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Chubby, gravelly-voiced American comic actor Charles Kemper learned his trade in vaudeville and minstrel shows. Kemper came to films as a short-subject headliner in 1929, working in the comedy output of Educational Studios at least until 1937. He then spent several seasons on stage and radio before returning to films in 1945 as a character actor. He is best remembered for his quietly chilling portrayal of outlaw leader Uncle Shilo Clegg in John Ford's Wagonmaster (1950). Charles Kemper was fifty years old when he died of injuries sustained in an auto crash; his last film, On Dangerous Ground (1951), was released posthumously.