Trivia

Those who remember him as the evil, unsmiling villain Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials may be surprised to see him singing and dancing (quite well, actually) in The Marx Brothers comedy Duck Soup (1933), but they shouldn't be--he had fairly extensive experience in musicals on the stage before coming to Hollywood.

Was a song-and-dance man during his salad days as a performer.

Along with Buster Crabbe and Frank Shannon, he is one of only three actors to appear in all three "Flash Gordon" serials: Flash Gordon (1936), Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).

As a teenager, he performed in carnivals and circuses before acting in vaudeville in the 1890s.

Best remembered as the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials from 1936-40.

He was the son of a millionaire and did not have to work, but apparently went into acting because he needed to find a way to express himself.

His father, Hugh M. Middleton (1835-1903), was the captain of Co. H of the 39th Georgia Infantry (CSA) during the American Civil War (1861-65).

He not only played Abraham Lincoln several times, he also appeared as Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Virginia City (1940). Ironically, he also played Thomas Lincoln, father of the future President, in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940).

Profiled in "Serial Film Stars: A Biographical Dictionary, 1912-1956 (2 Volume Set)" by Buck Rainey (2005).

In History in the Making: FDR (2005), he appears as Abraham Lincoln in a clip from a government short promoting The National Recovery Act (NRA).

He was interred with his wife Leora Spellman at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Grandfather of actor Burr Middleton

Had one daughter: Leora Middleton (c. 1926).

Contrary to his Ming persona, he was known to be a warm and loving grandfather.