Walter Wilkinson(1916-1981)

Walter Charles Wilkinson was born on December 14, 1916 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the only son of C.J. Wilkinson and Dorothy Dorr Wilkinson. When he was a toddler the family moved to Los Angeles, California. Walter made his film debut in the 1920 drama The Forbidden Thing and was signed by Hal Roach's studio. He appeared in more than two dozen films including The Hick, The Secret Garden, and Desert Rider. Because of his long curly hair he often played the role of a girl. Meanwhile his mother Dorothy Dorr became a Mack Sennett bathing beauty and an actress. Walter retired from acting at the age of eleven. In 1940 he was working as a librarian in Los Angeles. He died on July 8, 1981 at the age of sixty-four.