Will Wright (actor)

For other people with the same name, see William Wright.

William Henry Wright (March 26, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American actor.^[1] He was frequently cast in Westerns and as a curmudgeonly and argumentative old man. Over the course of his career, Wright appeared in more than 200 film and television roles.

Will Wright
Wright in Vengeance Valley (1951)
Born	William Henry Wright (1894-03-26)March 26, 1894 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	June 19, 1962(1962-06-19) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1920s–1962

Career

Born in San Francisco, Wright worked as a newspaperman before beginning a career in show business. He started his acting career in vaudeville and later moved to the stage.^[2] Wright also worked in radio, appearing in more than 5,000 radio programs.^[3] His radio performances have included Zeb on Al Pearce and His Gang, George Honeywell in My Little Margie, Mahoney on Glamour Manor and the title character, Ephraim Tutt in The Amazing Mr. Tutt.^[4] He also guest starred on radio shows, such as The Man Called X, The Charlotte Greenwood Show and The Jack Benny Program (he later appeared on the television version of the program).^[5]

Wright made his west coast film debut in 1940 in Blondie Plays Cupid. In 1942, he provided the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney's animated film Bambi. Wright also had roles in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) with William Powell and Myrna Loy, The Major and the Minor (1943) with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland, So Proudly We Hail! (1943) with Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake, Road to Utopia (1946) with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Mother Wore Tights (1947) with Betty Grable, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, Little Women (1949) with Elizabeth Taylor, Walk Softly, Stranger (1950) with Joseph Cotten, Sunset in the West (1950) with Roy Rogers, People Will Talk (1951) with Cary Grant, The Happy Time (1952) with Charles Boyer, River of No Return (1954) with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, Jeanne Eagels (1957) with Kim Novak, and Gunman's Walk (1958) with Van Heflin.

He portrayed Dolph Pillsbury in the Academy Award-winning picture, All the King's Men with Broderick Crawford.

During the 1950s, he guest-starred on several television series, including I Love Lucy with Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, William Frawley and Vivian Vance, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Where's Raymond?, The Bob Cummings Show, Our Miss Brooks, Mr. Adams and Eve, Father Knows Best with Robert Young and Jane Wyatt, The Millionaire, Circus Boy with Noah Beery Jr., Fury with Peter Graves, “Jeff’s Collie” (Lassie) in the episode “The Trial”, The Real McCoys with Walter Brennan, The Donna Reed Show, The Restless Gun with John Payne, Lawman with John Russell, Tales of Wells Fargo with Dale Robertson, and The Rough Riders with Kent Taylor and Jan Merlin. He even took a shift as Pete the fireman at the auxiliary fire station on Leave It to Beaver before Burt Mustin's Gus permanently replaced him.

Wright was cast in the 1958 episode "The Cave-In" episode of the syndicated series Rescue 8, starring Jim Davis and Canadian-born Lang Jeffries. He played an elderly man who attempts with shovel and bucket to build a backyard swimming pool for his grandchildren with disastrous results because of the lack of proper shoring.

In 1959, he was cast as J.C. Sickel in the episode, "Payment in Full" of the NBC western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin. Also appearing in this episode were Aldo Ray as Hunk Farber, John Larch as Touhy, and Barbara Bel Geddes as Missy. In the story line, Farber betrays his friend and employer to collect reward money, which he uses to court his girlfriend, Missy.

From 1959 to 1961, Wright had recurring roles on NBC's Bat Masterson and CBS's Dennis the Menace. He also made multiple appearances on I Love Lucy, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Lone Ranger, Sugarfoot, December Bride, and Maverick.

Wright made three guest appearances on Perry Mason between 1959 and 1961. He first appeared as Chuck Clark in "The Case of the Petulant Partner", then as Adam Thompson in "The Case of the Nimble Nephew", and finally as James Vardon in "The Case of the Brazen Bequest". In 1960, Wright appeared as Mr. Johnson on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show in the episode titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", the spin-off for The Andy Griffith Show.^[6] On The Andy Griffith Show, Wright portrayed department store owner and landlord Ben Weaver in three episodes from 1960 to 1962. After his death, he was replaced as Ben Weaver, first by Tol Avery, and then by Jason Johnson.^[7] Wright made his last onscreen appearances in a 1962 episode of NBC's Bonanza.

Death

On June 19, 1962, aged 68, Wright died of cancer at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.^[8]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	Pure Feud	Lem	Short, Uncredited
1940	Blondie Plays Cupid	Tucker
1941	Maisie Was a Lady	Judge Thatcher	Uncredited
	Blossoms in the Dust	Texas Senator
	Cracked Nuts	Sylvanus Boogle
	Richest Man in Town	Frederick Johnson
	Honky Tonk	Townsman at Meeting House	Uncredited
	Mob Town	Pawnbroker
	Nothing but the Truth	Mr. Bart Prichard
	Shadow of the Thin Man	Maguire - Nervous Ticket Seller
	The Tell-Tale Heart	Second Deputy Sheriff	Short, Uncredited
1942	Shut My Big Mouth	Long
	Saboteur	J.C. Lormans - Company Official	Uncredited
	The Postman Didn't Ring	Mr. Slade
	Tales of Manhattan	Old Concertgoer	(Laughton sequence), Uncredited
	Bambi	Friend Owl	Voice, Uncredited
	Wildcat	John 'Paw' Smithers
	The Major and the Minor	Ticket Agent #1	Uncredited
	USS VD: Ship of Shame	Commandant
	Tennessee Johnson	Alderman
	A Man's World	Dan O'Driscoll
1943	The Meanest Man in the World	Pawn Shop Owner	Uncredited
	Submarine Alert	Local Sheriff
	Cowboy in Manhattan	Higgins
	The Good Fellows	Brother from Danville
	Sleepy Lagoon	Cyrus Coates
	So Proudly We Hail!	Col. Clark	Uncredited
	Minesweeper	Naval Captain
	Here Comes Elmer	Horace Parrot
	In Old Oklahoma	Doctor	Uncredited
1944	The Navy Way	Baldy - Triangle A Ranch Hand
	You Can't Ration Love	Judge Cary, Justice of the Peace
	Take It Big	Rodeo Judge
	Wilson	Hughes Campaign Orator in Maine
	The Town Went Wild	Judge Harry Schrank
	Dangerous Passage	Postal Clerk
	Practically Yours	Sen. Cowling
1945	Grissly's Millions	John Frey
	High Powered	Jeff Hines	Uncredited
	Salome Where She Danced	Sheriff
	Rhapsody in Blue	Rachmaninoff
	Bewitched	Mr. Herkheimer
	You Came Along	Col. Dale V. Armstrong	Uncredited
	The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry	Mr. Nelson
	State Fair	Hog Judge
	The Loose Nut	Bull Dozer	Voice, Uncredited[9]
	Scarlet Street	Globe Loan Office Manager	Uncredited
1946	The Madonna's Secret	The Riverman
	Road to Utopia	Mr. Latimer	Uncredited
	The Hoodlum Saint	Allan Smith - Times Editor
	Johnny Comes Flying Home	Foreman
	Apple Andy	The Devil	Voice, Uncredited
	The Blue Dahlia	'Dad' Newell
	They Made Me a Killer	Henry, the Blacksmith	Uncredited
	Without Reservations	Pullman Conductor
	One Exciting Week	Otis Piper
	Who's Cookin' Who?	Wolfie Wolf	Voice, Uncredited[10]
	Hot Cargo	Tim Chapman
	Rendezvous with Annie	Elmer Snodgrass
	The Inner Circle	Henry Boggs
	Down Missouri Way	Prof. Morris
	The Reckless Driver	Wally Walrus	Voice, Uncredited[9]
	Big Town	Station Agent	Uncredited
	The Jolson Story	Sourpuss Movie Patron
	Blue Skies	Dan - Stage Manager
	Fair Weather Fiends	Wolfie Wolf	Voice, Uncredited[9]
1947	California	Chairman	Uncredited
	Danger Street	Bullward - Police Chief
	Blaze of Noon	Mr. Thomas
	The Long Night	Mr. Tully - the Janitor	Uncredited
	The Trouble with Women	Commissioner
	Keeper of the Bees	Dr. Grayson
	Mother Wore Tights	Withers
	Cynthia	Gus Wood
	Along the Oregon Trail	Jim Bridger
	Wild Harvest	Mike Alperson
1948	Relentless	Sam - the Horse Dealer
	The Inside Story	J.J. Johnson
	Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House	Eph Hackett	Uncredited
	Green Grass of Wyoming	Jake Willis
	So This Is New York	Uncle Fergus	Uncredited
	The Walls of Jericho	Dr. Patterson
	They Live by Night	Mobley
	Black Eagle	Sheriff Clancy
	Disaster	Pop Hansford
	An Act of Murder	Judge Jim Wilder
	Whispering Smith	Sheriff McSwiggin
1949	Act of Violence	Pop
	Little Women	Mr. Grace, Store Proprietor	Uncredited
	The Green Promise	Mr. Grinstedt
	Big Jack	Will Farnsworth
	Grape Nutty	Crow	Voice, Uncredited[11]
	Lust for Gold	Parsons	Uncredited
	Brimstone	Martin Tredwell
	Miss Grant Takes Richmond	Roscoe Johnson	Uncredited
	All the King's Men	Dolph Pillsbury
	Adam's Rib	Judge Marcasson
	Mrs. Mike	Dr. McIntosh
1950	House by the River	Inspector Sarten
	A Ticket to Tomahawk	Marshal Kit Dodge
	The Savage Horde	Judge Thomas Cole
	No Way Out	Dr. Cheney	Uncredited
	Sunset in the West	Sheriff Tad Osborne
	Walk Softly, Stranger	Jake, Poker Player	Uncredited
	Dallas	Judge Harper
1951	Vengeance Valley	Mr. Willoughby
	My Forbidden Past	Luther Toplady	Alternative title: Carriage Entrance
	Excuse My Dust	Race judge
	Never Trust a Gambler	Cap Douglas	Uncredited
	The Tall Target	Thomas I. Ogden - Train Passenger
	People Will Talk	Uncle John Higgins
1952	The Las Vegas Story	Mike Fogarty
	Young Man with Ideas	Party Guest	Uncredited
	Paula	Raymond Bascom
	Lydia Bailey	Consul	Uncredited
	Lure of the Wilderness	Sheriff Brink
	Holiday for Sinners	The Man with a Cigar
	O. Henry's Full House	Manager	(segment "The Clarion Call"), Uncredited
	The Happy Time	Family Doctor
1953	Niagara	Boatman
	The Last Posse	Todd Mitchell
	The Wild One	Art Kleiner
1954	River of No Return	Trader	Uncredited
	Johnny Guitar	Ned - Bank Teller
	The Raid	Josiah Anderson
	Willy		Episode: "Operation Stocks"
1955	Lux Video Theatre	Commodore	Episode: "The Amazing Mrs. Halliday"
	The Lone Ranger	Uncle Ed Andrews	Episode: "Uncle Ed"
	Not as a Stranger	Mr. Roberts	Uncredited
	The Kentuckian	John Decker - Shopkeeper
	The Tall Men	Gus - Bartender
	The Man with the Golden Arm	Harry Lane
	The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell	Admiral William S. Sims
	The Bob Cummings Show	Burt Mason	Episode "Bob Becomes a Genius"
1955, 1958	Fury	Windy	Episode" Ghost Town" Episode: "The Meanest Man"
1955, 1960	The Danny Thomas Show	Will Finch Mr. Johnson	Episode: "A Trip To Wisconsin Episode: "Danny Meets Andy Griffith"
1956	The Lone Ranger	Marshal Griff Allison	Episode: "No Handicap"
	Lassie	Caleb Brown	Episode: "The Trial"
	These Wilder Years	Old Cab Driver
1957	Mr. Adams and Eve	Calhern	Episode: "They're Off and Running"
	The Iron Sheriff	Judge
	The Wayward Bus	Van Brunt
	Johnny Tremain	Ephraim Lapham
	Jeanne Eagels	Marshal	Uncredited
	Casey Jones	Ed Corley	Episode: "Night Run"
	Maverick	Jabe Hallock	Episode: "Rope of Cards"
1958	The Restless Gun	Jim Blackwell	Episode: "Woman from Sacramento"
	The Restless Gun	Hiram Grover	Episode: "Hiram Grover's Strike"
	Trackdown	Luke Wilson	Episode: "The Toll Road"
	The Missouri Traveler	Sheriff Peavy
	Leave It to Beaver	Pete at Firehouse #7	Episode: "Child Care"
	Quantrill's Raiders	Judge
	Gunman's Walk	Judge
	Rock-A-Bye Baby	Fire Chief	Uncredited
1959	Rawhide	Grandpa	S2:E2, "Incident of Roman Candles"
	Alias Jesse James	Titus Queasley
	The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock	Pentagon General
	Perry Mason	Chuck Clark	Episode: "The Petulant Partner"
1959–1961	Dennis the Menace	Mister Merrivale
1960	Mr. Lucky	The Leadville Kid	Episode: "The Leadville Kid Gang"
	Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	Mr. Stewart	Episode: "A Piano for the Fraternity"
	Inherit the Wind	Bible Salesman	Uncredited
	The Deputy	Delaney	Episode: "The Chain of Action"
	Perry Mason	Adam Thompson	Episode: "The Case of the Nimble Nephew"
1960–1962	Bonanza	Micah Bailey Will Reagan Seth Coombs	Episode: "Desert Justice" Episode: "The Fugitive" Episode: "The Mountain Girl", (final appearance)
1960–1962	The Andy Griffith Show	Ben Weaver	Episode: "Christmas Story" Episode: "Andy Forecloses" Episode: "The Merchant of Mayberry"
1961	Rawhide	Grandfather	S4:E7, "The Black Sheep"
	Perry Mason	James Vardon	Episode: "The Case of the Brazen Bequest "
	The Donna Reed Show	Oliver	Episode: "Aunt Belle's Earrings"
	Mr. Ed	Mister Thompson	Episode: "Pine Lake Lodge"
	77 Sunset Strip	Luther Hanks	Episode: "Mr. Goldilocks"
	The Tall Man	Mayor Hackett	Episode: "Death or Taxes"
	The Deadly Companions	Doctor Acton
	Twenty Plus Two	Newspaper Morgue Attendant	Uncredited
	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Mr. Petrie Sr, Rob's Father	Episode "Empress Carlotta" (S1E12)
	Bat Masterson	Billy Willow, an old timer cowboy	Episode: "Bullwhacker’s Bounty" (S3E19)
1962	Cape Fear	Dr. Pearsall