Ralph Moody (November 5, 1886 – September 6, 1971 ) was an American actor with over 50 movie and over 100 television appearances, plus numerous radio appearances. Moody spent more than four decades working in stock theater throughout the United States, including having his own troupe for almost half of that span. In 1939, he began working in radio at WIBW in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. Later, he became an announcer and actor at

WLW WLW (700 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial news/talk radio station city of license, licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as "The Big One". Its studios ...

radio in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Moody was a regular supporting actor, in various roles, on radio broadcasts of ''

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 ...

'' and '' Dragnet'', and also performed on the '' Roy Rogers Show'' and ''

Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, reconnaissance, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, s ...

''.Dunning, op. cit.
"Wild Bill Hickok" pp. 721-722
/ref> He portrayed Gramps on ''The Trouble with the Truitts'' on NBC Radio. At the age of 62, Moody began a string of film and television appearances, including films such as ''

Road to Bali ''Road to Bali'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 19, 1952, the film is the sixth of the seven ''Road to ...'' movies. It wa ...

'', ''

Toward the Unknown ''Toward the Unknown'', originally called ''Flight Test Center'' and titled ''Brink of Hell'' in its UK release, is a 1956 American aviation film about the dawn of supersonic flight filmed on location at Edwards Air Force Base. Starring William ...

'', '' The Legend of Tom Dooley'', and '' The Story of Ruth''. On television, he played Jay Burrage in ''

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 ...

''. He was also seen in episodes of ''

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Circus Boy ''Circus Boy'' is an American western adventure family television series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1957. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960. Summary Set in the late 1890s, the ...

'', '' Mr. Adams and Eve'', '' Perry Mason'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Ri ...

'' as Judge Howell in "The Silver Queen" (1958), ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Wanted Dead or Alive'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Rescue 8 ''Rescue 8'' is a syndicated American action adventure drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Rescue Squad 8. It premiered in 1958 and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a deca ...

'', and '' The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin''. He was also among a rotation of actors used by

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...

in the 1950s version, as well as the 1967–70 revival of '' Dragnet'', and in 1970 appeared in the last ''Dragnet'' episode produced by Webb. His most frequent television roles were as a kindly old man or Native American.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1886 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from St. Louis Western (genre) television actors {{US-screen-actor-1880s-stub