Ben Welden (June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Welden appeared in over 120 films between 1930 and 1966.Short, balding and somewhat rotund, he often literally played a "heavy", frequently in a somewhat comical or slightly dim-witted way, offsetting the sinister nature of his character's actions.