Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American film and television actor. Although he appeared in over 100 films and television series, he is perhaps best known for his leading role in the 1957 film ''

Plan 9 from Outer Space ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' is a 1957 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had ...

,'' directed by

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

.Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pg. 203. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8. He also starred as Det. Roger Havilland on the 1960s police procedural series ''

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

,'' and appeared in several films starring his real-life friend

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

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 9,793 at the 2020 census. History Incorporated in 1903, Wendell was settled in the 1850s, when farme ...

, on January 13, 1928. He was raised in

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 23rd-most populous city in North Carolina. Located about east of the capital city of Raleigh, North Car ...

. Walcott served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

While serving in the

, Walcott appeared as a marine corps drill instructor in the film ''

Battle Cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

'' (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 (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...

in 1955's '' Texas Lady''. 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 commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

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

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' (seven times), '' Maverick'', '' Frontier Doctor'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', '' The High Chaparral'', ''

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 bro ...

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

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series 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'', and in several episodes of CBS's '' Rawhide'', through which he began a long collaboration with

. Walcott had featured roles in Eastwood's films '' Joe Kidd'' (1972), '' Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' (1974), '' The Eiger Sanction'' (1975), and ''

Every Which Way but Loose ''Every Which Way but Loose'' is a 1978 American action comedy film released by Warner Bros. starring Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role. It was produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. Eastwood plays ...

'' (1978). Walcott made a guest appearance on '' Perry Mason'' 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, ''

'', as

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Roger Havilland. Walcott had guest roles on other television series, such as ''

CHiPS ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'' and CBS's '' Dennis the Menace''. He had recurring roles too in the original ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'' and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', 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 Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' 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 comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film follows a woman ( Goldie Hawn) and her husband ( William Atherton) as they take a police officer ( Michael Sacks) hostage and flee acros ...

'' (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 ...

'', and appeared in the film '' Tilt'' the same year. He made a cameo appearance in the 1994 ''

'' bio-pic starring

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

, directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

, 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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

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

Personal life

Walcott married Barbara May Watkins, and they had a son and two daughters. They were married for 55 years until her death in 2010.

Death

He died of natural causes on March 20, 2015, in his home in Canoga Park, California, aged 87.

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 Western (genre) television actors People from Wendell, North Carolina Male Western (genre) film actors United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of World War II Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery