Guy Owen Wilkerson (December 21, 1899 – July 15, 1971) was an American actor, known primarily for his roles in Western B movies. With his tall, lanky frame, he often played sidekick or comedy relief parts.

Biography

Wilkerson was born December 21, 1899, in

Whitewright, Texas Whitewright is a town in Fannin and Grayson Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,725 at the 2020 census, up from 1,604 at the 2010 census. The Grayson County portion of Whitewright is part of the Sherman– Deniso ...

. He got his start as a dancer in 1914. In 1936, after 18 months trying to break into Hollywood films, he won his first part when he let his beard grow. He was one-third of the Texas Rangers in the Rangers series of films, alongside Dave O'Brien in all 22 of the film's series from 1942 to 1945. James Newill was his other co-star in the first 14 of the series.

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

replaced Jim for the concluding eight entries in the series. Wilkerson played Panhandle Perkins in all 22 films. He appeared in his 200th

Western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

, '' Decision at Sundown'', in 1957. He later made the move to television, appearing in shows such as ''

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 a ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', '' Thriller'', '' Maverick'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

Kentucky Jones ''Kentucky Jones'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Dennis Weaver which centers around a widowed Southern California veterinarian and rancher raising an adopted Chinese boy. Original episodes aired from September 19, 1964, u ...

'', ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first br ...

'', and ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...

''. Wilkerson died July 15, 1971, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

Selected filmography

* '' Paradise Express'' (1937) - Skinny Smith * '' Mountain Justice'' (1937) - Asaph Anderson * ''

Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge ''Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Betty Bronson. Based on a story by Jack Natteford, the film is about the son of a Southeastern cattleman who ...

'' (1937) - Turpentiner Zeke * '' Mountain Music'' (1937) - Medicine Show Spectator (uncredited) * '' Heart of the Rockies'' (1937) - Dawson Clan Member * '' Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' (1937) - Assistant Delivery Man (uncredited) * ''

Gold Is Where You Find It ''Gold is Where You Find It'' is a 1938 American Western Technicolor film that gives a fictionalized account of a true event — an ecological disaster whose effects are still felt in California today. Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Ge ...

'' (1938) - Vocal Farmer (uncredited) * '' Kentucky Moonshine'' (1938) - Townsman (uncredited) * ''

Professor Beware ''Professor Beware'' is a 1938 comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and directed by Elliott Nugent. It was Phyllis Welch MacDonald's first and only film. Plot Three thousand years after ancient Egyptian Neferus's death, Professor Dean Lambert (who ...

'' (1938) - Shoeshine Customer (uncredited) * ''

Down in 'Arkansaw' ''Down in 'Arkansaw is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars Ralph Byrd with the vaudeville comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, along with June Storey ...

'' (1938) - Townsman (uncredited) * '' The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1938) - Rodeo Cowboy (uncredited) * ''

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

'' (1939) - Man Wanting Revenge by Hanging (uncredited) * '' Forged Passport'' (1939) - Jim - Servant-Henchman (uncredited) * '' Man of Conquest'' (1939) - Texican (uncredited) * '' Our Neighbors – The Carters'' (1939) - Father (uncredited) * ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' (1939) - Wounded Card Player (uncredited) * '' Untamed'' (1940) - Sim Jarvis (uncredited) * ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'' (1941) - Tom (uncredited) * ''

Spooks Run Wild ''Spooks Run Wild'' is a 1941 American horror comedy film and the seventh film in the East Side Kids series. It stars Bela Lugosi with Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan and Huntz Hall. It is directed by Phil Rosen, in his first and only outing in the ser ...

'' (1941) - Constable * '' Birth of the Blues'' (1941) - Man Outside of Jail (uncredited) * '' Swamp Woman'' (1941) - Abner Enderberry * ''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is an American adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into the mid-19 ...

'' (1942, Serial) - Ichabod 'Icky' Mudd * '' Juke Girl'' (1942) - Bean Picker (uncredited) * '' Beyond the Blue Horizon'' (1942) - Husband at Circus (uncredited) * ''

The Pride of the Yankees ''The Pride of the Yankees'' is a 1942 American sports drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou ...

'' (1942) - Sportsman at Ballgame (uncredited) * '' Vengeance of the West'' (1942) - Long John * ''

The Rangers Take Over ''The Rangers Take Over'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Albert Herman and written by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave (Tex) O'Brien, Jim Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Iris Meredith and Cal Shrum and his "Rhythm Rangers". The film wa ...

'' (1942) - Texas Ranger Panhandle Perkins * ''

Bad Men of Thunder Gap ''Bad Men of Thunder Gap'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Albert Herman and written by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Janet Shaw, Jack Ingram and Charles King. The film was released on ...

'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * ''

Hangmen Also Die! ''Hangmen Also Die!'' is a 1943 war film directed by the Austrian director Fritz Lang and written by John Wexley from a story by Bertolt Brecht (credited as Bert Brecht) and Lang. The film stars Brian Donlevy, with Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, and ...

'' (1943) - Santrock (uncredited) * ''

Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour ''Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Edwin Blum and Aleen Leslie. The film stars Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn and Frances Gifford. The ...

'' (1943) - Mac - Western Union Messenger (uncredited) * ''

West of Texas ''West of Texas'' is a 1943 American Western film written and directed by Oliver Drake. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Frances Gladwin, Henry Hall and Marilyn Hare. The film was released on May 10, 1943, by Produc ...

'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * '' Border Buckaroos'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * ''

Fighting Valley ''Fighting Valley'' is a 1943 American Western film written and directed by Oliver Drake. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Patti McCarty, John Merton and Robert Bice. The film was released on August 8, 1943, by Prod ...

'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * '' Trail of Terror'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * '' The Unknown Guest'' (1943) - Man in Sheriff's Party (uncredited) * ''

The Return of the Rangers ''The Return of the Rangers'' is a 1943 American Western film written and directed by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Nell O'Day, Glenn Strange and Emmett Lynn. The film was released on October 26, 19 ...

'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * ''

Boss of Rawhide ''Boss of Rawhide'' is a 1943 American Western film written and directed by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Nell O'Day, Ed Cassidy and Jack Ingram. The film was released on November 20, 1943, by Produ ...

'' (1943) - Panhandle Perkins * ''

Outlaw Roundup ''Outlaw Roundup'' is a 1944 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and written by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Dave O'Brien, James Newill, Guy Wilkerson, Helen Chapman, Jack Ingram and I. Stanford Jolley. The film was released ...