Peter Whitney (born Peter King Engle; May 24, 1916 – March 30, 1972) was an American actor in film and television. Tall and heavyset, he played brutish villains in many Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Whitney was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, but grew up in California. His schools included the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

in London. He studied drama at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

Career

Whitney was often a supporting character actor credited at least in the top ten actors appearing in several Hollywood classic feature films, such as '' Destination Tokyo'' (1943), ''

Action in the North Atlantic ''Action in the North Atlantic'', also known as ''Heroes Without Uniforms'', is a 1943 American black-and-white war film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by Lloyd Bacon, that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as ...

'' (1943), '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), ''

Murder, He Says ''Murder, He Says'' is a 1945 American black comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Fred MacMurray about a murderous rural family and the hapless pollster who becomes entangled in their hunt for a cache of money. It was filmed in ...

'' (1945) (in which he played a dual role), ''

The Big Heat ''The Big Heat'' is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by Fritz Lang starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Jocelyn Brando about a cop who takes on the crime syndicate that controls his city. William P. McGivern's serial in ''The ...

'' (1953), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), ''

The Ballad of Cable Hogue ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' is a 1970 American Technicolor Western comedy film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner. Set in the Arizona desert during a period when the frontier was closing, t ...

'' (1970), and others before becoming well known for his work in television. In the 1958–1959 season, Whitney had a co-starring role as Buck Sinclair, a former sergeant of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, in all 39 episodes of the ABC western series '' The Rough Riders''. He also guest-starred on the ABC/

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

western series '' Colt .45''. He performed the part of Ralph in the 1958 episode "Mantrap". He played

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

agent Gunnerson in the episode "Savage Hills," and Brock in "Dodge City or Bust" on the ABC/WB series, '' Maverick''. In 1960, in the episode "Surface of Truth" of another ABC/WB western series, '' Lawman'', Whitney played Lucas Beyer, a crude white man who has lived for ten years with the Cheyenne Indians. Whitney made three guest appearances on the

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 ...

courtroom drama series ''

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 ...

'': in 1961 he performed as the character Roger Gates in "The Case of the Pathetic Patient"; in 1962, as prison escapee Stefan "Big Steve" Jahnchek in "The Case of the Stand-in Sister"; and in 1965, as Captain Otto Varnum in "The Case of the Wrongful Writ." Whitney also appeared on such series as '' The Public Defender'', '' Gunsmoke'', '' Adventures of Superman'', '' City Detective'', '' Fury'', ''

My Friend Flicka ''My Friend Flicka'' is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his mustang horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by ''Thunderhead'' (1943) and ''Green Grass of Wyoming'' (1946). The p ...

'' ("A Case of Honor"), '' The Californians'', ''

Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode runs ...

'', '' Behind Closed Doors'', ''

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...

'', '' Tate'', ''

Tombstone Territory ''Tombstone Territory'' is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The first season was sponsored by Bristol-Myers (consumer products) and the second s ...

'' (episode "Apache Vendetta"), ''

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County ...

'', '' The Virginian (The Runaway – 1969), ''

Riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

'', '' Bourbon Street Beat'', '' The Alaskans'', '' Overland Trail'' (as Governor Sutcliff in episode "First Stage to Denver"), '' The Rebel'', '' The Islanders'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', '' Straightaway'', '' Wagon Train'', ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

'', '' Bonanza'', '' The Rifleman'', ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

'', ''

Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and ...

'' (as Jasper Tweedy, in the 1969 episode: "Sorry Doctor, I Ain't Taking No Shots"), '' Green Acres'', ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

'', '' Rawhide'' (episode "Incident of the Music Maker"), ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' (as Josiah in the episode “The Best Laid Plans“, and ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

''. In addition, Whitney played a French partisan fighter named Massine in the 1963 episode "Thunder from the Hill" of ABC's military drama ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American so ...

'', as well as the character Caleb Calhoun in a 1964 episode of the ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

'' series. Then, in 1965, Whitney was cast as Judge Roy Bean in the episode "A Picture of a Lady" on the syndicated television series ''

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 ...

.'' He also did well as a comedy actor, making four appearances on "The Beverly Hillbillies" as the oafish Lafayette "Lafe" Crick. Peter Whitney's final role on television was that of a grave robber in writer Rod Serling's series ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, ''The Twilight Zone ...

'', in a 1972 episode segment titled "Deliveries in the Rear".

Death

Whitney died of a heart attack at the age of 55 in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. He was buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.

Partial filmography

* '' Underground'' (1941) – Alex * '' Nine Lives Are Not Enough'' (1941) – Roy * '' Blues in the Night'' (1941) – Pete Bossett * '' Valley of the Sun'' (1942) – Willie * '' Rio Rita'' (1942) – Jake * ''

Spy Ship A spy ship or reconnaissance vessel is a dedicated ship intended to gather intelligence, usually by means of sophisticated electronic eavesdropping. In a wider sense, any ship intended to gather information could be considered a spy ship. Spy ...

'' (1942) – Zinner * '' Busses Roar'' (1942) – Frederick Hoff * ''

Reunion in France ''Reunion in France'' is a 1942 American war film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Joan Crawford, John Wayne, and Philip Dorn in a story about a woman in occupied France who, learning her well-heeled lover has German connections, aids ...

'' (1942) – Soldier * '' Whistling in Dixie'' (1942) – Frank V. Bailie * ''

'' (1943) – Whitey Lara * '' Destination Tokyo'' (1943) – Dakota * '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944) – Chester Forbish * '' Bring on the Girls'' (1945) – Swede * ''

Hotel Berlin ''Hotel Berlin'' is an American drama film set in Berlin near the close of World War II, made by Warner Bros. in late 1944 to early 1945. Directed by Peter Godfrey, it stars Faye Emerson, Helmut Dantine, Raymond Massey and Andrea King. It is b ...

'' (1945) – Heinrichs * ''

'' (1945) – Mert Fleagle / Bert Fleagle * ''

Three Strangers ''Three Strangers'' is a 1946 American film noir crime drama directed by Jean Negulesco, written by John Huston and Howard Koch, starring Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Peter Lorre, and featuring Joan Lorring and Alan Napier. Pl ...

'' (1946) – Timothy Delaney aka Gabby * ''

The Notorious Lone Wolf ''The Notorious Lone Wolf'' (1946) is the twelfth Lone Wolf film produced by Columbia Pictures. The picture features Gerald Mohr in his inaugural performance as the protagonist detective Lone Wolf, Janis Carter, and Ian Wolfe as Adam Wainwright, ...

'' (1946) – Harvey Beaumont * '' Blonde Alibi'' (1946) – Police Lt. Melody Haynes * ''

Canyon Passage ''Canyon Passage'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Jacques Tourneur and set in frontier Oregon. It stars Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward and Brian Donlevy. Featuring love triangles and an Indian uprising, the film was adapted from the ...

'' (1946) – Cornelius – Baggage Clerk (uncredited) * ''

The Brute Man ''The Brute Man'' is a 1946 American horror thriller film starring Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, a murderer seeking revenge against the people he holds responsible for the disfigurement of his face. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, the film features ...

'' (1946) – Police Lieutenant Gates * ''

Violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

'' (1947) – Joker Robinson * '' Northwest Outpost'' (1947) – Volkoff Overseer * '' The Gangster'' (1947) – Karty's Brother-in-Law (uncredited) * '' The Iron Curtain'' (1948) – Cipher Lt. Vinikov (uncredited) * '' Big Jim McLain'' (1952) – Communist Truck Driver (uncredited) * ''

The Great Sioux Uprising ''The Great Sioux Uprising'' is a 1953 American Western film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Jeff Chandler, Faith Domergue and Lyle Bettger. Plot During the Civil War, in Wyoming, horse dealers Joan Britton ( Faith Domergue) and Stephen ...

'' (1953) – Ahab Jones * ''

'' (1953) – Tierney * '' All the Brothers Were Valiant'' (1953) – James Finch, First Mate * '' Gorilla at Large'' (1954) – Kovacs * '' The Black Dakotas'' (1954) – Grimes * '' Day of Triumph'' (1954) – Nikator * '' The Sea Chase'' (1955) – Bachman * '' The Last Frontier'' (1955) – Sergeant Major Decker * '' Cheyenne'' (1955–1962, TV Series) – Lionel Abbot / Eli Henderson / Hugo Parma / Sam Magruder * '' Gunsmoke'' (1955–1965, TV Series) – Jason Holt / Dan Braden / Gip Cooley / Ira / Big Dan Daggit / Jase Murdock * '' Great Day in the Morning'' (1956) – Phil the Cannibal (uncredited) * ''

The Cruel Tower ''The Cruel Tower'' is a 1956 American adventure film directed by Lew Landers and written by Warren Douglas. It is based on the 1955 novel ''The Cruel Tower'' by William Brown Hartley. The film stars John Ericson, Mari Blanchard, Charles McGraw, ...

'' (1956) – 'Joss' Jossman * ''

Man from Del Rio ''Man from Del Rio'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Harry Horner and written by Richard Carr. The film stars Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney, Douglas Fowley, John Larch, Whit Bissell and Douglas Spencer. The film was r ...

'' (1956) – Ed Bannister * ''

'' (1957) – Karl Rank * '' Domino Kid'' (1957) – Lafe Prentiss * '' The Walter Winchell File'' (1957, Episode: "Where is Louis Melk?") – Rocco Ricardi * '' Zane Grey Theatre'' (1957–1961, TV Series) – Moose / Cox – Saloonkeeper / Growler / Chub * ''

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and di ...

'' (1958–59, TV Series) Sgt. Buck Sinclair * '' Have Gun - Will Travel'' (1958–1960, TV Series) – Major Proctor / Judd Calhoun * ''

Official Detective ''Official Detective'' is an American anthology television series which aired in syndication from 1957 to March 19, 1958. The series was hosted by veteran film actor Everett Sloane.McNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.). New York: P ...

'' (1958, Episode: "Missing") – Swanson * '' Buchanan Rides Alone'' (1958) – Amos Agry * '' Wagon Train'' (1958–1965, TV Series) – Buster Blee / Sheriff Pincus / Judd / Kempton / Sgt. Pat Galloway / El Landron / Rodney Miller * '' The Rifleman'' (1959–1963, TV Series) – Nebeneezer Jackman / Vantine / Neb Jackman / John Holliver / Vince Fergus / Ott Droshek / Andrew Bechtel / John Jupiter / Tracey Blanch * '' Rawhide'' (1960, TV Series) – Anton Zwahlen (A Swiss gunsmith sabotages the drovers' weapons in an ingenious attempt to rustle part of the herd. Kessle: Peter Whitney (not Werner Klemperer) Maria: Lili Kardell. Favor: Eric Fleming. Rowdy: Clint Eastwood.) * ''

'' (1961–1966, TV Series) – Captain Joe Fuller / Judge Roy Bean / Peter the Hunter / Nat Halper / Joe Meekes * ''

'' (1961–1965, TV Series) – Roger Gates / Stefan "Big Steve" Jahnchek / Captain Otto Varnum * '' Straightaway'' (1961) – Sam Cook (episode "The Heist") * ''

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm ''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'' is a 1962 American fantasy film directed by Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest-grossing films of ...

'' (1962) – The Giant (uncredited) * ''

'' (1964, TV Series) – Lafayette 'Lafe' Crick * '' The Virginian'' (1964–1969, TV Series) – McPherson / Ansel Miller / Jake Landers / Lars Holstrom * '' The Sword of Ali Baba'' (1965) – Abou * '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967) – Courtney * '' Chubasco'' (1968) – Matt * '' The Great Bank Robbery'' (1969) – Brother Jordan Cass – Tunneling * ''

'' (1970) – Cushing * ''

'' (1972, TV Series) – First Grave Robber (segment "Deliveries in the Rear") * '' Tales of Wells Fargo'' (1961, TV Series S5E29) Moose * '' Combat'' (1963 Season 2,Thunder from the Hill, TV Series) Massine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Peter 1916 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park Male Western (genre) film actors Male actors from Los Angeles People from Long Branch, New Jersey Western (genre) television actors