Lewis William Potter (April 15, 1923 – September 5, 1975), known professionally as Bill Potter, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

movie actor, and television personality of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Biography

Potter grew up in

Bingham, Maine Bingham is a town in Somerset County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 866 at the 2020 census. Bingham is a historic town located beside the Kennebec River. The primary settlement in town, where over 86% of the population resid ...

, and served with the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. After being discharged in December 1943, he worked for a shipbuilding company in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Hous ...

. By 1948, he was married to a woman from

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and had a son. They later operated a ranch near Orange. In Texas, Potter was discovered by a talent scout, and appeared in several

movies by Monogram Pictures in the late 1940s as a singing cowboy. Also known as "Cactus Bill" or "Cowboy Bill", Potter went on to appear on early television shows on

KFI-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). Both stations share studios at the C ...

in Los Angeles and on

KPRC-TV KPRC-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Graham Media Group. Its studios are located on Southwest Freeway (I-69/US 59) in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater ...

in Houston. While living in Houston, he worked as a deputy sheriff in Harris County for approximately three years. In mid-1954, he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he had a children's program on

KVDO-TV KVDO-TV was a television station broadcasting on channel 3 in Salem, Oregon, United States, that operated between 1970 and 1983. Originally intended as a local independent station serving the Willamette Valley, financial considerations resulte ...

. He resumed working as a deputy sheriff in December 1955, a role he held through at least December 1956. In August 1957, Potter was the winning contestant on an episode of ''

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting ''Arthur Godf ...

'', singing a western ballad. Billed as "Hollywood Singing Cowboy Bill Potter", he was featured at several events in Maine the following month. From February to May of 1958,

KPLC-TV KPLC (channel 7) is a television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ ABC affiliate KVHP (channel 29) under a share ...

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

, broadcast the ''Bill Potter Show'' on an intermittent basis. At the time of his mother's death in June 1958, Potter was again living in Orange, Texas. Potter died in September 1975 in Orange, aged 52, "following a lingering illness." He was survived by a son and a daughter. He is interred in

Houston National Cemetery Houston National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in Harris County, Texas, near Houston. It encompasses only about half of which is developed. The cemetery had more than 111,000 interments as of 2021. It was listed on the National ...

Filmography

Potter is known to have appeared in at least 10 movies, each released in 1948 or 1949:

Discography

Potter is known to have released at least two records, both with

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

in 1953. Additionally, a promotional record from the Shamrock Record Company in Houston is credited to Cowboy Bill Potter and Dickie Jones and His Texas Longhorns, year unspecified.

References

External links

*
"I Lost My Gal"
via YouTube
"Honk Your Horn"
via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Bill (musician) 1923 births 1975 deaths People from Franklin County, Maine United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Country musicians from Maine American country singers American male film actors Male Western (genre) film actors American deputy sheriffs People from Orange, Texas Starday Records artists