Rhodes Reason (April 19, 1930 – December 26, 2014) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who appeared in more than 200 roles in

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, and

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

Film and television career

Reason was born in Glendale in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the son of Rex G. Reason and the former Jean Robinson. The younger brother of actor

Rex Reason Rex George Reason Jr. (November 30, 1928 – November 19, 2015) was an American actor best known for his role in '' This Island Earth'' (1955). He was the elder brother of actor Rhodes Reason. Life and career Reason was born in Berlin, Germany ...

, Rhodes Reason made his acting start at the age of 18 in a production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' directed by

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...

. Among his starring roles were parts in ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, E ...

'' (1967); 39 episodes of the British television series ''

White Hunter (TV series) ''White Hunter'' is a 1957 British television series based on the book ''White Hunter'' by J. A. Hunter; it ran for 39 episodes. It starred Rhodes Reason and Harry Baird; several episodes starred Hugh Moxey as Purley. It was produced by Norman ...

'', (1957); and as

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Will Mayberry in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

''. Reason was cast as Chuck Wilson in "Rodeo Round-Up" in 1956 and as Kinnard in "Dust of Destruction", episodes of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

aviation adventure series, ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' is an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. Cattle rancher King usually captured criminals and spies and found ...

'', episode "Conflict" in the "Rifleman" as Ben Kendrick. Reason had a major part in an episode of the

Warner Bros. 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, ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and '' Bronco'' (both second and fo ...

'' in the segment "Strange Land" (1957). Reason was a guest star in ''

Frontier Doctor ''Frontier Doctor'' is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959. The series was also known as ''Unarmed'' and ''Man of the West''.TV Guide Guide to TV. Bar ...

'', a syndicated Western series. He was cast as Black Jack in the episode "The Homesteaders" (1958). Another ABC/WB Western series Reason appeared in was '' Colt .45'', as Ben Thompson in the episode "Appointment in Agoura" (1960); Reason also appeared 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 ...

''. Reason guest starred on ''

Tales of the Texas Rangers ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' is a 20th century Western old-time radio and television police procedural drama which originally aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952 and later on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Film star Joel McCrea voiced the ...

'', '' Maverick'' (1957 episode "

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple superheroes or antiheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

"), ''

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 ...

'' (1957 episode "Ambush at Gila Gulch"), ''

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 four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' as Martin Eldridge in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers", ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' (1958), ''

Bourbon Street Beat ''Bourbon Street Beat'' is a private detective television series that aired on the ABC network from October 5, 1959, to July 4, 1960, starring Richard Long as Rex Randolph and Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, with Arlene Howell as detective agen ...

'' (1960), ''

The Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science-fiction television series written around a theme of time travel adventure; it starred James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction televisi ...

'' (1966), ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...

'' (the episode "Plunder" in 1967), ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'' (also 1967), ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' in 1967 as gladiator Flavius Maximus ("

Bread and Circuses "Bread and circuses" (or "bread and games"; from Latin: ''panem et circenses'') is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement. It is attributed to Juvenal (''Satires'', Satire X), a Roman poet active in the late first and early seco ...

", 1968), ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...

'' (also 1968), and ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

'' (1976). Reason appeared as Peter Jeffries in the 1955 episode, "California's First Ice Man" of the

television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

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 appeared as Wild Bill Hickok in the 1966 episode (S15, E13) of Death Valley Days, “A Calamity Called Jane”. His feature film appearances include ''

Yellowstone Kelly ''Yellowstone Kelly'' is a 1959 American Western film based upon a novel by Heck Allen (using his pen name Clay Fisher, which shows in the film credits) with a screenplay by Burt Kennedy starring Clint Walker as Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly ...

'' (1959, with

Clint Walker Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne (TV series), Cheyenne Bodie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC/Warner Bros. Western (genre)#Film, western series ''Cheyenn ...

) and ''

A Fever in the Blood ''A Fever in the Blood'' is a 1961 Warner Bros. American courtroom drama directed by Vincent Sherman with music by Ernest Gold, cinematography by J. Peverell Marley and editing by William H. Ziegler. It is based on the 1959 novel of the sam ...

'' (1961). In the early 1980s, he starred in the Broadway musical '' Annie'', playing

Daddy Warbucks Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks is a fictional business mogul character from the comic strip ''Little Orphan Annie''. He made his first appearance in the ''New York Daily News'' in the ''Annie'' strip on September 27, 1924. In the series, he is said to b ...

for nearly three years. Reason died in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

at the age of 84 of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

.Rest in Peace: Rhodes Reason
/ref>

Filmography

References

External links

*
Rhodes Reason
at the

American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema i ...

Rhodes Reason
at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

*
Obituary in ''The Desert Sun'' (February 8, 2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reason 1930 births 2014 deaths American male television actors American male film actors Male actors from Glendale, California Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from Palm Springs, California 20th-century American male actors