Here is one character actor who has done just about everything. One of the founding members of the Screen Actor's Guild and a one time board member of the Guild. He was a matinee idol in the thirties appearing with Ginger Rogers in "The Thirteenth Guest" (1932) and "Shriek in the Night" (1933). Turning to character roles in the forties Talbot was one of several greedy relatives in the Jack Haley spoof "One Body Too Many" (1944) as well as menacing singing cowboy Roy Rogers in "Song of Arizona" (1946).

Ed Wood fans will remember Talbot as a general in "Plan Nine from Outer Space" (1959) and being teemed with a pre-Hercules Steve Reeves as police detectives in "Jailbait" (1954). Talbot finished out his career in television, most notably as the next door neighbor on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet".

But for the serial aficionado it is villainous turns that we like. Although he was the title hero in "Chick Carter, Detective" (1946) and Commissioner Gordon in "Batman and Robin" (1949), the cliffhanger fan prefers to remember Talbot as enemy spy Rudolph Toller in "Mystery of the Riverboat" (1944), or gun smuggling subversive Barent from "Trader Tom of the China Seas" (1954).

This Air Force veteran and former Shiner's best serial role was in "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950). Wearing a rubber scalp to simulate baldness Talbot was the first actor to ever assay the role of Superman's most dangerous foe, Lex Luthor.