Biography
Russell Gleason (February 6, 1908 – December 25, 1945) was an American actor who began his career at the very beginning of the talking film era. Born into an acting family, one of his earliest roles was in the 1930 classic film, All Quiet on the Western Front. While still in the middle of a successful acting career, Gleason joined the U.S. Army in late 1943, during World War II. While awaiting deployment to Europe in December 1945 in New York City, Gleason fell to his death from a hotel window....
Known For
Complete Filmography
Swing Fever
1943
as Sergeant (uncredited)
Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
Swing Shift Maisie
1943
as Inspector (Uncredited)
Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Bre...
Salute to the Marines
1943
as Pvt. Hanks
It is a comic book propaganda film which has Beery as a retired USMC NCO who, when the Japanese invade the Philippines, leads a heroic defense, first ...
Seeing Hands
1943
as Ben Helwig (uncredited)
This serious Pete Smith Specialty series entry encourages industry to hire people with disabilities to help with the war effort. As a boy, Ben Helwig ...
Fingers at the Window
1942
as Ogilvie
In Chicago, an unemployed actor aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of ax murders, apparently committed by a lunatic.
Dudes Are Pretty People
1942
as Brad Benton
Western comedy about a cowhand falling in love with the pretty guest at a local dude ranch.
Unexpected Uncle
1941
as Tommy Turner
An elderly gentleman comes to a young woman's aid by pretending to be her uncle. Comedy.
Earl of Puddlestone
1940
as Sidney Higgins
When Betty's father sees the condescending attitude displayed toward her by a rich family, he decides to get back at them by making them believe that ...
Grandpa Goes To Town
1940
as Sidney Higgins
Joe and Lil Higgins invest their life savings in a frontier hotel. Upon arrival, the family discovers that the establishment is smack dab in the middl...
Young as You Feel
1940
as Herbert Thompson
Father sells his drugstore and the Jones family heads for New York to enjoy sophisticated city life. They lose all their money before deciding to go b...
Money To Burn
1939
as Sidney Higgins
In this episode of the Higgins Family series, pandemonium ensues when Ma enters a dog biscuit contest. The prize is a whopping $50,000.
The Covered Trailer
1939
as Sidney Higgins
The Higgins family prepares for a long-awaited cruise to Rio, but while father Joe bids farewell to his co-workers at the bank, mother Lil unwittingly...
Here I Am a Stranger
1939
as Tom Sortwell
The story of a young man's discovery of his father.
Should Husbands Work?
1939
as Sidney Higgins
Joe Higgins' wife gets the job meant for him, so he stays home to do the housework. A Higgins Family comedy
News Is Made at Night
1939
as Albert Hockman
Newspaper editor (Foster) will do almost anything to increase circulation. He campaigns to free a condemned man while accusing a wealthy ex-criminal o...
My Wife's Relatives
1939
as Sidney Higgins
It all begins when Joe Higgins, business manager of a prosperous candy-manufacturing firm, is ordered by his pompous boss Ellis to break up the romanc...
Undercover Agent
1939
as Bill Trent
A railway postal clerk goes after a sweepstakes counterfeiting ring.
Everybody's Baby
1939
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones family encounters new theories of childrearing when an author arrives in town to lecture on the topic.
Down on the Farm
1938
as Herbert Thompson
Excitement runs high when a family's farm is chosen as the site for a big cornhusking contest.
Safety in Numbers
1938
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones family patriarch, also mayor, is swindled into thinking the town swamp is a rich mineral deposit.
A Trip to Paris
1938
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones Family heads to Gay Paree in celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary of Pa and Ma Jones. It doesn't take long for the Joneses to be vict...
The Higgins Family
1938
as Sidney Higgins
Pa Higgins' attempts at success in the advertising business are constantly frustrated by his eccentric family.
Love on a Budget
1938
as Herbert Thompson
This late entry in the popular "The Jones Family" series of '30s comedies has the family contending with a troublesome (and possibly crooked) uncle wh...
Borrowing Trouble
1937
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones family drugstore is robbed and it looks like the culprit is a boy the family has taken a liking to.
Sunday Night at the Trocadero
1937
as Russell Gleason
A series of vignettes with a loose plot. Featured are Frank Morgan, Groucho Marx, Frank McHugh, Robert Benchley and The Brian Sisters. Not bad, more i...
Hot Water
1937
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones family is in an uproar when Dad's campaign for mayor appears sabotaged by an anonymous newspaper article.
Big Business
1937
as Herbert Thompson
A small town drugstore owner (Jed Prouty) hopes to strike it rich by investing his savings in an oil well. Comedy.
Off to the Races
1937
as Herbert Thompson
The Jones family's uncle George enters his trotting horse in the fair grounds race. The family helps raise the entrance fee and care for the horse.
Fury Below
1936
as Jim Cole III
Jim Cole, heir to a mining operation, takes over the mine, which is suffering from unexplained low production, and is facing a strike by the miners. J...
A Tenderfoot Goes West
1936
as Wellington Pike
Wellington Pike, author of 'Wild and Bloody Tales of the West', has never been away from the sedate and civilized East, so he takes a vacation to see ...
Hitch Hike To Heaven
1936
as Daniel Delaney
A theatre actor makes the crossover to movies and becomes a star, but his new-found fame puts his family relationships at risk.
Condemned to Live
1935
as David
After a series of murders, a man finds out that his mother was bitten by a vampire bat during her pregnancy, and he believes that he may be the vampir...
Hot Tip
1935
as Ben Johnson
An amateur handicapper must help his future son-in-law recoup the money he lost while playing the ponies.
I Can't Escape
1934
as Tom Martin
An ex-convict, unable to get a good job because of his prison record, gets mixed up in a phony stock scam.
Private Jones
1933
as Williams
After America enters World War I, young William "Bill" Jones tries to avoid military service by telling the draft board that he is the sole supporter ...
Always Kickin'
1932
When Russel Gleason is thought to have made a kick by Jim Thorpe, he is reinstated on the college team in time for the big game.
Off His Base
1932
as Jerry Minor Smith
It begins with the Mustangs in trouble in their championship series... all the players are banged up and they're being clobbered. But a sports reporte...
The Strange Case of Clara Deane
1932
as Norman Ware
A young dress designer marries an insurance agent. They soon have a daughter, but what the wife doesn't know is that her husband is actually a crimina...
Nice Women
1931
as Bill Wells
A mother tries to get her daughter to marry for money, but the daughter wants to marry for love.
Homicide Squad
1931
as Joe Riley
The police use a gangster's son to get to him.
Beyond Victory
1931
as Bud
Four battle-weary American soldiers under fire reflect on the women they left behind.
Laugh and Get Rich
1931
as Larry Owens
An inept inventor and his stoic wife believe an oil well investment has paid off and that they've become wealthy overnight.
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930
as Mueller
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is dest...
Officer O'Brien
1930
as Johnny Dale
Bill O'Brien is promoted to lieutenant in the police department for his arrest of Mike Patello, gang leader and racketeer, for murder. Ruth Dale, who ...
Seven Faces
1929
as Georges Dufeyel
A 1929 American pre-Code drama film with fantasy elements that was released by Fox Film Corporation in the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system on Decem...
The Sophomore
1929
as Dutch
Joe Collins arrives at Hanford College to begin his second year with $200 to pay his tuition, is enticed into a craps game, and loses all in this nost...
The Flying Fool
1929
as Jimmy Taylor
A man protective of his brother checks out the girl his brother is in love with, in order to see if she's the real thing or just trying to take advant...
Strange Cargo
1929
as Hungerford
On board a yacht sailing from India to Britain, the owner of the vessel is murdered by one of the passengers. (This film was produced both in full sou...