Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor and singer, who is best remembered as the piano-player and singer Sam who sings "As Time Goes By" at the request of Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) in Casablanca (1942).Wilson was a drummer and singer who led his own band in the 1920s, touring nightclubs in London and Paris. In the 1930s he took up acting, playing supporting roles onstage on Broadway and in a series of modest films. His role in Casablanca was by far his most prominent, but his other films included My Favorite Blonde (1942) with Bob Hope, Stormy Weather (1943) with Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers, and the western Passage West (1951).
There is a line often misquoted from Casablanca (1942). In a scene where Rick (Bogart) sits in the darkened nightclub, alone except for Dooley's piano-playing Sam, he is seen drinking and tormenting himself by insisting that Sam repeatedly play "As Time Goes By," saying, "You played it for her, you can play it for me... If she can stand it, I can! Play it!" Bogart's line is often misquoted as, "Play it again, Sam!"
2
Dooley's piano playing in the film was actually performed by pianist/composer/songwriter Elliot Carpenter, who was placed where Wilson could see and imitate his hand movements. The only black talent on the Casablanca (1942) set, Wilson and Carpenter became and remained friends.
3
Dooley won the role of Sam over top contender Clarence Muse who later played Sam in a 1950s TV adaptation of "Casablanca."
4
Though Wilson received only $350 per week for Casablanca (1942), the cost Paramount imposed on Warner Bros. for the loanout resulted in Wilson being the most expensive of Casablanca's supporting cast.
5
Was on the board of directors of the Negro Actors Guild of America.
6
Did not know how to play the piano. In Casablanca, the piano was empty and the music came from a pianist located behind the camera.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Passage West
1951
Rainbow
Beulah
1951
TV Series
Bill Jackson
Father Is a Bachelor
1950
Blue (uncredited)
No Man of Her Own
1950
Waiter on Train (uncredited)
Tell It to the Judge
1949
Pullman Porter (uncredited)
Free for All
1949
Aristotle
Come to the Stable
1949
Anthony James
Knock on Any Door
1949
Piano Player (uncredited)
Racing Luck
1948
Abe
Triple Threat
1948
Porter (uncredited)
Seven Days Ashore
1944
Jason
Higher and Higher
1943
Oscar
Stormy Weather
1943
Gabe Tucker
Two Tickets to London
1943
Accordionist
Casablanca
1942
Sam
Cairo
1942
Hector
Night in New Orleans
1942
Shadrach Jones
Take a Letter, Darling
1942
Moses
My Favorite Blonde
1942
Porter
Keep Punching
1939
Baron Skinner (as Arthur 'Dooley' Wilson)
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Begin Again
2013/II
performer: "As Time Goes By"
Woody Allen: A Documentary
2012
Documentary performer: "As Time Goes By"
The Sopranos
2006
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Monkey Dust
2003
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Whatever It Takes
2000
performer: "As Time Goes By"
Siskel & Ebert
1999
TV Series performer - 1 episode
T.V. Kaiser
1999
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Bogart: The Untold Story
1996
TV Movie documentary performer: "As Time Goes By" 1931 - uncredited
Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros.
1991
TV Movie documentary performer: "As Time Goes By" - uncredited
Precious Images
1986
Documentary short performer: "As Time Goes By"
The Beiderbecke Affair
1985
TV Mini-Series performer - 1 episode
Likely Stories, Vol. 3
1983
TV Series performer: "As Time Goes By"
Top of the Pops
1977
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Play It Again, Sam
1972
performer: "As Time Goes By"
A Safe Place
1971
performer: "As Time Goes By"
Racing Luck
1948
performer: "Don't Change Your Mind"
Seven Days Ashore
1944
performer: "Apple Blossoms in the Rain" 1944, "The Wedding March" 1843 - uncredited
Higher and Higher
1943
performer: "It's a Most Important Affair" 1943, "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" 1943, "You're On Your Own" 1943 - uncredited
Casablanca
1942
performer: "It Had to Be You" 1924, "Shine" 1910, "Knock on Wood" 1942, "Baby Face" 1926, "Avalon" 1920, "As Time Goes By" 1931, "Piano Improvisation" - uncredited
Cairo
1942
"Buds Won't Bud" 1937, uncredited
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Classified X
1998
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Bogart: The Untold Story
1996
TV Movie documentary
Actor in 'Casablanca' (uncredited)
Anglia at War
1992
TV Series documentary
Himself
Nyolc évszak
1987
TV Mini-Series
Sam
Top of the Pops
1977
TV Series
Himself
All This and World War II
1976
Documentary
Sam
First to Fight
1967
Himself - actor in clip from 'Casablanca' (uncredited)
$1.3 Million
