Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Charles Brown Middleton was born 7th October 1879. His father was a military man with a strong sense of discipline which conflicted with Charles' own outlook on how to live his life. At the age of twelve, he ran away to join a circus and looked after the elephants before moving into performing in dramatic vignettes between traditional acts. At eighteen, he formed his own stock company which toured the South, performing Shakespeare and self-penned melodramas. He worked his way onto the Vaudeville circuit, earning a reputation as a good actor which is how he met Stan Laurel. He appeared in some silent films in the 20's, but his career took off with sound as stage actors were in demand due to their vocal faculties. He had a very distinctive voice which marked him out from the competition. He appeared with three great film comedy teams: Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges. He was often cast as a 'heavy' and appeared in a lot of serials , including Dick Tracy, Batman, and Black Raven, but is probably best remembered as Ming the Merciless in three Flash Gordon serials of the 30's. He was never under contract, which allowed him to choose his own roles. However, a succession of unwise career choices led to less work in his later years, so for every good role there were some bad ones. In his final years, he took to the stage touring theatres, showing clips from his films and talking about his work. On 19th April 1949, he was admitted to hospital and had an operation for gangrene on his right foot. He died on the 22nd, the cause of death given as arteriosclerotic heart disease with which he'd been suffering from for 20 years.

Charles Middleton in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)

Publicity listings

Charles Middleton

Article

Contribute to this page

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed