Will Wright
Born: 1894-03-25 in San Francisco, California, USA
Died: 1962-06-19
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Henry "Will" Wright (March 26, 1894, San Francisco, California - June 19, 1962, Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor. He was frequently cast in westerns and in curmudgeonly roles. Over the course of his career, Wright appeared in more than 200 film and television roles. He started his acting career in vaudeville and later moved to the stage, then on to movies, radio, and television. Among the films in which Wright appeared are Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Major and the Minor (1943), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), Road to Utopia (1946), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Little Women (1949), Walk Softly, Stranger (1950), Sunset in the West (1950), People Will Talk (1951), The Happy Time (1952), River of No Return (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Jeanne Eagels (1957), and Gunman's Walk (1958). One of his most famous and memorable film roles was corrupt city official Dolph Pillsbury in the Academy Award-winning All the King's Men (1949). Wright provided the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney's animated film Bambi (1942). He guest starred on several television series. Will Wright died of cancer in 1962.
Filmography
1964
- Fail Safe as Bit Part (uncredited)
1962
- Cape Fear as Dr. Pearsall
1961
- The Dick Van Dyke Show as Sam Petrie
- Mister Ed as Mr. Thompson
- The Deadly Companions as Doctor Acton
- Twenty Plus Two as Newspaper morgue attendant
1960
- The Andy Griffith Show as Ben Weaver
- Thriller as Constable Tom Walker
- Pete and Gladys
- Outlaws
- The Tall Man
- Inherit the Wind as Bible Salesman (uncredited)
1959
- Rawhide as Grandfather
- Dennis the Menace as Merrivale
- Riverboat as J.C. Sickel
- Mr. Lucky as The Leadville Kid
- Alias Jesse James as Titus Queasley
- The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock as Pentagon General
1958
- The Donna Reed Show as Oliver
- Lawman
- Bat Masterson as Billy Willow
- 77 Sunset Strip as Luther Hanks
- Bronco
- Gunman's Walk as Judge
- Rock-a-Bye Baby as Fire Chief (uncredited)
- Quantrill's Raiders as Judge Wood
- The Missouri Traveler as Sheriff Marvin Peavy
1957
- Perry Mason as James Vardon
- Maverick
- Leave It to Beaver as Pete at Firehouse #7
- The Real McCoys
- Sugarfoot as Charlie Cade
- Trackdown
- Official Detective
- Jeanne Eagels as Marshal (uncredited)
- Johnny Tremain as Ephraim Lapham
- The Iron Sheriff as Judge
- The Wayward Bus as Van Brunt
1956
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as King - Newspaper Editor
- Hey, Jeannie! as McClish
- Conflict
- These Wilder Years as Old Cab Driver
1955
- The Millionaire as Grandpa Costello
- The 20th Century Fox Hour as Judge O'Neill
- The Tall Men as Gus - Bartender (uncredited)
- The Man with the Golden Arm
- The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell as Admiral William S. Sims
- Not as a Stranger as Mr. Roberts (uncredited)
- The Kentuckian as John Decker (uncredited)
- Atomic Energy as a Force for Good as Tim Summers
1954
- Lassie as Caleb Brown
- December Bride
- Public Defender as Horace Bascomb
- River of No Return as Trader (uncredited)
- Johnny Guitar as Ned - Bank Teller (uncredited)
- The Raid as Josiah Anderson
1953
- The Danny Thomas Show as Mr. Johnson
- You Are There as Philip Arnold
- Letter to Loretta as Father Gourdian
- Niagara as Boatman
- The Wild One as Art Kleiner
- General Electric Theater
- The Last Posse as Todd Mitchell
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as Willie
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as Mr. Jackson
- The Ford Television Theatre as Mr. Crane
- Cavalcade of America as George's Father
- O. Henry's Full House as Manager (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)
- Paula as Raymond Bascom
- The Las Vegas Story as Mike Fogarty
- The Happy Time as Family Doctor
- Young Man with Ideas as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Lydia Bailey as Consul (uncredited)
- Lure of the Wilderness as Sheriff Brink
- Holiday for Sinners as The Man with a Cigar
1951
- Dragnet
- I Love Lucy as Mr. Walters
- The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
- The Living Christ as Herod The Great
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Pop
- Vengeance Valley as Mr. Willoughby
- The Tall Target as Thomas Ogden (uncredited)
- People Will Talk as John Higgins (uncredited)
- My Forbidden Past as Luther Toplady
- Never Trust a Gambler as Cap Douglas (uncredited)
- Excuse My Dust as Race judge
1950
- The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as Judge Kramer
- Dallas as Judge Harper
- No Way Out as Dr. Cheney (uncredited)
- House by the River as Inspector Sarten
- A Ticket to Tomahawk as Marshal Kit Dodge
- Walk Softly, Stranger as Jake - Poker Player (uncredited)
- The Savage Horde as Judge Thomas Cole
- Sunset in the West as Sheriff Tad Osborne
1949
- The Lone Ranger as Uncle Ed
- Little Women as Mr. Grace (uncredited)
- All the King's Men as Dolph Pillsbury
- They Live by Night as Mobley
- Act of Violence as Pop
- Adam's Rib as Judge Marcasson
- Lust for Gold as Parsons (uncredited)
- Big Jack as Will Farnsworth
- Brimstone as Martin Tredwell
- Miss Grant Takes Richmond as Roscoe Johnson (uncredited)
- The Green Promise as Mr. Grenstedt
- Mrs. Mike as Dr. McIntosh
- Grape Nutty as Crow (Voice)
- The Price of Freedom as McTrees
1948
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as Eph Hackett (uncredited)
- Whispering Smith as Sheriff McSwiggin
- So This Is New York as Uncle Fergus (uncredited)
- An Act of Murder as Judge Jim Wilder
- Relentless as Sam - the Horse Dealer
- The Walls of Jericho as Dr. Patterson (uncredited)
- The Inside Story as J. J. Johnson
- Jingle, Jangle, Jingle as Pop Williams
- California's Golden Beginning
- Green Grass of Wyoming as Jake Willis
- Black Eagle as Sheriff Clancy
- Disaster as Pop Hansford
- Speaking of Animals: Home Sweet Home as Babirusa / Pig (voice)
1947
- The Long Night as Mr. Tully - the Janitor (uncredited)
- California as Chairman (uncredited)
- Uncle Tom's Cabaña as Uncle Tom (uncredited)
- Blaze of Noon as Mr. Thomas
- Mother Wore Tights as Withers (uncredited)
- Cynthia as Gus Wood, Thatcher's Real Estate Rep
- The Trouble with Women as Commissioner (uncredited)
- Wild Harvest as Mike Alperson
- Danger Street as Police Chief Bullward
- Keeper of the Bees as Dr. Grayson
- Along the Oregon Trail as Jim Bridger
1946
- The Blue Dahlia as "Dad" Newell
- Without Reservations as Pullman Conductor (uncredited)
- Blue Skies as Dan - Stage Manager (uncredited)
- The Hoodlum Saint as Allan 'Knucklehead' Smith - Times Editor (uncredited)
- Road to Utopia as Mr. Latimer (uncredited)
- The Inner Circle as Henry Boggs
- The Jolson Story as Sourpuss Movie Patron (uncredited)
- One Exciting Week as Otis Piper
- Rendezvous with Annie as Elmer Snodgrass
- The Madonna's Secret as The Riverman
- Who's Cookin Who? as Wolfie Wolf (voice)
- They Made Me a Killer as Henry, the Blacksmith
- Down Missouri Way as Prof. Morris
- The Reckless Driver as Wally Walrus (voice)
- Hot Cargo as Tim Chapman
- Big Town as Station Agent (uncredited)
- Apple Andy as Devil
- Johnny Comes Flying Home as Foreman (uncredited)
- Fair Weather Fiends as Wolfie Wolf (voice)
- Prospecting for Petroleum as The Professor (voice)
1945
- Scarlet Street as Globe Loan Office Manager (uncredited)
- You Came Along as Col. Dale V. Armstrong (uncredited)
- Salome, Where She Danced as Sheriff
- The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry as Mr. Nelson
- State Fair as Hog Judge (uncredited)
- Fall Guy as Mr. Nedsen, Parkson's Attorney (uncredited)
- Grissly's Millions as John Frey
- Rhapsody in Blue as Rachmaninoff
- High Powered as Jeff Hines
- The Loose Nut as Construction Worker (voice)
- Bewitched as Mr. Herkheimer
1944
- Wilson as Hughes Campaign Orator in Maine (uncredited)
- Practically Yours as Sen. Cowling (uncredited)
- The Town Went Wild as Judge Harry Schrank (uncredited)
- The Navy Way as Baldy - Triangle A Ranch Hand (uncredited)
- Dangerous Passage as Postal Clerk (uncredited)
- You Can't Ration Love as Judge Cary - Justice of the Peace
- Take It Big as Rodeo Judge (uncredited)
1943
- So Proudly We Hail as Colonel Clark (Uncredited)
- In Old Oklahoma as Doctor
- Here Comes Elmer as Horace Parrot
- Sleepy Lagoon as Cyrus Coates
- The Meanest Man in the World as Pawn Shop Owner (uncredited)
- Cowboy in Manhattan as Higgins
- The Good Fellows as Brother from Danville (uncredited)
1942
- Bambi as Friend Owl (voice) (uncredited)
- Saboteur as J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
- Tales of Manhattan as Old Concertgoer (uncredited)
- The Major and the Minor as Ticket Agent #1 (uncredited)
- Tennessee Johnson as Alderman (uncredited)
- Shut My Big Mouth as Jim Long
- Wildcat as John 'Paw' Smithers
- The Postman Didn't Ring as Mr. Slade
- A Letter From Bataan as Mr. Limpert
- USS VD: Ship of Shame as Commandant (uncredited)
1941
- Shadow of the Thin Man as Maguire (uncredited)
- Honky Tonk as Townsman at Meeting House (uncredited)
- Blossoms in the Dust as Senator
- Nothing but the Truth as Mr. Bart Prichard (uncredited)
- Cracked Nuts as Sylvanus Boogle
- Maisie Was a Lady as Judge Thatcher (Uncredited)
- The Tell-Tale Heart as Second Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
- Mob Town as Pawnbroker (uncredited)
- The Richest Man in Town as Frederick Johnson
1940
- You, the People as Mr. Roberts
- Blondie Plays Cupid as Mr. Tucker
1935
- It's A Small World as Courtroom spectator (uncredited)
1934
- Pure Feud as Lem (uncredited)