Wright Thornburgh King (January 11, 1923 – November 25, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career lasted for over forty years.1930 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved fro
Ancestry.com
/ref>1940 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved fro
Ancestry.com
/ref>U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Wright Thornburgh King, retrieved fro
Ancestry.com
/ref> He is best known for playing Jason Nichols in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Wanted Dead or Alive'' (1958–1961).

Early life and career

King studied acting at the St Louis School of Theater, from which he graduated in 1941, before enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which he served in the South Pacific campaign from 1943 to 1945. Vivien Leigh-Wright King in A Streetcar Named Desire trailer

King made his small screen debut in 1949 as Midshipman Bascomb in the television series ''

Captain Video and His Video Rangers ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apr ...

''. Throughout his career, he worked in both the United States and in the United Kingdom. King was cast in numerous

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

and is particularly known for his role in the 1951 film adaptation of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

'', starring

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

(whom his character kisses). Prior to that, he had appeared in the original stage production, a performance which was lauded by drama critic

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...

. In 1958 King appeared as the Kiowa Kid/Nevada Jones on the TV western ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

'' in the episode "Ghost of the Cimarron." In 1957 King starred as Joe Digger, a falsely accused horse thief who was hung but saved, then hung again after he killed one of his original hangers in the ''Gunsmoke'' episode "Born to Hang". King also appeared in eleven episodes of the television series '' Wanted Dead or Alive'' starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

, often playing a young

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

named Jason Nichols. Other noteworthy film credits included roles in ''

Cast a Long Shadow ''Cast a Long Shadow'' is a 1959 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Thomas Carr (director), Thomas Carr and starring Audie Murphy and Terry Moore (actress), Terry Moore. The film was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Wa ...

'' (1959), '' King Rat'' (1965), ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' (1968), ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

'' (1968) and ''

Invasion of the Bee Girls ''Invasion of the Bee Girls'' (UK video title: ''Graveyard Tramps'') is a 1973 American science fiction film. The first film venture for writer Nicholas Meyer, it was directed by Denis Sanders and stars William Smith, Anitra Ford and Victori ...

'' (1973). In 1974, he played U.S. Senator

Richard B. Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almo ...

of Georgia in the TV movie ''

The Missiles of October ''The Missiles of October'' is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The title evokes the 1962 book ''The Guns of August'' by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps amongst the great powers and the ...

'', a dramatization of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

of 1962. He appeared in the television series ''

Johnny Jupiter ''Johnny Jupiter'' is the name of two early American television programs featuring a combination of live action and hand puppets. The first version aired on the DuMont Television Network from March to June 1953. The second version aired on ABC fro ...

'', was in two episodes of the TV series ''The Silent Service'' (S01 E10 "The Pampanito" and S01 E20 "The Squailfish") and was the partner of

for several episodes during a season of '' Wanted Dead or Alive''. He appeared with

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

in ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

'' in the episodes "Helen of Abajinan" and "A Knight to Remember". He also appeared with James Arness in ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' in the 1961 episode "Colorado Sheriff" (S6E38) and the 1965 episode "The Bounty Hunter" (S11E7).

Personal life

King married June Ellen Roth in 1948. The couple had their first child the next year. He died in

Canoga Park, Los Angeles Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

on November 25, 2018, at the age of 95.

Filmography

Selected television

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Wright 1923 births 2018 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Male actors from Oklahoma American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Portland, Oregon 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors Male Western (genre) film actors