Peter King Engle (May 24, 1916 – March 30, 1972), known professionally as Peter Whitney, was an American actor in film and television. Tall and heavyset, he played brutish villains in many

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Whitney grew up in California. His schools included the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

in London. He studied drama at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Career

Whitney appeared in the films '' Destination Tokyo'' (1943), ''

Action in the North Atlantic ''Action in the North Atlantic'' is a 1943 American war film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Jerry Wald, directed by Lloyd Bacon, and adapted by John Howard Lawson from a story by Guy Gilpatric. The film stars Humphrey Bogart and R ...

'' (1943), '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), '' Murder, He Says'' (1945) (in which he played a dual role), '' The Big Heat'' (1953), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), '' The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' (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 Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

of the Union Army, 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. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

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 tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...

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 courtroom drama series '' Perry Mason'': 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 ''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 ...

'', '' Adventures of Superman'', '' City Detective'', '' Fury'', '' My Friend Flicka'' ("A Case of Honor"), '' The Californians'', '' Sheriff of Cochise'', '' Behind Closed Doors'', ''

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

'', ''

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

'', ''

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

'' (episode "Apache Vendetta"), '' Johnny Ringo'', '' 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 ...

'', '' 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 ''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 Untouchables'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

'', '' Petticoat Junction'' (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 ...

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

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

'' (as Josiah in the episode "The Best Laid Plans", and '' Hawaii Five-O''. In addition, Whitney played a French partisan fighter named Massine in the 1963 episode "Thunder from the Hill" of ABC's military drama '' Combat!'', as well as the character Caleb Calhoun in a 1964 episode of the ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 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 beyo ...

'' 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 Western (genre), Western 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 was ...

.'' 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 Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

'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 Zon ...

'', 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 (, meaning ) 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 Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He was buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

. he had 5 children

Partial filmography

* '' Underground'' (1941) – Alex * '' Nine Lives Are Not Enough'' (1941) – Roy * ''

Blues in the Night "Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun wi ...

'' (1941) – Pete Bossett * '' Valley of the Sun'' (1942) – Willie * '' Rio Rita'' (1942) – Jake * '' Spy Ship'' (1942) – Zinner * '' Busses Roar'' (1942) – Frederick Hoff * '' Reunion in France'' (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'' (1945) – Heinrichs * '' Murder, He Says'' (1945) – Mert Fleagle / Bert Fleagle * ''

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

'' (1946) – Timothy Delaney aka Gabby * '' The Notorious Lone Wolf'' (1946) – Harvey Beaumont * '' Blonde Alibi'' (1946) – Police Lieutenant Melody Haynes * '' Canyon Passage'' (1946) – Cornelius – Baggage Clerk (uncredited) * '' The Brute Man'' (1946) – Police Lieutenant Gates * ''

Violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

'' (1947) – Joker Robinson * '' Northwest Outpost'' (1947) – Volkoff Overseer * '' The Gangster'' (1947) – Karty's Brother-in-Law (uncredited) * '' The Iron Curtain'' (1948) – Cipher Lieutenant Vinikov (uncredited) * '' Big Jim McLain'' (1952) – Communist Truck Driver (uncredited) * '' The Great Sioux Uprising'' (1953) – Ahab Jones * '' The Big Heat'' (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 The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'' (1955–1962, TV Series) – Lionel Abbot / Eli Henderson / Hugo Parma / Sam Magruder * ''

'' (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'' (1956) – 'Joss' Jossman * '' Man from Del Rio'' (1956) – Ed Bannister * ''

'' (1957) – Karl Rank * '' Domino Kid'' (1957) – Lafe Prentiss * ''

The Walter Winchell File ''The Walter Winchell File'' is a television crime drama series that initially aired from 1957 to 1958, dramatizing cases from the New York City Police Department that were covered in the ''New York Daily Mirror''. The series featured columnist ...

'' (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 diso ...

'' (1958–59, TV Series) Sergeant Buck Sinclair * '' Have Gun - Will Travel'' (1958–1960, TV Series) – Major Proctor / Judd Calhoun * '' Official Detective'' (1958, Episode: "Missing") – Swanson * '' Buchanan Rides Alone'' (1958) – Amos Agry * ''

'' (1958–1965, TV Series) – Buster Blee / Sheriff Pincus / Judd / Kempton / Sergeant Pat Galloway / El Landron / Rodney Miller * ''

'' (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 * '' Perry Mason'' (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 Biographical film, biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (film director), Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion a ...

'' (1962) – The Giant (uncredited) * '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' (1963) (Season 2 Episode 3: "Terror at Northfield") - Bib Hadley * ''

'' (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 * ''The Monkees A Nice Place to Visit'' (1967) (TV Series) * '' Chubasco'' (1968) – Matt * '' The Great Bank Robbery'' (1969) – Brother Jordan Cass, Tunneling * '' The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' (1970) – Cushing * ''

'' (1972, TV Series) – First Grave Robber (segment "Deliveries in the Rear") * ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

'' (1961, TV Series S5E29) Moose * ''

Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

'' (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 Actors from Long Branch, New Jersey Western (genre) television actors