Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1994 film ''

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

'' and Wood's '' Plan 9 from Outer Space'' from 1957.Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 203. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.

Early years

Walcott was born Bernard Wasdon Mattox in

Wendell, North Carolina Wendell is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. It is a satellite town of Raleigh, the state capital. The population was 5,845 at the 2010 census. History Incorporated in 1903, Wendell was settled in the 1850s, when farmers in ...

, on January 13, 1928. He was raised in Wilson, North Carolina. Walcott served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

towards the end of

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 opposing ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Career

While serving in the

, Walcott appeared as a marine corps drill instructor in the film '' Battle Cry'' (1955), then as a shore patrolman in 1955's war-themed classic '' Mister Roberts'', again as a marine corps drill instructor in '' The Outsider'' (1961), and later in '' Midway'' (1976) as Capt. Elliott Buckmaster. He appeared in Western films, beginning with an uncredited role in '' Red Skies of Montana'' (1952), then later more prominently as a gunslinger who tries to romance

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

in 1955's ''

Texas Lady ''Texas Lady'' is a 1955 color American Western film directed by Tim Whelan in his final film before his death in 1957, and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. It stars Claudette Colbert, Barry Sullivan and Ray Collins. The film tells the story ...

''. Walcott had roles in many television series, including that of Stone Kenyon in two episodes of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

, '' The People's Choice'' with Jackie Cooper. He was frequently cast in

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 ...

like '' Bonanza'' (seven times), ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'', ''

Frontier Doctor ''Frontier Doctor'' is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959. The series was also known as ''Unarmed'' and ''Man of the West''.TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes ...

'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'', ''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions ...

'', ''

26 Men ''26 Men'' is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members. By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States. The program was also broad ...

'', ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'' (in the 1958 episode "Bullet Proof"), '' Laramie'', ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', '' The Tall Man'', ''

The Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

'', and in several episodes of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's '' Rawhide'', through which he began a long collaboration with Clint Eastwood. Walcott had featured roles in Eastwood's films ''

Joe Kidd ''Joe Kidd'' is a 1972 American Western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, written by Elmore Leonard and directed by John Sturges. The film is about an ex-bounty hunter hired by a wealthy landowner named Frank Harlan to track down ...

'' (1972), ''

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' is a 1974 American crime comedy film written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, and Geoffrey Lewis. Plot A young ne'er-do-well, Lightfoot steals a car. Elsewh ...

'' (1974), ''

The Eiger Sanction ''The Eiger Sanction'' is a 1972 thriller novel by Trevanian, the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker. The story is about a classical art professor and collector who doubles as a professional assassin, and who is coerced out of retirement to ave ...

'' (1975), and ''

Every Which Way But Loose ''Every Which Way but Loose'' is a 1978 American action comedy film released by Warner Bros., produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. It stars Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role as Philo Beddoe, a tr ...

'' (1978). Walcott made a guest appearance on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'' as Bill Johnson in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Howling Dog." He also was one of the stars of a 1961–1962

television series, ''

87th Precinct The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several o ...

'', as Detective Roger Havilland. Walcott had guest roles on other television series, such as CHIPS and CBS's '' Dennis the Menace''. He had recurring roles too in the original ''

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 '' Murder, She Wrote'', and he appeared as Captain Diggs on the 1970s series '' Land of the Lost''. He also made a guest appearance in 1984 on the TV series '' Alice'' in the episode titled "House Full of Hunnicutts". He played Jolene Hunnicutt's father, Big Jake Hunnicutt. His theatrical film work included the comedy '' On the Double'' (1961), '' Captain Newman, M.D.'' (1963), '' Prime Cut'' (1972), '' The Last American Hero'' (1973), and the chase film ''

The Sugarland Express ''The Sugarland Express'' is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his directorial debut. The film follows a woman (Goldie Hawn) and her husband (William Atherton) as they take a police officer ( Michael Sacks) hostage ...

'' (1974). Walcott played a sheriff in the 1979 film ''

Norma Rae ''Norma Rae'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton— which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal Lee, a W ...

'', and appeared in the film ''

Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...

'' the same year. He made a cameo appearance in the 1994 ''

'' bio-pic starring Johnny Depp, directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

, which was Walcott's final role. Walcott long regretted having anything to do with ''Plan 9'', but in a September 10, 2000, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' interview, he said, "It's better to be remembered for something than for nothing, don't you think?"

Personal life and death

Walcott married Barbara May Watkins, and they had a son and two daughters. They were married for 55 years until her death in 2010. He died of natural causes on March 20, 2015, in his home in Canoga Park, California, aged 87. He was buried in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California, beside his wife, under his given name Bernard Mattox.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Gregory 1928 births 2015 deaths Male actors from North Carolina American male film actors American male television actors People from Wilson, North Carolina United States Army soldiers Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors American Presbyterians Western (genre) television actors People from Wendell, North Carolina Male Western (genre) film actors