George E. Stone (Gerschon Lichtenstein)
Photos with George E. Stone
Biography
Lódz, Poland, Russian Empire [now Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland]
A minor prototype of the "Runyon-esque" character for more than three decades, Polish-born actor George E. Stone (né George Stein) was in actuality a close friend of writer Damon Runyon and would play a host of colorful "dees, dem and dos" cronies throughout the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. With great names such as Johnnie the Shiek, Boots Burnett, Ice Box Hamilton, Wires Kagel, Ropes McGonigle, Society Max, and Toothpick Charlie, Stone delighted audiences in scores of crimers for decades. Read more... Rat in the silent drama 7th Heaven (1927) starring the once-popular romantic pair Charles Farrell and (Academy Award winner) Janet Gaynor. As "Georgie" sounded too child-like, he began billing himself as "George E. Stone." From there he was featured in a number of "tough guy" potboilers, particularly for Warner Bros. So typed was he as a henchman or thug, that he found few films outside the genre. His gunsels often possessed a yellow streak and could be both broadly comic or threatening in nature, with more than a few of them ending up on a morgue slab before film's end, including his Earl Williams on The Front Page (1931) and Otero in the classic gangster flick Little Caesar (1931). Stone's most popular role of the 1940s was as The Runt in the Boston Blackie film series which ran from 1941 to 1948 and starred Chester Morris. Suffering from failing eyesight in later years, he was virtually blind by the late 1950s but, thanks to friends, managed to secure sporadic film and TV work. From 1958 on, Stone could be glimpsed in a recurring role on the popular courtroom series Perry Mason (1957) as a court clerk. Married to second wife Marjorie Ramey in 1946, he died following a stroke in 1967 in Woodland Hills, California, and was survived by two sisters.
Actor

Character:
Sewer Rat
7th Heaven 1927
1

Character:
Blackie
Weary River 1929
5

Character:
Danny
Melody Lane 1929
6

Character:
Dippy
Skin Deep 1929
1

Character:
Shorty
Two Men and a Maid 1929
1

Character:
Pedro
Under a Texas Moon 1930
1

Character:
Otero
Little Caesar 1931
3

Character:
Earl Williams
The Front Page 1931
1

Character:
Ziggie Feinstein
Five Star Final 1931
3

Character:
Skeets
Taxi! 1932
4

Character:
The Cat
The Phantom of Crestwood 1932
1

Character:
Murtoch
Penthouse 1933
2

Character:
Andy Lee
42nd Street 1933
7

Character:
Emilio Chavito
Viva Villa! 1934
4

Character:
Tatum
The Dragon Murder Case 1934
1

Character:
Joe Lewis
Million Dollar Baby 1934
23

Character:
David 'Abe' Ruskin
Frontier Marshal 1934
1

Character:
Louie
Embarrassing Moments 1934
3

Character:
Benny
One Hour Late 1934
2

Character:
Wires Kagel
Bullets or Ballots 1936
1

Character:
Sancho
Anthony Adverse 1936
4

Character:
Kirk
A Slight Case of Murder 1938
11

Character:
Patsy
You and Me 1938
3

Character:
Johnny Pelang
North West Mounted Police 1940
1

Character:
Sid
I Take This Woman 1940
1

Character:
Indian
Road Show 1941
10

Character:
The Runt
After Midnight with Boston Blackie 1943
1

Character:
Pete
My Buddy 1944
3

Character:
Stage Manager
Doll Face 1945
6

Character:
Toy Hawker
Sentimental Journey 1946
2

Character:
Film Cutter
Dancing in the Dark 1949
7

Character:
Skeezer
A Girl in Every Port 1952
6

Character:
Ropes McGonigle
Bloodhounds of Broadway 1952
9

Character:
Willie - Police Desk Clerk
Pickup on South Street 1953
2

Character:
Impresario
Tonight We Sing 1953
3

Character:
Executive Reception Guest
Woman's World 1954
2

Character:
Little Boy's Father
3 Ring Circus 1954
3

Character:
Society Max
Guys and Dolls 1955
33

Character:
Sam Markette
The Man with the Golden Arm 1955
23

Character:
Mr. Hall - Bank Manager
Baby Face Nelson 1957
1

Character:
Books
Calypso Heat Wave 1957
15

Character:
Toothpick Charlie
Some Like It Hot 1959
44

Character:
New York Bar Gibson Girl Fan
Alias Jesse James 1959
3

Character:
Proprietor
Ocean's Eleven 1960
47

Character:
Blind Bookie
Bells Are Ringing 1960
15

Character:
Benito
Bat Wings 2014
0

Character:
Sol Levy
Cimarron 1931
0

Character:
Shimkey
Pocketful of Miracles 1961
18

Character:
Gracchus
The Robe 1953
0

Character:
Hotel Clerk
The Untouchables 1959
0

Character:
Fred
The Ford Television Theatre 1952
0

Character:
Big George
Adventures of Superman 1952
0

Character:
Slim
Some Came Running 1958
1

Character:
Angelo
The 20th Century-Fox Hour 1955
0

Character:
Paymaster
Broken Lance 1954
0

Character:
Mr. DeVinger
77 Sunset Strip 1958
0

Character:
Ben Moss
Private Secretary 1953
0