James Westerfield

Born: 1913-03-22

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James A. Westerfield (22 March 1913 – 20 September 1971) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife Dora Elizabeth Bailey, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan. (A news story in the June 12, 1949, issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle calls the information in the preceding sentence into question. It describes Westerfield as "the son of a famous producer-director" and says that he was "a youngster in Denver, Col.") He became interested in theatre as a young man and in the 1930s joined Gilmor Brown's famed Pasadena Community Playhouse, appearing in dozens of plays. He played in numerous films following his debut in 1940, then went to New York City and appeared on Broadway, winning two New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for his supporting roles in The Madwoman of Chaillot and Detective Story. He then returned to Hollywood and made more than 40 more films. Westerfield maintained an interest in the theatre. He directed more than 50 musicals in a summer-musical tent he owned in Danbury, Connecticut, and was the original stage director and producer for the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. He directed three seasons of "Theatre Under the Stars" in Vancouver, British Columbia, and appeared in musical roles with the Detroit Civic Light Opera, the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and the San Francisco Civic Light Opera. On film, Westerfield had roles in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), On The Waterfront (1954), Lucy Gallant (1955), the 1957 Budd Boetticher-directed Western Decision at Sundown starring Randolph Scott, Cowboy (1958), a repeating role in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Man's Favorite Sport (1964), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Hang 'Em High (1968) and True Grit (1969). Westerfield had many roles on television, including seven episodes as John Murrel from 1963 to 1964 on ABC's The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, starring child actor Kurt Russell in the title role. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Sheriff Bert Elmore in the 1957 episode, "The Case of the Angry Mourner." He also appeared in an episode of The Lone Ranger in 1954 entitled "Texas Draw." Westerfield's other appearances were on such series as The Rifleman, The Californians, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, The Alaskans, The Rebel, Straightaway, Going My Way, The Asphalt Jungle, Hazel, The Andy Griffith Show, Daniel Boone, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Gunsmoke. He played the circus leader, Dr. Marvello, in an episode of Lost in Space "Space Circus" (1966). Westerfield as a young man was a roommate of fellow Pasadena Playhouse actor George Reeves. The two remained close friends until Reeves's death in 1959. Westerfield was married to Alice G. Fay (an actress under the name Fay Tracey), who, along with his mother, survived him. Westerfield died from a heart attack in Woodlands Hills, California, at the age of fifty-eight.


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The Magnificent Ambersons

as Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
Released: 1942-07-10

The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the...

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On the Waterfront

as Big Mac
Released: 1954-06-22

A dim-witted yet kind-hearted boxer, Terry Malloy, who failed to succeed unintentionally lures a...

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True Grit

as Judge Parker
Released: 1969-06-11

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves...

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Hang 'em High

as Prisoner
Released: 1968-04-12

Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling....

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The Sons of Katie Elder

as Mr. Vennar
Released: 1965-06-23

The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their Hometown of Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's...

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Birdman of Alcatraz

as Jess Younger
Released: 1962-07-04

After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary...

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The Absent-Minded Professor

as Officer Hanson
Released: 1961-03-16

Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible...

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The Pride of the Yankees

as Spectator (uncredited)
Released: 1942-07-14

The story of the life and career of the baseball hall of famer, Lou Gehrig.

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The Shaggy Dog

as Officer Hanson
Released: 1959-03-19

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at...

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The Chase

as Job the Butler
Released: 1946-11-16

Chuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with...

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Cowboy

as Mike Adams
Released: 1958-01-23

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted...

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The Violent Men

as Sheriff Magruder
Released: 1955-01-26

A former Union Army officer plans to sell out to Anchor Ranch and move east with his fiancée,...

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Decision at Sundown

as Otis, the Bartender
Released: 1957-11-10

A man and his partner arrive at a small Western town to kill its most powerful man because the...

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Blue

as Abe Parker
Released: 1968-05-09

A young man is torn between the woman he loves and his loyalty to his father, the leader of a...

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Wild River

as Cal Garth
Released: 1960-05-26

A young bureaucrat for the Tennessee Valley Authority goes to rural Tennessee to oversee the...

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Man's Favorite Sport?

as Policeman
Released: 1964-01-31

Roger Willoughby is a renowned fishing expert, who, unbeknownst to his friends, co-workers, or...

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Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round

as Jack Balter
Released: 1966-10-12

A sophisticated con man mounts an intricate plan to rob an airport bank while the Soviet premier...

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Chief Crazy Horse

as Caleb Mantz
Released: 1955-04-01

When young Crazy Horse, of whom great things were predicted, wins his bride, rival Little Big...

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The Howards of Virginia

as Backwoodsman
Released: 1940-09-19

Beautiful young Virginian Jane steps down from her proper aristocratic upbringing when she...

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The Proud Rebel

as Birm Bates
Released: 1958-07-01

Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a...

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Away All Boats

as uncredited
Released: 1956-08-16

The story of USS 'Belinda', a U.S. naval ship, and its crew during the battle of the Pacific...

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Old Man

as Warden
Released: 1958-11-20

In the South, convicts get a temporary release to help during a flood.

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Bikini Beach

as Cop #2
Released: 1964-07-22

A millionaire sets out to prove his theory that his pet chimpanzee is as intelligent as the...

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The Cobweb

as James Petlee
Released: 1955-06-07

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes -...

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Man with the Gun

as Mr. Zender (drummer)
Released: 1955-11-05

A stranger comes to town looking for his estranged wife. He finds her running the local girls....

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Undercurrent

as Henry Gilson
Released: 1946-11-11

After a rapid engagement, a dowdy daughter of a chemist weds an industrialist, knowing little of...

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Homicidal

as Alfred S. Adrims
Released: 1961-07-26

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her....

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Son of Flubber

as Officer Hanson
Released: 1963-01-16

Beleaguered professor Ned Brainard has already run into a pile of misfortunes with his discovery...

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The Gunfight at Dodge City

as Reverend Howard
Released: 1959-05-01

Fleeing to Dodge City after killing a man in self defence Masterson finds his brother Ed (Harry...

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The Plunderers

as Mike Baron
Released: 1960-11-05

Four young toughs have ridden into Trail City and claimed it as easy pickings for their bullying...

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The Love God?

as Rev. Wilkerson
Released: 1969-08-01

Ornithologist Abner Peacock sells off his modest-selling birdwatching periodical to a charlatan...

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Lucy Gallant

as Harry Wilson
Released: 1955-10-20

A spirited dressmaker's small store flourishes into a business empire in the midst of the Texas...

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Side Street

as Charlie (policeman)
Released: 1950-03-23

A struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals an envelope of...

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Now You See It, Now You Don't

as Capt. Boyle
Released: 1968-11-11

A bumbling art expert, hired by an insurance company to protect a Rembrandt on loan from the...

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Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town

as Harvey (Zoo Attendant) (uncredited)
Released: 1950-04-01

When Pa wins a jingle-writing contest, he and Ma head for New York City. They they get in...

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Scalplock

as Nehemiah
Released: 1966-04-10

This Western is a pilot for the series "The Iron Horse," in which a dapper frontier gambler wins...

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The Boy Who Stole the Elephant

as Sheriff Berry
Released: 1970-09-20

A frontier huckster, Colonel Ryder, and a young orphan, Davey, operate a travelling tent show....

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Three Hours to Kill

as Sam Minor
Released: 1954-11-04

After three years on the run, Jim Guthrie returns with the scar of a rope burn on his neck. In a...

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A Man Called Gannon

as Amos
Released: 1968-03-08

A seasoned cowboy takes a young tender-foot under his wing. They become embroiled in a range...

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Smith!

as Sheriff
Released: 1969-03-21

When the Indian Jimmyboy is accused of murder of a white man, he flees onto the ranch of Smith,...

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Three Brave Men

as Chief O'Reilly
Released: 1956-12-01

A lawyer takes the case of a Navy clerk who sues after he's fired for suspected Communist beliefs.

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That Funny Feeling

as Officer Brokaw
Released: 1965-08-14

Joan Howell, a young and pretty maid-for-hire, meets and begins dating wealthy New York City...

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The Scarlet Coat

as Col. Jameson
Released: 1955-07-29

An American officer goes undercover to unmask a Revolutionary War traitor.

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The Hangman

as Herb Loftus
Released: 1959-06-17

A marshal nicknamed "The Hangman" because of his track record in hunting down and capturing...

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The Helen Morgan Story

as Frank Piggin
Released: 1957-05-16

Broadway legend Helen Morgan 's life as told by her mother, from her early start in second rate...

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About Face

as Soldier with Daisy (uncredited)
Released: 1942-04-16

Two Army sergeants disrupt a bar, a party and an Army-Navy dance.

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Jungle Heat

as Harvey Mathews
Released: 1957-07-22

Japanese communists attempt to take over Hawaii and only Dr. Jim Ransom can stop them.

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Around the World

as Bashful Marine
Released: 1943-11-27

Bandleader Kay Kyser takes his troupe of nutty musicians, goofball comics and pretty girl...

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Highway West

as Swede, Trucker at Cafe
Released: 1941-08-07

A young woman marries a man who turns out to be a bank robber.

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The Further Adventures of Gallegher

as Charley Mardis
Released: 1965-10-03

The young copyboy helps the town’s first female newspaper reporter, who is writing a series on...

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The Human Jungle

as Marty Harrison
Released: 1954-10-03

Danforth is assigned to take over the police department in a section of a large city saddled...

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The Whistle at Eaton Falls

as Joe London
Released: 1951-08-02

A newly promoted plant supervisor finds himself in the position of having to announce a layoff...

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Dead Aim

as John Applebee
Released: 1971-01-01

A traveling gravedigger during an (unspecified) war adopts a orphan he finds alone in the...

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Bartleby

as The Lawyer
Released: 1969-10-10

Bartleby, an enigmatic man who calmly refuses to carry out his duties, is introduced in this...

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Bewitched

as uncredited
First aired: 1964-09-17

Samantha Stephens is a seemingly normal suburban housewife who also happens to be a genuine...

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The Andy Griffith Show

as Uncle Ollie
First aired: 1960-10-03

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and...

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The Twilight Zone

as Anthony O'Toole
First aired: 1959-10-02

A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science...

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The Lucy Show

as Weitzman
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's...

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Perry Mason

as Sheriff Elmore
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

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Perry Mason

as Roger Quigley
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

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The Big Valley

as Jeb Lassiter
First aired: 1965-09-15

The Big Valley is an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15,...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as H.T. Carmichael
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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My Three Sons

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-09-29

A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Bert Farrow
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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Lost in Space

as Dr. Marvello
First aired: 1965-09-15

The space family Robinson is sent on a five-year mission to find a new planet to colonise. The...

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The Beverly Hillbillies

as uncredited
First aired: 1962-09-26

Jed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells...

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The 20th Century Fox Hour

as uncredited
First aired: 1955-10-05

The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States...

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Wanted: Dead or Alive

as Dr. Langland
First aired: 1958-09-06

Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the...

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Judd for the Defense

as uncredited
First aired: 1967-09-08

High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases...

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Mayberry R.F.D.

as Sheriff Matson
First aired: 1968-09-23

Mayberry R.F.D. is an American television series produced as a spin-off and direct continuation...

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The Time Tunnel

as Sheriff
First aired: 1966-09-09

The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series, written around a theme of...

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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-06

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...

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The Tall Man

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-09-10

The Tall Man is a half-hour American western television series about Sheriff Pat Garrett and the...

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Richard Diamond, Private Detective

as McAllister
First aired: 1957-07-01

Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949...

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The Adventures of Jim Bowie

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-09-07

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956...

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Commissioner Cummings
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Pops Lafferty
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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The Great Adventure

as Attorney Thomas Green
First aired: 1963-09-27

The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964...

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Law of the Plainsman

as Joshua Jones
First aired: 1959-10-01

Law of the Plainsman is a Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on the...

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Going My Way

as uncredited
First aired: 1962-10-03

Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series

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The Walter Winchell File

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-10-02

The Walter Winchell File is the title of a television crime drama series that initially aired...

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Daniel Boone

as Hand
First aired: 1964-09-24

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel...

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Daniel Boone

as Simon Girty
First aired: 1964-09-24

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel...

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Mannix

as uncredited
First aired: 1967-09-16

Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS....

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The Rifleman

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-30

The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas...

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Lassie

as uncredited
First aired: 1954-09-12

Lassie is the pet of Jeff Miller, an 11-year-old farm boy. The two become best friends and enjoy...

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Maverick

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-09-22

Maverick is an American Western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins....

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Studio One

as Captain James Reagan
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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Studio One

as Bilgeboy / Jimmy Scaggs
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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The Asphalt Jungle

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-04-02

Police adventure series set in a modern American metropolis, concerning the problems of a...

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Thriller

as Al Matthews
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

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Green Acres

as uncredited
First aired: 1965-09-15

Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from...

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Bat Masterson

as Shapley Howell
First aired: 1958-10-08

Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of...

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Trackdown

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-10-04

Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS...

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State Trooper

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-09-25

State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as...

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The Texan

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-29

The Texan was a Western television series starring popular B movie actor Rory Calhoun, which...

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Rawhide

as Matt Lucas
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

TV Show page

Rawhide

as Mort Henry
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

TV Show page

The Rebel

as Suee
First aired: 1959-10-04

The Rebel is a 76-episode American western television series starring Nick Adams that debuted on...

TV Show page

Johnny Ringo

as Aben Burke
First aired: 1959-10-02

Johnny Ringo is an American Western television series starring Don Durant that aired on CBS from...

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Straightaway

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-10-06

Straightaway is a 26-week half-hour adventure/drama television series which aired on ABC during...

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Gunsmoke

as Rance Bradley
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Gunsmoke

as Harry Duggan
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Gunsmoke

as Cleed
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Gunsmoke

as Franks
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Tightrope

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-08

Tightrope is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September...

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The Alaskans

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-10-04

The Alaskans is a 1959-1960 ABC/Warner Brothers western television series set during the late...

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Inner Sanctum

as uncredited
First aired: 1954-01-09

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The Dakotas

as uncredited
First aired: 1963-01-07

The Dakotas is an ABC/Warner Brothers western television series starring Larry Ward and...

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General Electric Theater

as Bartender
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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General Electric Theater

as The General
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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The Outcasts

as uncredited
First aired: 1968-09-23

The Outcasts is an American Western genre television series, appearing on ABC in the 1968-69...

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