William Edward Phipps (February 4, 1922 – June 1, 2018) was an American actor and producer, sometimes credited simply as William Phipps, known for his roles in films and on television.

Early years

Hometown

Phipps grew up in

St. Francisville, Illinois St. Francisville or Saint Francisville is a city in Lawrence County, Illinois, United States. The population was 697 at the 2010 census. History St. Francisville is rooted in a stockade built by Joseph Tougas in the early 1810s. The city was pl ...

. His parents divorced when he was six years old. By the time he was in high school, he was using his stepfather's last name of Couch. He developed a love of acting at a young age and performed in several plays in grade school and high school. One of the plays in which he performed, during his junior year of high school in 1937, was ''Before Morning'', a 1933 play made into a film that same year.

College

After graduating from high school in 1939, he attended

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

in Charleston, Illinois, where he majored in accounting, was elected freshman class president and served as head cheerleader. After two years of college, he moved to Hollywood, to pursue a career in acting and resumed his original last name of Phipps.

World War II

During that same year, the United States entered into World War II, and Phipps enlisted in the United States Navy, serving as a radio operator on several ships all across the Pacific. He served three years, then settled in Los Angeles to begin his career. He enrolled in the Actors' Lab in Hollywood, alongside fellow actor Russell Johnson.

Hollywood

Phipps' big break came when he and Johnson were double-cast in a play at the Actors Lab. They drew straws to see which actor would perform in the matinée, and which would take the evening show. Phipps drew the evening show, which was attended that same evening by actor

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...

. Laughton was impressed by Phipps' performance, and came backstage afterwards to ask Phipps to perform in Laughton's own play. Phipps' career took off, and he was soon in his first feature film, '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1949, Phipps auditioned for the speaking voice of Prince Charming in the upcoming Disney film '' Cinderella''. The studio was pleased with his performance and Phipps was offered the part by Walt Disney himself. In 1959 he guest starred as "Ken Wills" a cheated card player in '' Bat Masterson'', teaming up with the star to clean out a town of crooked poker dealers in the episode "License To Cheat" (S1E17). In 1962 he guest starred on the TV Western ''

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 ...

'' as weak husband “Ham” in S7E33's “The Prisoner”.

Hawaii

After nearly thirty years in the business, performing in film and television in a wide variety of roles, Phipps took a break from Hollywood and moved to Hawaii. While there, he hosted a movie presentation program called "Hollywood Oldies", on Maui's Cable 7. After a little more than five years in Hawaii, he returned to Hollywood to portray President Theodore Roosevelt in the 1976 television movie ''

Eleanor and Franklin ''Eleanor and Franklin'' may refer to: * ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (book), 1971 biography by Joseph P. Lash ** '' Eleanor: The Years Alone'', 1972 companion volume to the previous biography * ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (miniseries), 1976 television ...

''.

Retirement and post-career

Phipps' last movie role was in the 2000 independent film ''

Sordid Lives Sordid may refer to: * Paul Sordid (20th century), English drummer * Sordid (character), a fictional character in the ''Simon the Sorcerer'' series of video games {{Disambig ...

'', in which he also served as one of the film's producers. In 2005, several of Phipps' films were the subject of an EIU (Eastern Illinois University) film festival in his honor. He received an honorary doctorate from the university the following year.

Death

Phipps died on June 1, 2018, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 96 from lung cancer. He is buried in Valley Oaks Memorial Park.William Edward Phipps
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Filmography

References

External links

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William Edward "Bill" Phipps fan page at FacebookInterview with William Phipps in Tom Weaver's book "Double Feature Creature Attack", at Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, William Edward 1922 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American male actors Film producers from California American male film actors American male voice actors United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park Eastern Illinois University alumni People from Lawrence County, Illinois People from Vincennes, Indiana People from Malibu, California Male actors from Indiana Military personnel from Indiana United States Navy sailors Deaths from lung cancer in California Film producers from Illinois Film producers from Indiana