The Story of Jack Oakie

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Jack Oakie. 1903-1978.

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Blog Created: 7-3-2026

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Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, in radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Early life ~

Jack Oakie was born in Sedalia, Missouri, at 522 W. Seventh St. His father, James Madison Offield (1880–1939), was a grain dealer, and his mother, Evelyn Offield (nee Jump; 1868–1939), was a psychology teacher. When he was five, the Offield family moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, the source of his "Oakie" nickname. His adopted first name, Jack, was the name of the first character he played on stage. Young Lewis/Jack grew up mostly in Oklahoma but also lived for periods of time with his grandmother in Kansas City, Missouri. While there he attended Woodland Elementary and made spending money as a paperboy for The Kansas City Star. He recalled years later that he made especially good money selling "extras" in November 1916 during the presidential election campaign that resulted in Woodrow Wilson's re-election.

Early career ~

Oakie worked as a runner on Wall Street and narrowly escaped being killed in the Wall Street bombing of September 16, 1920. While in New York, he also started appearing in amateur theatre as a mimic and a comedian, finally making his professional debut on Broadway in 1923 as a chorus boy in a production of Little Nellie Kelly by George M. Cohan.

Jack with his mother, Evelyn.

Oakie worked in various musicals and comedies on Broadway from 1923 to 1927, when he moved to Hollywood to work in movies at the end of the silent film era. Oakie appeared in five silent films during 1927 and 1928. As the age of the "talkies" began, he signed with Paramount Pictures in 1927. He made his first talking film, The Dummy, in 1929.

Film career ~

When his contract with Paramount ended in 1934, Oakie decided to freelance. He was remarkably successful, appearing in 87 films, most made in the 1930s and 1940s. In the film Too Much Harmony (1933), the part of Oakie's on-screen mother was played by his real mother, Mary Evelyn Offield. During the 1930s, he was known as "The World's Oldest Freshman", as a result of appearing in numerous films with a collegiate theme. He was also known for refusing to wear screen make-up of any kind, and the frequent use of double-take in his comedy. Oakie was quoted as saying of his studio career:

"The pictures I made were called the bread and butter pictures of the studio. They cost nothing and made millions, and supported the prestige productions that cost millions and made nothing."

Oakie portrayed Benzino Napaloni, the boisterous dictator of Bacteria, in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This role was a broad parody of the fascist dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini, then in power.

Charlie Chaplin, Jack Oakie In ''The Great Dictator''. 1940.

Television and radio ~

Not being limited by a film studio contract, Oakie branched into radio and had his own radio show between 1936 and 1938.

Late in his career he appeared in various episodes of a number of television shows, including The Real McCoys (1963, three times as Uncle Rightly), Breaking Point (Episode #22 "A Child of the Center Ring", 1964), Daniel Boone (1966), and Bonanza (1966).

Personal life ~

Oakie was married twice. His first marriage to Venita Varden in 1936 ended in 1938 when Venita got an interlocutory decree of divorce. They reconciled, but finally divorced in 1944. She died in 1948 in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624 at Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania.

Venita Vardon Oakie.

Oakie's second marriage was in 1950, to actress Victoria Horne, with whom he lived at "Oakridge" until his death in 1978.

Victoria Horne.

Jack Oakie died on January 23, 1978, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 74 from an aortic aneurysm. His remains were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Los Angeles County.

Oakridge estate ~

Jack and Victoria Oakie lived their entire married life at "Oakridge", their 11-acre (4.5 ha) estate at 18650 Devonshire Street in Northridge, a suburb of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. They acquired the former "Marwyck" estate of actress Barbara Stanwyck in 1940. Stanwyck commissioned the original residence designed by Paul Williams. Oakie planted a citrus orchard and bred Afghan Hounds, at one time having up to 100 dogs on the property.

Oakridge Estate.

Victoria Oakie continued to live there after her husband's death and bequeathed the estate to the University of Southern California, which sold it to developers. After two failed attempts to develop the property, Oakridge was acquired by the City of Los Angeles in December 2009. Oakridge is considered to be one of the last remnants of the large Northridge equestrian estates, famed for former thoroughbred breeding. The city plans to use the property as a park and community event center. The Paul Williams house and the grounds are Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #484.

Legacy ~

In 1981, the "Jack Oakie Lecture on Comedy in Film" was established as an annual event of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the inaugural presentation, Oakie was described as "a master of comic timing and a beloved figure in the industry."

The Jack Oakie Endowed Chair in Comedy at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California was established in 2003.

Jack Oakie's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard, and his hand and footprints can be found at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Jack Oakie's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A small display celebrating the comedy and fame of Jack Oakie is at Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. There is also a display case of his personal effects, jewelry, etc. at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, California. There is a plaque in the ground in front of the home where he was born in Sedalia, Missouri.

Jack Oakie is mentioned in the Coen brothers film Barton Fink as the favorite actor of Charlie, a character played by John Goodman.

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circa 1936: Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978) the American comic actor who started his career in vaudeville and worked with Paramount Pictures. He is sitting on a platform on one of the sound stages. (Photo by Don English/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

Jack Oakie 1930.

Vanity Fair 1930.

Jack looking in mirror in his dressing room, c1935.

Jack at home, c1940.

Jack Oakie in front of souvenirs of his long show business career. The photo was taken in Jack's study or poker room at his home.

Publicity portrait of actor Evelyn Oakie (1868-1939) visiting her son, actor Jack Oakie (1903-1978) on the set of the film 'Sky Bride', 1932, United States. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images).

Venita Vardon Oakie. Jack's first wife.

Venita Vardon Oakie.

1940, Jack with Venita.

The film actor Jack Oakie and his wife are shown at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California, where they are attending the 13th Annual Academy Awards dinner on the night of February 27, 1941.

With Venita, March 7, 1942.

Victoria Horne. Jack's second wife.

Victoria Horne.

Jack with Victoria.

Commercial Real Estate agent Mark Perry, who represents USC, photographed in front of the late comedian Jack Oakie's estate in Northridge. The city is trying to buy it from a developer and save it as a landmark. (Photo by Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images).

Back view of the Oakridge Estate in Northridge, CA.

Pool at the Oakridge Estate.

(L-R) An unidentified man, June Gray, American actor Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978) and an unidentified man sit ringside during the World Heavyweight Title fight between Joe Louis and Billy Conn at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York, June 19, 1946. (Photo by Irving Haberman/IH Images/Getty Images).

Jack Oakie, Paulette Goddard, and Charles Chaplin, stars of the Chaplin-directed film "The Great Dictator" at the film's opening held at the Capitol Theatre in New York City, October 15, 1940.

LOS ANGELES,CA - CIRCA 1940: (C) Director Jack Oakie talks with an actress and actor Frank Morgan during an event in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by William Grimes/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images).

Publicity portrait of American actor Jack Oakie (1903-1978) (as 'Slip Riggs'), Norwegian actor and figure skater Sonja Henie (1912-1969) (as 'Katina Jonsdottir') and American actor John Payne (1912-1989) (as 'Capt. James Murfin') in the film 'Iceland', 1942, United States. (Photo by Twentieth Century-Fox/De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images).

Miss Bobs Hoagland and Jack Oakie at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Jack Oakie has a full growth of "Man Mountain Dean or Peter the Hermit" beard as he has just returned from location in the mountains in the state of Washington where the entire company was snowed in.

Hollywood, California: Jack Oakie who's topflight in the realm of the "Flying Wisecrack" is seen here in a race set-up for his companion of the photograph, Jesse Owens, star of the Ohio State Track Team.

Hollywood: The casket containing the body of actor Errol Flynn is carried from the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn after funeral services here today. Carrying the casket are (L-R) Mike Romanoff, Mickey Rooney, Jack Oakie, director Raoul Walsh, and "Big Boy" Williams. The sixth bearer can not be seen behind Williams and is not identified.

circa 1935: Toby Wing (1916 - 2001), Hollywood's prettiest chorus girl is standing to the immediate left of Jack Oakie.

Eleanore Whitney and Jack Oakie Sharing Ice Cream.

Ginger Rogers and Jack Oakie Roller Skating.

Jack Oakie with Florence Lake and Ginger Rogers at a polo match.

Mary Pickford Embracing Jack Oakie.

Shirley Temple with Jack Oakie.

When Joe Louis and Billy Conn fought in the Yankee Stadium June 19 for the heavyweight crown, film player Jack Oakie was there.

American actress Dixie Dunbar (1919 - 1991) plays switchboard operator Marie opposite actor Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978) in a scene from the film 'King of Burlesque', 1936. (Photo by Vintage Images/Getty Images).

Publicity still of American actor Jack Oakie (1903 Ð 1978) who stars as J. Paxton Miller in the 1961 film 'Lover Come Back'. (Photo by Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images).

American actor Jack Oakie (1902 - 1978, right), as 'Cyclone' Case, in a publicity still for A. Edward Sutherland's 1931 comedy, 'The Gang Buster'. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Film Favorites/Getty Images).

American actors Jack Oakie (1902 - 1978), as 'Cyclone' Case, and Jean Arthur (1900 - 1991) as Sylvia Martine, in a publicity still for A. Edward Sutherland's 1931 comedy, 'The Gang Buster'. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Film Favorites/Getty Images).

Alice in Wonderland' director, Norman McLeod, sits down with actors Jack Oakie and Roscoe Karns, who play Tweedledum and Tweedledee, respectively, to rehearse dialogue, Hollywood, California, early to mid 20th century. (Photo by Visual Studies Workshop/Getty Images).

A scene from the 1943 musical Hello, Frisco, Hello with actor Jack Oakie as Dan Daley (L) actress Alice Faye as Trudy Evans (C) and actor John Payne as Johnny Cornell (R). (Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images).

American actor Clark Gable (1901 - 1960) (left) embraces the reclined form of American actress Loretta Young (1913 - 2000) as American actor Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978) looks on in this still from the film 'The Call of the Wild' directed by William Wellman, 1935. (Photo by 20th Century Fox/Courtesy of Getty Images).

1931: American comic actor Jack Oakie (1903 - 1978), the stage name of Lewis D Offield, sitting astride a wooden hobby horse in a scene from 'Dude Ranch', directed by Frank Tuttle for Paramount. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

circa 1932: American leading lady Mary Brian sits with Skeets Gallagher as they watch Jack Oakie perform on the polo field for scenes in his first picture 'The Social Lion' for Paramount. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images).

1928: James Hall, Clara Bow (1905 - 1965) and Jack Oakie star in Paramount's 'The Fleet's In' directed by Malcolm St Clair.

1931. The Gang Buster.

1936.

1940_ Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) and Jack Oakie (1903-1978) star in the United Artists film 'The Great Dictator',

Charlie Chaplin, Jack Oakie In ''The Great Dictator''. 1940.

Cast from left_ Ruth Donnelly, Jack Oakie, Lucille Ball, Thurston Hall, James Burke, Bradley Page. (Photo by John Springe).

circa 1925_ Partygoers marooned on rafts in a scene from the film `Let's Go Native'.

Jack Oakie and Miriam Hopkins Dancing in Dancers in the Dark. 1932.

Jack Oakie prepares to play the part of baseball player Elmer Kane in Fast Company. (Photo by John Springer Collection).

Jack Oakie sitting at a table while Donald O'Connor and actress watch in a scene from the film 'The Merry Monahans', 1944.

Promotional portrait of actor Jack Oakie, as he appears in the movie 'Song of the Islands', September 7th 1942.

Unidentified accordion player talks to Jack Oakie sitting in tub of beer bottles in a scene.

With Tina Louise in The New Breed TV series, 1961.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - NOVEMBER 09: Actor Samm Levine, actor Gary Shandling, actor Bob Odenkirk, cinematographer Jack N. Green, and director/producer Judd Apatow attend the "Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film" at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 9, 2007 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by John Shearer/WireImage).