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
- Outlaws
- The Tall Man
- Pete and Gladys
- Inherit the Wind as Bible Salesman (uncredited)
1959
- Rawhide as Grandfather
- Mr. Lucky as The Leadville Kid
- Dennis the Menace as Merrivale
- Riverboat as J.C. Sickel
- Alias Jesse James as Titus Queasley
- The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock as Pentagon General
1958
- Bat Masterson as Billy Willow
- The Donna Reed Show as Oliver
- Lawman
- Bronco
- 77 Sunset Strip as Luther Hanks
- Gunman's Walk as Judge
- Rock-a-Bye Baby as Fire Chief (uncredited)
- The Missouri Traveler as Sheriff Marvin Peavy
- Quantrill's Raiders as Judge Wood
1957
- Perry Mason as James Vardon
- Maverick
- Leave It to Beaver as Pete at Firehouse #7
- Sugarfoot as Charlie Cade
- Trackdown
- Official Detective
- The Real McCoys
- Johnny Tremain as Ephraim Lapham
- The Wayward Bus as Van Brunt
- Jeanne Eagels as Marshal (uncredited)
- The Iron Sheriff as Judge
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 Man with the Golden Arm
- The Tall Men as Gus - Bartender (uncredited)
- The Kentuckian as John Decker (uncredited)
- Not as a Stranger as Mr. Roberts (uncredited)
- The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell as Admiral William S. Sims
- 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
- You Are There
- The Danny Thomas Show as Mr. Johnson
- Letter to Loretta as Father Gourdian
- Niagara as Boatman
- General Electric Theater
- The Wild One as Art Kleiner
- 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
- Lydia Bailey as Consul (uncredited)
- The Happy Time as Family Doctor
- Young Man with Ideas as Party Guest (uncredited)
- The Las Vegas Story as Mike Fogarty
- 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 Annas
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Pop
- The Tall Target as Thomas Ogden (uncredited)
- Vengeance Valley as Mr. Willoughby
- People Will Talk as Uncle John Higgins (uncredited)
- My Forbidden Past as Luther Toplady
- Excuse My Dust as Race judge
- Never Trust a Gambler as Cap Douglas (uncredited)
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
- Adam's Rib as Judge Marcasson
- Act of Violence as Pop
- Lust for Gold as Parsons (uncredited)
- Big Jack as Will Farnsworth
- The Green Promise as Mr. Grenstedt
- Miss Grant Takes Richmond as Roscoe Johnson (uncredited)
- Brimstone as Martin Tredwell
- Mrs. Mike as Dr. McIntosh
- The Price of Freedom as McTrees
- Grape Nutty as Crow (Voice)
1948
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as Eph Hackett (uncredited)
- The Walls of Jericho as Dr. Patterson (uncredited)
- The Inside Story as J. J. Johnson
- Whispering Smith as Sheriff McSwiggin
- Relentless as Sam - the Horse Dealer
- Green Grass of Wyoming as Jake Willis
- So This Is New York as Uncle Fergus (uncredited)
- California's Golden Beginning
- An Act of Murder as Judge Jim Wilder
- Jingle, Jangle, Jingle as Pop Williams
- 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)
- Wild Harvest as Mike Alperson
- Blaze of Noon as Mr. Thomas
- Uncle Tom's Cabana as Uncle Tom (uncredited)
- California as Chairman (uncredited)
- Mother Wore Tights as Withers (uncredited)
- Cynthia as Gus Wood, Thatcher's Real Estate Rep
- Danger Street as Police Chief Bullward
- The Trouble with Women as Commissioner (uncredited)
- Keeper of the Bees as Dr. Grayson
- Along the Oregon Trail as Jim Bridger
1946
- The Blue Dahlia as "Dad" Newell
- Blue Skies as Dan - Stage Manager (uncredited)
- Without Reservations as Pullman Conductor (uncredited)
- Road to Utopia as Mr. Latimer (uncredited)
- The Jolson Story as Sourpuss Movie Patron (uncredited)
- The Hoodlum Saint as Allan 'Knucklehead' Smith - Times Editor (uncredited)
- Big Town as Station Agent (uncredited)
- One Exciting Week as Otis Piper
- Who's Cookin Who? as Wolfie Wolf (voice)
- The Inner Circle as Henry Boggs
- They Made Me a Killer as Henry, the Blacksmith
- Apple Andy as Devil
- Down Missouri Way as Prof. Morris
- Johnny Comes Flying Home as Foreman (uncredited)
- Rendezvous with Annie as Elmer Snodgrass
- The Reckless Driver as Wally Walrus (voice)
- The Madonna's Secret as The Riverman
- Hot Cargo as Tim Chapman
- Prospecting for Petroleum as The Professor (voice)
- Fair Weather Fiends as Wolfie Wolf (voice)
1945
- Scarlet Street as Globe Loan Office Manager (uncredited)
- State Fair as Hog Judge (uncredited)
- Bewitched as Mr. Herkheimer
- Salome, Where She Danced as Sheriff
- Fall Guy as Mr. Nedsen, Parkson's Attorney (uncredited)
- Rhapsody in Blue as Rachmaninoff
- The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry as Mr. Nelson
- You Came Along as Col. Dale V. Armstrong (uncredited)
- High Powered as Jeff Hines
- The Loose Nut as Construction Worker (voice)
- Grissly's Millions as John Frey
1944
- Wilson as Hughes Campaign Orator in Maine (uncredited)
- The Town Went Wild as Judge Harry Schrank (uncredited)
- Practically Yours as Sen. Cowling (uncredited)
- Dangerous Passage as Postal Clerk (uncredited)
- The Navy Way as Baldy - Triangle A Ranch Hand (uncredited)
- Take It Big as Rodeo Judge (uncredited)
- You Can't Ration Love as Judge Cary - Justice of the Peace
1943
- In Old Oklahoma as Doctor
- So Proudly We Hail as Colonel Clark (Uncredited)
- The Good Fellows as Brother from Danville (uncredited)
- Here Comes Elmer as Horace Parrot
- Sleepy Lagoon as Cyrus Coates
- Cowboy in Manhattan as Higgins
- The Meanest Man in the World as Pawn Shop Owner (uncredited)
1942
- Bambi as Friend Owl (voice) (uncredited)
- Saboteur as J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
- The Major and the Minor as Ticket Agent #1 (uncredited)
- Tales of Manhattan as Old Concertgoer (uncredited)
- Shut My Big Mouth as Jim Long
- Tennessee Johnson as Alderman (uncredited)
- Wildcat as John 'Paw' Smithers
- A Letter From Bataan as Mr. Limpert
- The Postman Didn't Ring as Mr. Slade
- USS VD: Ship of Shame as Commandant (uncredited)
1941
- Honky Tonk as Townsman at Meeting House (uncredited)
- Shadow of the Thin Man as Maguire (uncredited)
- The Tell-Tale Heart as Second Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
- Blossoms in the Dust as Senator
- Nothing but the Truth as Mr. Bart Prichard (uncredited)
- Maisie Was a Lady as Judge Thatcher (Uncredited)
- Cracked Nuts as Sylvanus Boogle
- 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)