Actor. He was best known for playing the character roles of criminals, professors, waiters, clerks, church organists, medical students, speakeasy patrons, tailors, hotel clerks, airport clerks, mystery men, press agents, actors, card players, druggists, spectators, reporters, stage hands, customers, photographers, busboys, floor managers, delegates, miners, prison visitors, gamblers, taxi drivers, jokers, attendants, convicts, military policemen, sign painters, contract men, bank cashiers, linemen, store employees, arrangers, pedestrians, delivery men, photo archivists, dinner guests, fight patrons, partygoers, bidders, stewards, witnesses, racetrack ushers, school alumni members, singers, bystanders, stage managers, film crewmen, ticket seller, prison barbers, newspaper office workers, pals, jurors, officials, police stenographers, croupiers, autograph hounds, lumberjacks, wedding guests, ship officers, passengers, elevator operators, gamblers, attorneys, train passengers, football fans, balloon salesmen, janitors, tax collectors, tourists, city workers, boarders, audience members, baggage men, bartenders, casino patrons, hairdressers, baseball fans, husbands, hecklers, hotel tenants, carpenters, parole board clerks, and townsmen, but they were usually uncredited. He will be best remembered for playing the role of the 'Elevator Operator' in the classic horror film, "House Of Wax" (1953). The film which was directed by Andre De Toth, which was based on a story by Charles Belden, which was written for the screen by Crane Wilbur, and which also starred Vincent Price, Carolyn Jones, Phyllis Kirk, Frank Lovejoy, Paul Cavanagh, Charles Bronson, Angela Clarke, Dabbs Greer, and Paul Picerni, tells the story of an associate who burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous. He was born as Benjamin Jacob Wise to Bernard Wise and his wife Sarah Sleifer Wise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 2, 1888. He was educated locally, began his career, working in theater, and was drafted during World War I, but he never served. He made his actual film debut playing the role of 'Graveyard Lazardi' in the film drama, "The Lawful Cheater" (1925). The film which was directed by and written for the screen by Frank O'Connor, which was written for the screen by Adele Buffington, and which also starred Clara Bow, David Kirby, Raymond McKee, Edward Hearn, John T. Prince, Gertrude Pedlar, Gilbert Roland, Fred Kelsey, David Kirby, and George Cooper. Besides, playing the role of 'Graveyard Lazardi' in the film drama, "The Lawful Cheater" (1925), and playing the 'Elevator Operator' in the classic horror film, "House Of Wax" (1953), his many other film credits include, "There He Goes" (1928), "Smilin' Guns" (1929), "In The Headlines" (1929), "Numbered Men" (1930), "The Doorway To Hell" (1930), "Five Star Final" (1931), "Bad Company" (1931), "Two Against The World" (1932), "Life Begins" (1932), "Big City Blues" (1932), "I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang" (1932), "The Death Kiss" (1932), "Hard To Handle" (1933), "Central Airport" (1933), "Gold Diggers Of 1933" (1933), "Bureau Of Missing Persons" (1933), "The Meanest Gal In Town" (1934), "Hi, Nellie" (1934), "Smarty" (1934), "The Circus Clown" (1934), "Dames" (1934), "The Case Of The Howling Dog" (1934), "I Sell Anything" (1934), "The Secret Bride" (1934), "Sweet Adeline" (1934), "Bordertown" (1935), "Red Hot Tires" (1935), "A Night At The Ritz" (1935), "While The Patient Slept" (1935), "Gold Diggers Of 1935), "Traveling Saleslady" (1935), "Black Fury" (1935), "Dinky" (1935), "Front Page Woman" (1935), "Don't Bet On Blondes" (1935), "Bright Lights" (1935), "We're In The Money" (1935), "The Case Of The Lucky Legs" (1935), "Broadway Hostess" (1935), "Freshman Love" (1935), "Road Gang" (1936), "Mr. Deed Goes To Town" (1936), "Sons o' Guns" (1936), "Bullets Or Ballots" (1936), "The Big Noise" (1936), "Jailbreak" (1936), "Hot Money" (1936), "Satan Met A Lady" (1936), "Earthworm Tractors" (1936), "Love Begins At 20" (1936), "Guns Of The Pecos" (1936), "Down The Stretch" (1936), "Here Comes Carter" (1936), "The Captain's Kid" (1936), "King Of Hockey" (1936), "Sing Me A Love Song" (1936), "Smart Blonde" (1937), "Melody For Two" (1937), "Midnight Court" (1937), "Ready, Willing And Able" (1937), "San Quentin" (1937), "The Case Of The Stuttering Bishop" (1937), "White Bondage" (1937), "Fly Away Baby" (1937), "Ever Since Eve" (1937), "Marry The Girl" (1937), "Talent Scout" (1937), "Confession" (1937), "Back In Circulation" (1937), "Wine, Women And Horses" (1937), "The Kid Comes Back" (1937), "Love Is On The Air" (1937), "The Adventurous Blonde" (1937), "Missing Witnesses" (1937), "A Slight Case Of Murder" (1938), "Over The Wall" (1938), "Love, Honor And Behave" (1938), "He Couldn't Say No" (1938), "Accidents Will Happen" (1938), "Torchy Blane In Panama" (1938), "Penrod's Double Trouble" (1938), "Little Miss Thoroughbred" (1938), "When Were You Born?" (1938), "My Bill" (1938), "Cowboy From Brooklyn" (1938), "Racket Busters" (1938), "Secrets Of An Actress" (1938), "Campus Cinderella" (1938), "Garden Of The Moon" (1938), "The Sisters" (1938), "Torchy Gets Her Man" (1938), "Comet Over Broadway" (1938), "Swingtime In The Movies" (1938), "They Made Me A Criminal" (1939), "Blackwell's Island" (1939), "Torchy Blane In Chinatown" (1939), "Nancy Drew...Reporter" (1939), "Secret Service Of The Air" (1939), "The Adventures Of Jane Arden" (1939), "On Trial" (1939), "The Man Who Dared" (1939), "Women In The Wind" (1939), "Torchy Runs For Mayor" (1939), "The Kid From Kokomo" (1939), "Code Of The Secret Service" (1939), "Nancy Drew...Trouble Shooter" (1939), "Hell's Kitchen" (1939), "Indianapolis Speedway" (1939), "Each Dawn I Die" (1939), "Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase" (1939), "Slapsie Maxie's" (1939), "On Your Toes" (1939), "Smashing The Money Ring" (1939), "Private Detective" (1939), "Calling Philo Vance" (1940), "Alice In Movieland" (1940), "3 Cheers For The Irish" (1940), "Alex In Wonderland" (1940), "King Of The Lumberjacks" (1940), "'Til We Meet Again" (1940), "Saturday's Children" (1940), "Flight Angels" (1940), "A Fugitive From Justice" (1940), "Gambling On The High Seas" (1940), "They Drive By Night" (1940), "River's End" (1940), "Money And The Woman" (1940), "Service With The Colors" (1940), "No Time For Comedy" (1940), "Knute Rockne All American" (1940), "She Couldn't Say No" (1940), "The Great Mr. Nobody" (1941), "Meet John Doe" (1941), "Knockout" (1941), "A Shot In The Dark" (1941), "Strange Alibi" (1941), "The Wagosn Roll At Night" (1941), "Thieves Fall Out" (1941), "Million Dollar Baby" (1941), "Out Of The Fog" (1941), "Bad Men Of Missouri" (1941), "Highway West" (1941), "Nine Live Are Not Enough" (1941), "Bullet Scars" (1942), "Murder In The Big House" (1942), "Larceny, Inc" (1942), "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), "Escape From Crime" (1945), "You Can't Escape Forever" (1942), "Gentleman Jim" (1942), "Casablanca" (1942), "Vaudeville Days" (1942), "The Hard Way" (1943), "Action In The North Atlantic" (1943), "Old Acquaintance" (1943), "Crime By Night" (1944), "The Conspirators" (1944), "Hollywood Canteen" (1944), "The Spanish Main" (1945), "Nobody Lives Forever" (1946), "So You Want To Keep Your Hair" (1946), "The Man I Love" (1946), "Nora Prentiss" (1947), "That Way With Women" (1947), "So You Want To Be In Pictures" (1947), "Always Together" (1947), "April Showers" (1948), "Whiplash" (1948), "Flaxy Martin" (1948), "A Kiss In The Dark" (1948), "Homicide" (1949), "The Younger Brothers" (1949), "Night Unto Night" (1949), "It's A Great Feeling" (1949), "The House Across The Street" (1949), "The Story Of Seabiscuit" (1949), "Perfect Strangers" (1950), "Storm Warning" (1950), "The Screen Director" (1951), "Inside The Walls Of Folsom Prison" (1951), "She's Working Her Way Through College" (1952), and "Phantom Of The Rue Morgue" (1954). His last role was playing 'Joe's Supervisor' in the comedy short film, "So You Want To Be A Banker?" (1954). The film which was directed by and written for the screen by Richard L. Bare, which was based on a story by Frederick Louis Fox, and which also starred Ralph Brooks, Jack Mower, Alvy Moore, Donald Kerr, Forbes Murray, George O'Hanlon, Steve Carruthers, and Carl M. Leviness, tells the story of Joe McDoakes who graduates from Potash University and gets a job in a bank which is run by former classmate named Harrington Arrington Farrington Jr. Joe McDoakes struggles with his menial tasks for years and eventually learns enough to embezzle $1,000,000 and take over the bank. In his later life, he suffered from many different ailments including arteriosclerosis and diabetes, and passed away from a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, on March 7, 1954, at the age of 66. Following his death, his funeral services were held through Groman Mortuary in Los Angeles, California, and he was buried in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California. He was married to Nellie E. "Nell" Borden Harding Wise (1887-1964), in San Joaquin, California, on May 25, 1917, but the couple later divorced. The couple had no children together.