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Rufus Davidson (December 2, 1908 – December 13, 1974), known as Rufe Davis, was an American actor. He appeared in over 30 films between 1937 and 1969, including 14 of the
Three Mesquiteers ''The Three Mesquiteers'' is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by Wil ...
titles. Davis played railroad conductor Floyd Smoot on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television series ''
Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...
'' from 1963–1968 and in 1970 guest appearances.


Early life

Davis was raised on a farm in
Vinson, Oklahoma Vinson is an unincorporated community in Harmon County, Oklahoma, United States. The community was named for Henry B. Vinson, townsite owner. Vinson had a post office, which was established on August 20, 1903. The post office (ZIP code 73571) was ...
. He was one of 12 children. He went into show business at the age of 20, adopted the name "Rufe Davis" (though he continued to use his real name in private life) and joined
the Weaver Brothers and Elviry The Weaver Brothers and Elviry were musical comedy vaudeville and film performers, in the "hillbilly" style. The group consisted of brothers Leon "Abner" Weaver and Frank "Cicero" Weaver, with June "Elviry" Weaver. The group headlined a traveling va ...
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...
touring company in 1929. He sang and did impressions of animal and train sounds. He would continue to perform live throughout his career. A 1949 review of his act at the Los Angeles Orpheum says, "Rufe Davis wins mitts with his rural comedy routines, imitations of instruments and train whistles." While he was in New York City in the 1930s, Davis was helpful to
The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (Janua ...
at the start of their career, lending them money and helping them obtain bookings.


Radio

Beginning in 1932, Davis starred on the radio show ''Rufe Davis and the Radio Rubes''. Davis and the Rubes were a quartet who performed comedy sketches and music. Davis and the Rubes also starred in the 1936 comedy/musical short film ''The City's Slicker''.


Television

Davis is perhaps best known to modern audiences for his portrayal of ''
Hooterville Cannonball The ''Hooterville Cannonball'' is a fictional railroad train featured in ''Petticoat Junction'', an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The train was considered an "important character" by the show's producers ...
'' train conductor Floyd Smoot on ''
Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...
'' (and occasionally on ''
Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television 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 broad ...
''). Floyd Smoot is a happy-go-lucky and somewhat blockheaded character, similar to
Gilligan Gilligan is a fictional character played by Bob Denver on the 1960s TV show ''Gilligan's Island'' and its many sequels. Gilligan, affectionately called "little buddy" by the "Skipper", is the bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone first mate of ...
on '' Gilligan's Island'' or
Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
and
Woody Boyd Woodrow Tiberius Boyd is a character on the American television show ''Cheers'', portrayed by Woody Harrelson. Woody came to Cheers at the beginning of the fourth season of ''Cheers'' in 1985 in the episode "Birth, Death, Love and Rice". Woody ...
on ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
''. In the ''Green Acres'' episode "Never Trust a Little Old Lady", train engineer Charley Pratt (played by
Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...
) says, "Floyd Smoot, you're a stubborn fool!" To which Floyd replies: "And that goes double for me!" He played Pete Lacey in ''
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 ...
'' 1949 episode 7 "Pete and Pedro."


Music

In 1964, Davis and his "Petticoat Junction" co-star Smiley Burnette released the single "Steam, Cinders and Smoke". The song was written by Burnette. Davis voiced the train sounds in the song. The single was given a limited release of around a thousand copies. Davis and Burnette perform the song in the ''Petticoat Junction'' episodes "Hooterville A-Go-Go" and "The Almost Annual Charity Show". Davis performs the song solo in the episode "Last Train to Pixley", which was filmed after Burnette's 1967 death. The B-side of the single is "Clickity Clack". Davis sings "The Little Engine that Could" and "The Old Sow Song" on the 1966 children's record ''Bozo and His Pals''.


Film

Davis appeared in dozens of short and feature-length films. He played "Lullaby Joslin" in 14 of the ''Three Mesquiteers'' western films. He performed as a singer in the 1937 film '' Cocoanut Grove'', where he sings "Two Bits a Pair and "Ten Easy Lessons". And he was also known in western films for playing the comedic sidekick to such leading actors as
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
.''The Montreal Gazette'' September 3, 1964 retrieved October 26, 2015


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rufe 1908 births 1974 deaths American male film actors People from Harmon County, Oklahoma Male actors from Oklahoma Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors