Gregory Walcott

Gregory Walcott
Walcott in Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Born	Bernard Mattox January 13, 1928 Wendell, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	March 20, 2015 (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Greg Walcott
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–1994
Spouse(s)	Barbara (m. 1954; wid. 2010)
Children	3

Gregory Walcott (January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many successful Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1994 film Ed Wood and Wood's cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space from 1959.

Life and career

Born Bernard Mattox in Wendell, North Carolina, Walcott was raised in Wilson, North Carolina. Walcott served in the United States Army towards the end of World War II and the Korean War. While serving in the United States Army, he appeared as a drill instructor in the film Battle Cry (1955), then as a military policeman in 1955's war-themed classic Mister Roberts with Henry Fonda, as the drill instructor with Tony Curtis in The Outsider (1961), and later Midway (1976) as Capt. Elliott Buckmaster.

He would appear in a number of western films, beginning with an uncredited role in Red Skies of Montana (1952) opposite Richard Widmark, then later more prominently as a gunslinger who tries to romance Claudette Colbert in 1955's Texas Lady.

Walcott had roles in many television series, including that of Stone Kenyon in two episodes of the NBC sitcom, The People's Choice with Jackie Cooper. He was frequently cast in westerns like Bonanza (seven times), Maverick, Frontier Doctor, Wagon Train, The High Chaparral, 26 Men, Sugarfoot (with Will Hutchins and cast opposite another guest star, Joi Lansing, in the 1958 episode "Bullet Proof"), Laramie, The Rifleman, The Tall Man, The Dakotas, and in several episodes of CBS's Rawhide, through which he began a long collaboration with Clint Eastwood. Walcott had featured roles in Eastwood's films Joe Kidd (1972), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), The Eiger Sanction (1975), and Every Which Way But Loose (1978).

Walcott made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as Bill Johnson in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Howling Dog." He also was one of the stars of a 1961–1962 NBC television series, 87th Precinct, as Detective Roger Havilland. Walcott accepted guest roles on many popular television series, such as CBS's Dennis the Menace, with Jay North. He had recurring roles too in the original Dallas, Murder, She Wrote, and he appeared as Captain Diggs on the 1970s series Land of the Lost.

His theatrical film work included the comedy On the Double (1961) alongside Danny Kaye, the 1963 Gregory Peck film Captain Newman, M.D., Prime Cut (1972) with Lee Marvin, The Last American Hero (1973) starring Jeff Bridges, and the chase film The Sugarland Express (1974), directed by a 27-year-old Steven Spielberg. Walcott played a sheriff in the 1979 film Norma Rae, the film that won an Oscar for star Sally Field, and appeared in the Brooke Shields film Tilt the same year. He made a cameo appearance in the 1994 Ed Wood bio-pic starring Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton, which was Walcott's final role.

Walcott long regretted having anything to do with Plan 9, but in a September 10, 2000 Los Angeles Times interview, he said, "It's better to be remembered for something than for nothing, don't you think?"^[1]

Walcott died of natural causes on March 20, 2015 in his home in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, aged 87.^[2]

Filmography

List of acting performances in film

Year	Title	Role
1955	Battle Cry	Sgt. Jim Beller
	Strange Lady in Town	Scanlon
	Mister Roberts	Shore Patrolman
	The McConnell Story	Military Policeman
	Texas Lady	Jess Folley
1956	The Lieutenant Wore Skirts	Lt. Sweeney
	The Steel Jungle	Guard Weaver
	Thunder Over Arizona	Mark Warren
1957	The Persuader	Jim Cleery
1958	Jet Attack	Lt. Bill Clairbone
	Badman's Country	Bat Masterson
1959	Plan 9 from Outer Space	Jeff Trent
1960	Simon Lash: The Black Book	Lt. Wile
1961	On the Double	Colonel Rock Houston
	The Outsider	Sgt. Kiley
1963	Captain Newman, M.D.	Capt. Howard
1967	Bill Wallace of China	Bill Wallace
1972	Prime Cut	Weenie
	Joe Kidd	Mitchell
	Man of the East	Bull Schmidt
1973	The Last American Hero	Cleve Morley
1974	The Sugarland Express	Mashburn
	Thunderbolt and Lightfoot	Used Car Salesman
1975	The Eiger Sanction	Pope
1976	The Quest	Blacksmith
	Midway	Cpt. Elliot Buckmaster
1978	Donner Pass: The Road to Survival	Will McKutcheon
	Every Which Way but Loose	Putnam
1979	Norma Rae	Lamar Miller
	Tilt	Mr. Davenport
1980	To Race the Wind	Don Summerfun
1987	House II: The Second Story	Sheriff
1994	Ed Wood	Potential Backer

References

1. Downey, Mike (2000-09-10). "When Bad Gets Good". latimes.com. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
2. "Gregory Walcott, Reluctant Star of 'Plan 9 From Outer Space,' Dies at 87". Hollywood Reporter.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.

External links

• Gregory Walcott at the Internet Movie Database