Arthur Lake (born Arthur Silverlake Jr., April 17, 1905 – January 9, 1987) was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio, and television. Arthur first appeared on stage as a baby in Uncle Tom's Cabin; his sister Florence and he became part of the act in 1910. Their mother took the children to Hollywood to get into films, and Arthur made his screen debut in the silent Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). Florence became a successful actress achieving a degree of fame as one of the screen wives of comedian Edgar Kennedy. Universal Pictures signed Lake to a contract where as an adolescent he played character parts in Westerns. Shortly after the formation of RKO Pictures in 1928 he signed with that studio. There he made Dance Hall (1929) and Cheer Up and Smile (1930). Moviegoers first heard Lake speak when he appeared as Harold Astor, the lead of the 1929 musical comedy production, On with the Show!. The picture is notable as the first all-talking feature film (using the Vitaphone process) and Warner Bros.' first all-color film (shot in two-strip Technicolor). In the early sound film era, he typically played light romantic roles, usually with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them-- such as 1931's Indiscreet, which starred Gloria Swanson. He also had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film, Topper.

Florence Lake was born on November 27, 1904 in Charleston, South Carolina, Florence Silverlake. She was the elder sister of actor Arthur Lake and was an actress herself, known for Wrong Direction (1934), Secret Service (1931) and Quiet Please! (1933). The best known of Edgar Kennedy's screen wives in his series of short domestic comedies. After his death in 1948, she continued to appear in minor film roles and many television parts. Married to John Graham Owens, she was the aunt of Arthur Lake, Jr. and Marion Lake and the sister-in-law of Patricia Lake. She died on April 11, 1980 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Nancy Drexel (born Dorothy Kitchen, April 6, 1910 – November 19, 1989) was an American film actress of the late silent and early sound era. She was sometimes credited by her birth name in films. She appeared in 29 films, generally B-film Westerns. Drexel was the daughter of George P. Kitchen, who was described in a newspaper article as "a pioneer of the film industry." Her professional debut came when she was 8 years old, performing in The Royal Vagabond comic opera. She ventured to Hollywood after winning a Miss New York contest that had 10,000 competitors. In 1931, she appeared in one of the earliest Spanish-language sound films, Hollywood, City of Dreams, as a glamorous movie star who is the idol of the film's hero, José Bohr. Drexel is presented as one of the leading stars of Hollywood, rather than the B-movie leading lady she was in real life. On September 28, 1932, Drexel married Thomas H. Ince Jr., son of film producer Thomas H. Ince, in Beverly Hills. Both of them were students at Antioch College in Antioch, Illinois, and resumed their studies after the wedding.