff
1913
Broncho Billy and the Card Sharp
1915
Film
Across the Plains
1911
The Puncher's New Love
1911
Broncho Billy's Oath
1913
The Silent Message
1910
Film
What Price Beauty?
1928
Film
Broncho Billy and the Bad Man
The Storekeeper
1914
Film
The Tomboy on Bar Z
1912
Film
The Battle of Snakeville
Slippery Slim
1915
The Revenue Agent
The Minister
1915
Film
An Indian's Friendship
1912
Film
Broncho Billy and the Sisters
The Minister
1915
The Bad Man's Christmas Gift
1910
Film
When Slippery Slim Went for the Eggs
Slippery Slim
1915
Film
That Pair from Thespia
Second Actor
1913
The Tenderfoot Foreman
1912
Film
Alkali Ike and the Hypnotist
Slippery Slim
1913
Film
Slippery Slim Gets Cured
Slippery Slim
1914
The Infant at Snakeville
1911
Film
The Making of Broncho Billy
1913
Film
The Strike at the Little Jonny Mine
1911
Film
Why Broncho Billy Left Bear County
The Druggist
1913
On the Cactus Trail
1912
The Ranch Girl's Mistake
1912
Broncho Billy and the Squatter's Daughter
1913
A Cowboy's Mother-in-Law
1910
Film
A Snakeville Courtship
Slippery Slim
1913
Film
When Slippery Slim Met the Champion
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Slippery Slim Gets Square
Slippery Slim
1914
The Forester's Plea
1911
The Bad Man's Downfall
1911
Alkali Ike's Close Shave
Slippery Slim
1912
The Oath of His Office
1912
Film
Broncho Billy and the Sheriff's Office
1914
The Indian Maiden's Lesson
1911
Hank and Lank: Joyriding
Lank
1910
Film
Alkali Ike's Misfortunes
Slippery Slim
1913
The Tenderfoot Messenger
1910
The Biter Bitten
1912
Film
Full of Pep
Beanpole
1919
Hank and Lank: They Dude Up Some
Lank
1910
Hank and Lank: They Get Wise to a New Scheme
Lank
1910
Film
Broncho Billy's Pal
1912
The Bunco Game at Lizardhead
1911
Hank and Lank: As Sandwich Men
Lank
1910
Hank and Lank: Lifesavers
Lank
1910
Hank and Lank: Blind Men
Lank
1910
A Dog on Business
1910
Film
Hearts and Saddles
1917
Broncho Billy, the Vagabond
1914
Film
Snakeville's Peace-Maker
Slippery Slim
1914
Film
Alkali Ike and the Wildman
Slippery Slim
1913
Circle C Ranch's Wedding Present
1910
Film
Alkali Ike Plays the Devil
1912
Film
Broncho Billy and the Red Man
1914
Film
Broncho Bill's Last Spree
Slippery Slim
1911
Hank and Lank: They Make a Mash
Lank
1911
Film
Broncho Billy's First Arrest
1913
Hank and Lank: Uninvited Guests
Lank
1910