Charles Ruggles had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, lasting more than 60 years and encompassing more than 100 films. He made his film debut in 1914 in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) and worked steadily after that. He was memorably paired with Mary Boland in a series of comedies in the early 1930s, and was one of the standouts in the all-star comedy If I Had a Million (1932), as a harried, much-put-upon man who finally goes berserk in a china shop. Ruggles' slight stature and distinctive mannerisms - his fluttery, jumpy manner of speaking, his often befuddled look whenever events seemed about to overwhelm him, which was often - endeared him to generations of moviegoers. Memorable as Maj. Applegate the big-game hunter in the classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938). Many will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated cartoon The Bullwinkle Show (1961). He was the brother of director Wesley Ruggles.

Filmography

• 1967Carousel — The Starkeeper / Dr. Selden
• 1966Follow Me, Boys! — John Everett Hughes
• 1966The Ugly Dachshund — Dr. J. L. Pruitt
• Bewitched — Mr. Caldwell
• 1964I'd Rather Be Rich — Dr. Charles Crandall
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Governor Callahan
• Burke's Law — Mr. Gregory
• 1963Papa's Delicate Condition — Anthony Ghio
• 1963Son of Flubber — Judge Murdock
• Vacation Playhouse — Eli Harcourt
• 1961All in a Night's Work — Warren Kingsley Sr.
• 1961The Parent Trap — Charles McKendrick
• 1961The Pleasure of His Company — Mackenzie Savage
• Aesop and Son — Aesop (voice)
• The Andy Griffith Show — John Canfield
• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends — Aesop (voice)
• The Bullwinkle Show — Aesop (voice)
• 1956Eloise — Murphy
• The World of Mr. Sweeney — Cicero P. Sweeney
• 1953Ben and Me — Ben Franklin (voice)
• 1949Look for the Silver Lining — Caro "Pop" Miller
• 1949The Lovable Cheat — Claude Mercadet
• The Ruggles — Charles Ruggles
• 1948Give My Regards to Broadway — Toby Helper
• 1947It Happened on Fifth Avenue — Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor
• 1947My Brother Talks to Horses — Richard Pennington Roeder
• 1947Ramrod — Ben Dickason
• 1947The Perfect Marriage — Dale Williams, Sr.
• 1946A Stolen Life — Freddie Linley
• 1946Gallant Journey — Jim Montgomery
• 1945Bedside Manner — Dr. J.H. 'Doc' Fredericks
• 1945Incendiary Blonde — Cherokee Jim
• 19443 Is a Family — Sam Whitaker
• 1944Our Hearts Were Young and Gay — Mr. Otis Skinner
• 1944The Doughgirls — Stanley Slade
• 1944The Road to Victory — Mr. Ames (uncredited)
• 1944The Shining Future — Mr. Ames
• 1943Dixie Dugan — Pa Dugan
• 1942Friendly Enemies — Heinrich Block
• 1941Go West, Young Lady — Jim Pendergast
• 1941Honeymoon for Three — Harvey Wilson
• 1941Model Wife — Milo Everett
• 1941The Parson of Panamint — Chuckawalla Bill Redfield
• 1941The Perfect Snob — Dr. Edgar Mason (as Charlie Ruggles)
• 1940Maryland — Dick Piper
• 1940No Time for Comedy — Philo Swift
• 1940Opened by Mistake — Buzz Nelson
• 1940Public Deb No. 1 — Milburn
• 1940The Farmer's Daughter — Nicksie North
• 1940The Invisible Woman — George
• 1939Balalaika — Nicki Popoff
• 1939Boy Trouble — Homer C. Fitch
• 1939Invitation to Happiness — Henry 'Pop' Hardy
• 1939Night Work — Homer C. Fitch
• 1939Sudden Money — Sweeney J. Patterson
• 1938Breaking the Ice — Sam Terwilliger
• 1938Bringing Up Baby — Major Applegate
• 1938His Exciting Night — Adam Tripp
• 1938Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12 — Charles Ruggles
• 1938Service de Luxe — Robinson
• 1937Exclusive — Tod Swain
• 1937Turn Off the Moon — J. Elliott Dinwiddy
• 1936Anything Goes — Reverend Dr. Moon
• 1936Early to Bed — Chester Beatty
• 1936Hearts Divided — Henry
• 1936Hollywood Boulevard — Charles Ruggles - Actor - Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
• 1936Mind Your Own Business — Orville Shanks
• 1936Wives Never Know — Homer Bigelow
• 1936Yours for the Asking — Sunbather (uncredited)
• 1935No More Ladies — Edgar Holden
• 1935People Will Talk — Henry Wilton
• 1935Ruggles of Red Gap — Egbert Floud
• 1935The Big Broadcast of 1936 — Wilbur Sealingsworth
• 1934Friends of Mr. Sweeney — Asaph 'Ace' Holliday
• 1934Melody in Spring — Warren Blodgett
• 1934Murder in the Private Car — Godfrey D. Scott
• 1934Six of a Kind — J. Pinkham Whinney (as Charlie Ruggles)
• 1934The Pursuit of Happiness — Aaron Kirkland
• 1933Alice in Wonderland — March Hare
• 1933Girl Without a Room — Vergil Crock
• 1933Good-bye Love — Oswald Groggs
• 1933Mama Loves Papa — Wilbur Todd
• 1933Melody Cruise — Pete Wells
• 1933Murders in the Zoo — Peter Yates
• 1933Terror Aboard — Blackie Witherspoon
• 193270,000 Witnesses — Johnny Moran
• 1932Evenings for Sale — Bimpfl
• 1932If I Had a Million — Henry Peabody
• 1932Love Me Tonight — Viscount Gilbert de Varèze
• 1932Madame Butterfly — Lieutenant Barton
• 1932Make Me a Star — Charles Ruggles (uncredited)
• 1932One Hour with You — Adolph
• 1932The Night of June 13 — Philo Strawn (as Charlie Ruggles)
• 1932This Is the Night — Bunny West
• 1932This Reckless Age — Goliath Whitney (as Charlie Ruggles)
• 1932Trouble in Paradise — Major
• 1931Honor Among Lovers — Monty Dunn
• 1931Husband's Holiday — Clyde Saunders
• 1931The Beloved Bachelor — Jerry Wells
• 1931The Girl Habit — Charlie Floyd
• 1931The House That Shadows Built — (archive footage)
• 1931The Smiling Lieutenant — Max
• 1930Charley's Aunt — Fancourt Babberley
• 1930Her Wedding Night — Bertie Bird
• 1930Queen High — T. Boggs Johns
• 1930Roadhouse Nights — Willie Bindbugel
• 1930Young Man of Manhattan — Shorty Ross
• 1929Gentlemen of the Press — Charlie Haven
• 1929The Battle of Paris — Zizi
• 1929The Lady Lies — Charlie Tayler
• 1923The Heart Raider — Gaspard McMahon (an insurance clerk)
• 1915Peer Gynt — The Button Molder
• 1915The Majesty of the Law — Lawrence Evans
• 1915The Reform Candidate

Appearances as themselves (2)

• 1938Hollywood Handicap — Himself
• 1936The Preview Murder Mystery — Himself (Uncredited)