Will Wright (actor)
Encyclopedia
William Henry "Will" Wright (March 26, 1891 - June 19, 1962) was an American
character actor
. He was frequently cast in curmudgeonly roles. He was sometimes credited as Will J. Wright.
Wright guest starred on the 1954-1955 CBS
legal drama
, The Public Defender
, starring Reed Hadley
. He appeared twice in the 1956-1957 CBS situation comedy
Hey, Jeannie!
, with Jeannie Carson
.
In 1958, Wright guest starred in the episode "The Woman from Sacramento" on John Payne
's NBC
western
series, The Restless Gun
, in the role of Jim Blackwell, a wealthy but dying rancher who doubts the identity of his estranged daughter, played by Kathleen Crowley
, who has arrived for a final visit with her father, of whom she has virtually no memory.
Wright portrayed department store owner and grasping landlord
Ben Weaver in several episodes of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
and was the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney
's animated film Bambi. He also appeared in Johnny Tremain
. From 1960-1962, he appeared four times as Doc Bigelow on the NBC
western
series Laramie
, with John Smith
and Robert Fuller
. He also guest starred with child actor Stephen Talbot
in the 1960 episode "Don't Scream at a Jet" in the syndicated
series The Blue Angels
, fictional stories about elite fliers of the United States Navy
.
Wright died of cancer
. His interment was in Fairfield
's Suisun-Fairfield Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He was frequently cast in curmudgeonly roles. He was sometimes credited as Will J. Wright.
Wright guest starred on the 1954-1955 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
, The Public Defender
The Public Defender (TV series)
The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.-Premise:...
, starring Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York...
. He appeared twice in the 1956-1957 CBS situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie! is a 32-episode half-hour situation comedy starring Jeannie Carson as a young Scottish woman living in New York City. Twenty-six segments aired on CBS from September 8, 1956 to May 4, 1957 in the Saturday slot following The Gale Storm Show and preceding the western series Gunsmoke.Six...
, with Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson is a retired English-born United States-based comedienne and musical theatre actress...
.
In 1958, Wright guest starred in the episode "The Woman from Sacramento" on John Payne
John Payne (actor)
John Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC western television series The Restless Gun.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
's 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...
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, The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun is a western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict...
, in the role of Jim Blackwell, a wealthy but dying rancher who doubts the identity of his estranged daughter, played by Kathleen Crowley
Kathleen Crowley
Betty Jane Kathleen Crowley is an American actress and was Miss New Jersey in 1949 and a contestant for Miss America in the same year . After the pageants, she became an actress who specialized in being phenomenally seductive in TV series and movies...
, who has arrived for a final visit with her father, of whom she has virtually no memory.
Wright portrayed department store owner and grasping landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
Ben Weaver in several episodes of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
and was the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's animated film Bambi. He also appeared in Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain (film)
Johnny Tremain is a 1957 film made by Walt Disney Productions, based on the 1944 Newbery Medal-winning children's novel of the same name by Esther Forbes, retelling the story of the years in Boston, Massachusetts prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution. The movie was directed by Robert...
. From 1960-1962, he appeared four times as Doc Bigelow 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...
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 Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
, with John Smith
John Smith (actor)
John Smith was an American actor remembered in particular for two NBC western television series.-Early life and career:He was born Robert Errol Van Orden, in Los Angeles, California...
and Robert Fuller
Robert Fuller
Robert Welch is a professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Robert Fuller and Col. Robert Parker. Robert and his brother Ron co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time.-Career:...
. He also guest starred with child actor Stephen Talbot
Stephen Talbot
Stephen Henderson Talbot is an award-winning TV reporter, writer, and producer who began his career as a television child actor of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
in the 1960 episode "Don't Scream at a Jet" in the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series The Blue Angels
The Blue Angels (TV series)
The Blue Angels is a 1960-1961 syndicated television series about the Blue Angels of the United States Navy. The program starred Dennis Cross as Commander Arthur Richards, the head of a four-man squadron which tours the country to give flight exhibitions...
, fictional stories about elite fliers of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Wright died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. His interment was in Fairfield
Fairfield, California
Fairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
's Suisun-Fairfield Cemetery.