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John Ridgely was a versatile character actor who made over 100 films at Warner Brothers during the 1930s and 1940s. Starting out in bit roles in such films as Dark Victory (1939), They Died with Their Boots On (1941) and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941), Ridgely eventually graduated to larger roles in such classics as Howard Hawks' Air Force (1943), The Big Sleep (1946), Destination Tokyo (1943) and Possessed (1947). After his Warner Brothers tenure ended, he freelanced at other studios and made stage and TV appearances until his untimely passing in 1968 at age 58.

After his mother died at the age of only 17 he was raised by his father and an aunt, and later a stepmother.

He later went to New York, where he tried to break into showbiz.

He got his first break with Gus Edwards, working later as actor in several shows, among them "The Gingerbread Man" and "When Dreams Come True". During this show he met his first wife, Margaret Grae, with whom he formed up a successful vaudeville team. Although being asked several times to make movies (among them a request by Harold Lloyd), he stayed with vaudeville. In 1926 they divorced and his wife soon married another actor.

In 1927 he was signed by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. for his show "Rio Rita", where he was teamed with Robert Woolsey. They clicked and formed a comedy team that lasted until 1938 when Woolsey died. When Ziegfeld sold the screen rights of Rio Rita to the newly formed RKO studio as their official debut, they were the only actors in the cast who repeated their stage roles. Further more, a young actress named Dorothy Lee joined the team.

During the 1930s, while they made many comedies in Hollywood, Wheeler married and was divorced twice.

After Woolsey's death, he continued as a single, mostly on the stage, but sometimes also on the screen.

His last years were darkened with financial difficulties and failing health.

Furthermore, two weeks before his own death on January 18, 1968 his daughter Patricia died of cancer.

James Garde was born on 28 November 1923 in New York, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for This Man Dawson (1959), Lock Up (1959) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962). He died on 18 January 1968 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Gribouille was born on 17 July 1941 in Lyon, Rhône, France. She is known for Au risque de vous plaire (1966), Gribouille: Dieu, Julie! (1966) and En passant - Chansons im Vorübergehen (1963). She died on 18 January 1968 in Paris, France.

Karel Smid was born on 9 March 1897 in Prague, Cechy, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republik]. He was an actor, known for Ze vsech jediná (1938), Pocestné paní Pardubické (1944) and Paklíc (1944). He died on 18 January 1968 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].

Alfred Scher was born on 28 November 1900 in Zloczów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Zolochiv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine]. He was a composer, known for Jadzia (1936), American Adventure (1936) and Ksiazatko (1937). He died on 18 January 1968 in New York City, New York, USA.