Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt (August 2, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965.

Early life

The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Wescoatt, he was born on August 2, 1911, in

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

He played football at McKinley High School and at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Wescoatt spoke Hawaiian, Chinese, and Japanese.

Athletics

On July 4, 1933, Wescoatt won his initial match as a professional wrestler, debuting in Honolulu, Hawaii. He went on to wrestle in New York, Boston, and other eastern cities, amassing a total of nearly 200 matches, 90 percent of which he won, by September 1936. Also in September 1936, he signed a contract with a new manager to move up to "a tour of some of the larger wrestling centers." On Easter Sunday 1935, he set a record by swimming across the San Francisco Bay in two hours, 5 minutes.

Acting

Wescoatt began his acting career with ''

The Vigilante ''The Vigilante'' is a 1947 American Western film serial directed by Wallace Fox. The 33rd serial released by Columbia Pictures, it was based on the comic book cowboy Vigilante, who first appeared in ''Action Comics'', published by DC Comics. ...

'' in 1947 as Garrity (

uncredited In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgment of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense. Credit in the arts In the creative arts, credits are an acknowledg ...

). His next serial was ''

The Sea Hound ''The Sea Hound'' is an American radio adventure series that ran from June 29, 1942, to August 7, 1951. It began on the Blue Network June 29, 1942 – September 22, 1944, as a 15-minute serial for young audiences, featuring Ken Daigneau as Capt ...

'' as Singapore Manson. In 1948, Wescoatt was in ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'', a 15-part

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

Columbia

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

, based on the comic book character

as Elton in chapters 7–15. In 1948, he was in ''

Congo Bill Congorilla, originally a human character known as Congo Bill, is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Originally co-created by writer Whitney Ellsworth and artist George Papp, he was later transformed int ...

'' as Ivan. He played a number of

henchmen A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies prim ...

roles in

B-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 serials. Wescoatt's main studio for serial mayhem was Columbia. His screen persona was usually a bully who, often had more brawn than brains, did the physical labor according to the strict orders given by the '' brains heavy''. In 1950, Wescoatt was uncredited as Maklee Native in ''

Jungle Manhunt ''Jungle Manhunt'' is a 1951 adventure film written by Samuel Newman and directed by Lew Landers. It was the seventh entry in the "Jungle Jim" series of films starring Johnny Weissmuller as the title character. Based on the comic strip "Jungle Ji ...

''. In 1955, he was in ''

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

'' as Mike Denike (archive footage). Also in 1955, he was in ''

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

'', a

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

from

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, produced by

William Alland William Alland (March 4, 1916 – November 11, 1997) was an American actor, film producer and writer, mainly of Western and science-fiction/monster films, including ''This Island Earth'', ''It Came From Outer Space'', ''Tarantula!'', ''The Dead ...

, directed by Jack Arnold, as a driver (uncredited). Wescoatt guest starred in a number of television shows including ''

The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western that aired from 1951 to 1955. The show ran for four seasons and consisted of 104 episodes over four years. The original air date was Saturday, August 11, 1951. It concluded on January 22, 19 ...

'', ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'', ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', ''

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was ...

'', ''

Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 195 ...

'', ''

Buffalo Bill, Jr. ''Buffalo Bill, Jr.'' is a half-hour western series that aired in syndication starting in March 1955. The last new episode was broadcast in September 1956. The series was produced by Gene Autry's Flying A Productions, and distributed by CBS Tel ...

'', ''

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit's WXYZ and is an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title changed from ''Challenge of the Yukon'' to ''Se ...

'', ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 cli ...

'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'', ''

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 Bureau ...

'', ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'', '' Lawman'', and ''

The Legend of Jesse James ''The Legend of Jesse James'' is a 1980 country music concept album written by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James. The album features Levon Helm singing the role of Jesse James, Jo ...

''.

Later years

In the 1960s, Wescoatt operated food markets in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Death

Wescoatt died on September 3, 1987, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, at the age of 76.

Selected appearances

Films

TV shows

*''

'' (1952-1953) - Tom / Milt / Henchman / Big Henchman / Gustavo Morales aka Chico Grande *''

'' (1952) - Sergeant *''

'' (1952-1959) - Rusty / Stoney / Finn / Fireman / Pete / Barkeeper / Red / Townsman / Hank Lewis / Frank / Charlie Flack / Barfly / Dirk *''

The Gene Autry Show ''The Gene Autry Show'' is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum. Overview Series star Gene Autry had alr ...

'' (1953) - Henchman Ed / Cole, Beefy Henchman in Checked Shirt *''

'' (1953) - Brawler in Bank *''

The Roy Rogers Show ''The Roy Rogers Show'' is an American western television series starring Roy Rogers. 100 episodes were broadcast on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The episodes were set in the prevailing times (1950s) in the st ...

'' (1953-1957) - Henchman Pete / Henchman Hal Jessup / Lefty Young / Henchman Hank / Fred Willow / Joe Burnside / Outlaw Leader *''

'' (1953-1958) - Fake Red Beard / Ben *''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a United States, U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into ...

'' (1954) - Davis *''

(1955) - Wagon Driver *''

'' (1956) - One Punch Madigan *''

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin ''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'' is an American children's television series in the Western genre that aired from October 1954 to May 1959 on the ABC television network. In all, 164 episodes aired. The show starred Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orph ...

'' (1955-1958) - Portchey / Clem Wharton / Windom *''

'' (1956–1959) - Varner / Red Forrest / Second Man / Frisco / Pete *''

'' (1957) - Gere *''

Tales of the Texas Rangers ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' is a 20th century Western old-time radio and television police procedural drama which originally aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952 and later on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Film star Joel McCrea voiced the ...

'' (1957) - Blackie *''

'' (1957) - Sgt. Holcomb *''

'' (1958) - Garbage Man *''

'' (1958-1960) - Referee / Muldoon / Ben Thompson / Gang Member / Gus Shaughnessy / Burly Stagecoach Passenger *''

'' (1959-1960) - Henchman / Kickapoo Smith *''

'' (1960) - Tall Man *''

Surfside 6 ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recycled ...

'' (1960) - Pug Garnes *'' Lawman'' (1962) - Blacksmith *''

'' (1965) - Blacksmith (final appearance)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wescoatt, Rusty American male film actors American male television actors 1911 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American male actors