Roger Mobley
Encyclopedia
Roger L. Mobley in Evansville, Indiana
, is a former child actor
in film
and television
, working primarily for Walt Disney Productions during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later became a Christian
pastor
, serving in southeast Texas
.
When Mobley was eight years old, he appeared as a regular on the NBC
series Fury
, starring Peter Graves
, Bobby Diamond
, and William Fawcett
. Mobley played Homer "Packy" Lambert, friend to Diamond's character, Joey Clark Newton. The program was set at the fictional Broken Wheel Ranch in California
.
, Illinois
. The family moved in the early 1950s to Pecos
in Reeves County
, Texas, before relocating to Whittier
in southern California
.
Mobley graduated from Whittier Christian High School
, where he played football
. On June 7, 1968, Mobley married his high school sweetheart, Sharie Barclay, whom he met in the eighth grade. The couple has at least one son, Matthew Jason Mobley.
and trained at the United States Army Airborne School
. He was assigned to the Green Berets, and served a year with the 46th Special Forces Company in South Vietnam
.
near Beaumont
, Texas, where his parents were then living. He became a police
officer and detective
in Beaumont. He also worked as a police officer in Vidor and Jasper
, Texas. At the time of his father's death, Mobley was living in Milam
, Texas.
Mobley has worked in many kinds of blue collar
jobs, including pipefitter, like his father; longshoreman; welder
; bull rider; lumberjack
; milk
delivery; Federal Express truck driver; prison
guard; and lifeguard
. He was a football/basketball
coach
at a private school
in Beaumont and the pastor of several country churches in southeast Texas. In addition to his pastorate, Mobley has worked as an inspector for a company that installs wind turbine
s nationwide.
. The children performed at fair
s and carnival
s and also appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour, at the time on NBC. Leon Fromkess, a talent scout, spotted Roger and signed him up to appear on ABC
's Cheyenne
western
series starring Clint Walker
. He also appeared in an episode of the NBC children's western Buckskin
starring Tommy Nolan
and Sally Brophy
, originally a summer replacement for The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
. Mobley then joined the Fury cast in a regular role from 1957-1960. None of Mobley's siblings went into show business.
When he joined the Disney studio, Mobley had already appeared in several television westerns
and low-budget films. He starred for three seasons on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in a recurring role as the amateur sleuth newspaper
reporter Gallegher, a character created by author
Richard Harding Davis
. He appeared in several studio films, including Emil and the Detectives
in 1964.
In 1979, when Mobley turned thirty, he moved his family from Texas to Hollywood to attempt an acting comeback, with little success outside of a minor role in the Disney film, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
.
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, is a former child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, working primarily for Walt Disney Productions during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later became a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, serving in southeast Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
When Mobley was eight years old, he appeared as a regular on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Fury
Fury (TV series)
Fury is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1955–1960, starring Peter Graves as Jim Newton , Bobby Diamond as Jim's adopted son, Joey Clark Newton, and William Fawcett as ranch hand Pete Wilkey...
, starring Peter Graves
Peter Graves (actor)
Peter Aurness , known professionally as Peter Graves, was an American film and television actor. He was best known for his starring role in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973...
, Bobby Diamond
Bobby Diamond
Bobby Diamond, also known as Robert Leroy Diamond , is a California civil and criminal law attorney who was a child star and young-adult actor, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s...
, and William Fawcett
William Fawcett (actor)
William "Bill" Fawcett was a character actor in Hollywood B-films and in television. His career extended from 1946 until the early 1970s. He is probably best remembered for his role as the cantankerous, rusty-voiced Pete Wilkey of the Broken Wheel Ranch on the NBC series Fury, co-starring Peter...
. Mobley played Homer "Packy" Lambert, friend to Diamond's character, Joey Clark Newton. The program was set at the fictional Broken Wheel Ranch in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Personal life
Mobley was one of eight children who could sing and play musical instruments. He was the son of Arthur and Charlene Mobley. Mobley's father was a native of CentraliaCentralia, Illinois
Centralia is a town located in Marion, Washington, Clinton, and Jefferson Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 13,032 at the 2010 census. The town was founded because it was the point where the two original branches of the Illinois Central Railroad, built in 1853, converged....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The family moved in the early 1950s to Pecos
Pecos, Texas
Pecos is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is situated in the river valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas and near the southern border of New Mexico...
in Reeves County
Reeves County, Texas
Reeves County is a county located in the US state of Texas. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. In 2000, its population was 13,137. Its seat is Pecos. Reeves County is named for George R. Reeves, a Texas state legislator and colonel in the...
, Texas, before relocating to Whittier
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
in southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Mobley graduated from Whittier Christian High School
Whittier Christian High School
Whittier Christian High School is a non-profit, non-denominational, Christian high school located in La Habra, California. It was founded in 1958. The high school has recently built a new gymnasium dubbed the Leon Davis Event Center, after the school spirited worker Leon Davis. The school has...
, where he played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. On June 7, 1968, Mobley married his high school sweetheart, Sharie Barclay, whom he met in the eighth grade. The couple has at least one son, Matthew Jason Mobley.
Military background
In 1968, Mobley joined the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and trained at the United States Army Airborne School
United States Army Airborne School
The United States Army Airborne School — widely known as Jump School — conducts the basic paratrooper training for the United States armed forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion , 507th Infantry, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia...
. He was assigned to the Green Berets, and served a year with the 46th Special Forces Company in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
.
Civic service
After two years and seven months of military service, Mobley returned to California. He later moved to VidorVidor, Texas
Vidor is a city in western Orange County, Texas, United States. A city of Southeast Texas, it lies at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Farm to Market Road 105, six miles east of Beaumont. The town is mainly a bedroom community for the nearby refining complexes in Beaumont and Port Arthur and...
near Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, Texas, where his parents were then living. He became a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officer and detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
in Beaumont. He also worked as a police officer in Vidor and Jasper
Jasper, Texas
Jasper is the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, in the United States. The population was 8,247 at the 2000 census. Jasper is situated in the Deep East Texas subregion, about northeast of Houston. The city is best known for the 1998 murder of James Byrd, Jr., an event which gained national...
, Texas. At the time of his father's death, Mobley was living in Milam
Milam, Texas
Milam is a census-designated place in Sabine County, Texas, United States. It is located at the junction of Highway 87 and Highway 21. The population was 1,329 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Milam is located at ....
, Texas.
Mobley has worked in many kinds of blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
jobs, including pipefitter, like his father; longshoreman; welder
Welder
A welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
; bull rider; lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
; milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
delivery; Federal Express truck driver; prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
guard; and lifeguard
Lifeguard
A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...
. He was a football/basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
at a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Beaumont and the pastor of several country churches in southeast Texas. In addition to his pastorate, Mobley has worked as an inspector for a company that installs wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s nationwide.
Professional background
At the age of three, Roger and an older brother and sister formed a musical trioTrio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
. The children performed at fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
s and carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
s and also appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour, at the time on NBC. Leon Fromkess, a talent scout, spotted Roger and signed him up to appear on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Cheyenne
Cheyenne (TV series)
Cheyenne is a western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series starring Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
. He also appeared in an episode of the NBC children's western Buckskin
Buckskin (TV series)
Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
starring Tommy Nolan
Tom Nolan (actor)
Tom Nolan is an actor whose career dates back to his work as a child star in the 1950s.Nolan was born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Canada, to parents of French and Irish descent. His family moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, where he immediately started dance classes...
and Sally Brophy
Sally Brophy
Sally Cullen Brophy was a Broadway and television actress and college theatre arts professor.Brophy was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She studied at the Royal Academy in London, and then pursued a career on Broadway. In 1951 she was an understudy in Second Threshold. In 1954-1955, she starred as the...
, originally a summer replacement for The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
. Mobley then joined the Fury cast in a regular role from 1957-1960. None of Mobley's siblings went into show business.
When he joined the Disney studio, Mobley had already appeared in several television westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
and low-budget films. He starred for three seasons on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in a recurring role as the amateur sleuth newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
reporter Gallegher, a character created by author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played...
. He appeared in several studio films, including Emil and the Detectives
Emil and the Detectives
Emil and the Detectives is a 1929 novel for children set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner. It was Kästner's first major success, the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship, and remains his best-known work, and has been translated into at least 59 languages...
in 1964.
In 1979, when Mobley turned thirty, he moved his family from Texas to Hollywood to attempt an acting comeback, with little success outside of a minor role in the Disney film, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a 1979 sequel to the 1975 family film The Apple Dumpling Gang starring the comedy duo of Tim Conway, and Don Knotts. Conway and Knotts reprise their roles as Amos and Theodore. The film also stars Tim Matheson, Harry Morgan, and Kenneth Mars. Laugh-In star...
.
Filmography
- The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides AgainThe Apple Dumpling Gang Rides AgainThe Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a 1979 sequel to the 1975 family film The Apple Dumpling Gang starring the comedy duo of Tim Conway, and Don Knotts. Conway and Knotts reprise their roles as Amos and Theodore. The film also stars Tim Matheson, Harry Morgan, and Kenneth Mars. Laugh-In star...
(1979) - For the Love of Willadean (1964)
- The Mystery of Edward Sims (1968)
- The Treasure of San Bosco Reef (1968)
- Emil and the Detectives (1964)
- The TenderfootThe Tenderfoot (1964)The Tenderfoot is a three-part live action television miniseries comedy Western film produced in 1964 for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. It is based on James H. Tevis' book Arizona in the 50s. It was directed by Robert L...
(1964) - Gallegher (1964–1967)
- Dime with a Halo (1963)
- Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
- The Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
- The ComancherosThe ComancherosThe Comancheros is a 1961 western Deluxe CinemaScope color film directed by Michael Curtiz and John Wayne based on a 1952 novel by Paul Wellman starring John Wayne and Stuart Whitman. When health troubles prevented Curtiz from finishing the film, Wayne directed the remainder of the movie, though...
(1961) - The Silent Call (1961)
- A Dog's Best Friend (1959)
- The Runaway (1962)
Television appearances
- Wagon TrainWagon TrainWagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
- CheyenneCheyenne (TV series)Cheyenne is a western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season...
- Our Man HigginsOur Man HigginsOur Man Higgins is a 34-episode situation comedy, the story of an English butler — portrayed by Stanley Holloway, who is inherited by a suburban American family, resulting in a cultural clash that grows into a cultural blending. A Screen Gems presentation, Our Man Higgins was seen on ABC television...
- DestryDestryDestry is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
- EmpireEmpire (1962 TV series)Empire, an hour-long Western television series set on a 1960s ranch in New Mexico, starred Richard Egan , Terry Moore , and Ryan O'Neal . It ran on NBC for a season between September 25, 1962, and May 14, 1963...
- Outlaws
- Going My WayGoing My Way (TV series)Going My Way is an American comedy-drama series starring dancer and actor Gene Kelly. Based on the 1944 film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, the series aired on ABC with new episodes from October 3, 1962 to April 24, 1963. The program was Kelly's first and only attempt at a weekly television...
- The Farmer's DaughterThe Farmer's Daughter (TV series)The Farmer's Daughter is an American situation comedy series that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963 to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark cigarettes and Clairol for whom the two leading stars often appeared at show's end promoting the products...
- Route 66Route 66 (TV series)Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
- Frontier Circus
- GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
- National VelvetNational VelvetNational Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold , first published in 1935.-Plot summary:"National Velvet" is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase...
- The VirginianThe Virginian (TV series)The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
- DragnetDragnet (series)Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
- The Wide CountryThe Wide CountryThe Wide Country is an American Western television series which aired on NBC from September 20, 1962 to April 25, 1963.-Synopsis:The series stars Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine as brothers, Mitch and Andy Guthrie, respectively, who are traveling rodeo competitors...
- Dr. KildareDr. KildareDr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
- Death Valley DaysDeath Valley DaysDeath Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
- The Law and Mr. JonesThe Law and Mr. JonesThe Law and Mr. Jones is a 45-episode half-hour television crime drama starring James Whitmore. The series aired on ABC in two nonconsecutive seasons from October 7, 1960, to September 22, 1961, and again from April 19 to July 5, 1962...