From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William Henry "Will" Wright (March 26, 1894, San Francisco, California - June 19, 1962, Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor. He was frequently cast in westerns and in curmudgeonly roles. Over the course of his career, Wright appeared in more than 200 film and television roles. He started his acting career in vaudeville and later moved to the stage, then on to movies, radio, and television.
Among the films in which Wright appeared are Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Major and the Minor (1943), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), Road to Utopia (1946), Mother Wore Tights (1947), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Little Women (1949), Walk Softly, Stranger (1950), Sunset in the West (1950), People Will Talk (1951), The Happy Time (1952), River of No Return (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Jeanne Eagels (1957), and Gunman's Walk (1958). One of his most famous and memorable film roles was corrupt city official Dolph Pillsbury in the Academy Award-winning All the King's Men (1949).
Wright provided the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney's animated film Bambi (1942). He guest starred on several television series.
Will Wright died of cancer in 1962.
Known For
Bambi
(1942)
Friend Owl (voice) (uncredited)
Niagara
(1953)
Boatman
Fail Safe
(1964)
Bit Part (uncredited)
Little Women
(1949)
Mr. Grace (uncredited)
Johnny Guitar
(1954)
Ned - Bank Teller (uncredited)
Saboteur
(1942)
J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
Vengeance Valley
(1951)
Mr. Willoughby
Scarlet Street
(1945)
Globe Loan Office Manager (uncredited)
No Way Out
(1950)
Dr. Cheney - Coroner (uncredited)
The Raid
(1954)
Josiah Anderson
River of No Return
(1954)
Trader (uncredited)
Cape Fear
(1962)
Dr. Pearsall
The Wild One
(1953)
Art Kleiner
Honky Tonk
(1941)
Townsman at Meeting House
Without Reservations
(1946)
Pullman Conductor (uncredited)
The Man with the Golden Arm
(1955)
Full Filmography
Acting
Pure Feud
(1934)
Lem (uncredited)
It's A Small World
(1935)
Courtroom spectator (uncredited)
Blondie Plays Cupid
(1940)
Mr. Tucker
You, the People
(1940)
Mr. Roberts
Nothing But the Truth
(1941)
Mr. Bart Prichard (uncredited)
The Tell-Tale Heart
(1941)
Second Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
Cracked Nuts
(1941)
Sylvanus Boogle
The Richest Man in Town
(1941)
Frederick Johnson
Maisie Was a Lady
(1941)
Judge Thatcher (Uncredited)
Honky Tonk
(1941)
Townsman at Meeting House
Blossoms in the Dust
(1941)
Senator
Mob Town
(1941)
Pawnbroker (uncredited)
Shadow of the Thin Man
(1941)
Maguire - Nervous Ticket Seller (uncredited)
The Major and the Minor
(1942)
Ticket Agent #1 (uncredited)
Wildcat
(1942)
John 'Paw' Smithers
Bambi
(1942)
Friend Owl (voice) (uncredited)
Shut My Big Mouth
(1942)
Jim Long
USS VD: Ship of Shame
(1942)
Commandant (uncredited)
A Letter From Bataan
(1942)
Mr. Limpert
Saboteur
(1942)
J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
The Postman Didn't Ring
(1942)
Mr. Slade
Tales of Manhattan
(1942)
Old Concertgoer (Laughton sequence) (uncredited)
Tennessee Johnson
(1942)
Alderman (uncredited)
So Proudly We Hail
(1943)
Colonel Clark (Uncredited)
The Meanest Man in the World
(1943)
Pawn Shop Owner (uncredited)
In Old Oklahoma
(1943)
Doctor
Sleepy Lagoon
(1943)
Cyrus Coates
Cowboy in Manhattan
(1943)
Higgins
Here Comes Elmer
(1943)
Horace Parrot
The Good Fellows
(1943)
Brother from Danville (uncredited)
Practically Yours
(1944)
Sen. Cowling (uncredited)
Take It Big
(1944)
Rodeo Judge (uncredited)
You Can't Ration Love
(1944)
Judge Cary - Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
The Navy Way
(1944)
Baldy - Triangle A Ranch Hand (uncredited)
Wilson
(1944)
Hughes Campaign Orator in Maine (uncredited)
The Town Went Wild
(1944)
Judge Harry Schrank (uncredited)
Dangerous Passage
(1944)
Postal Clerk (uncredited)
Bewitched
(1945)
Mr. Herkheimer
High Powered
(1945)
Jeff Hines
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
(1945)
Mr. Nelson (uncredited)
Scarlet Street
(1945)
Globe Loan Office Manager (uncredited)
Rhapsody in Blue
(1945)
Rachmaninoff
Grissly's Millions
(1945)
John Frey
The Loose Nut
(1945)
Construction Worker (voice)
Fall Guy
(1945)
Mr. Nedsen, Parkson's Attorney (uncredited)
Salome, Where She Danced
(1945)
Sheriff
You Came Along
(1945)
Col. Dale V. Armstrong (uncredited)
State Fair
(1945)
Hog Judge (uncredited)
The Madonna's Secret
(1946)
The Riverman
The Blue Dahlia
(1946)
"Dad" Newell
The Inner Circle
(1946)
Henry Boggs
Blue Skies
(1946)
Dan - Stage Manager (uncredited)
One Exciting Week
(1946)
Otis Piper
Rendezvous with Annie
(1946)
Elmer Snodgrass
The Hoodlum Saint
(1946)
Allan 'Knucklehead' Smith - Times Editor (uncredited)
Road to Utopia
(1946)
Mr. Latimer (uncredited)
They Made Me a Killer
(1946)
Henry, the Blacksmith
Down Missouri Way
(1946)
Prof. Morris
Apple Andy
(1946)
Devil
The Reckless Driver
(1946)
Wally Walrus (voice)
Fair Weather Fiends
(1946)
Wolfie Wolf (voice)
Without Reservations
(1946)
Pullman Conductor (uncredited)
Johnny Comes Flying Home
(1946)
Foreman (uncredited)
Who's Cookin Who?
(1946)
Wolfie Wolf (voice)
Hot Cargo
(1946)
Tim Chapman
Big Town
(1946)
Station Agent (uncredited)
The Jolson Story
(1946)
Sourpuss Movie Patron (uncredited)
Prospecting for Petroleum
(1946)
The Professor (voice)
Mother Wore Tights
(1947)
Withers (uncredited)
Danger Street
(1947)
Police Chief Bullward
Blaze of Noon
(1947)
Mr. Thomas
Keeper of the Bees
(1947)
Dr. Grayson
Cynthia
(1947)
Gus Wood, Thatcher's Real Estate Rep
Wild Harvest
(1947)
Mike Alperson
Along the Oregon Trail
(1947)
Jim Bridger
California
(1947)
Chairman (uncredited)
The Long Night
(1947)
Mr. Tully - the Janitor (uncredited)
The Trouble with Women
(1947)
Commissioner (uncredited)
Uncle Tom's Cabana
(1947)
Uncle Tom (uncredited)
The Inside Story
(1948)
J. J. Johnson
An Act of Murder
(1948)
Judge Jim Wilder
Black Eagle
(1948)
Sheriff Clancy
Relentless
(1948)
Sam - the Horse Dealer
California's Golden Beginning
(1948)
Disaster
(1948)
Pop Hansford
Whispering Smith
(1948)
Sheriff McSwiggin
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
(1948)
Eph Hackett (uncredited)
Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
(1948)
Pop Williams
Green Grass of Wyoming
(1948)
Jake Willis
So This Is New York
(1948)
Uncle Fergus (uncredited)
The Walls of Jericho
(1948)
Dr. Patterson (uncredited)
Speaking of Animals: Home Sweet Home
(1948)
Babirusa / Pig (voice)
All the King's Men
(1949)
Dolph Pillsbury
Adam's Rib
(1949)
Judge Marcasson
Act of Violence
(1949)
Pop
Little Women
(1949)
Mr. Grace (uncredited)
They Live by Night
(1949)
Mobley
Big Jack
(1949)
Will Farnsworth
Brimstone
(1949)
Martin Tredwell
The Green Promise
(1949)
Mr. Grenstedt
Mrs. Mike
(1949)
Dr. McIntosh
Lust for Gold
(1949)
Parsons (uncredited)
Grape Nutty
(1949)
Crow (Voice)
The Price of Freedom
(1949)
McTrees
Miss Grant Takes Richmond
(1949)
Roscoe Johnson (uncredited)
House by the River
(1950)
Inspector Sarten
Sunset in the West
(1950)
Sheriff Tad Osborne
No Way Out
(1950)
Dr. Cheney - Coroner (uncredited)
A Ticket to Tomahawk
(1950)
Marshal Kit Dodge
Walk Softly, Stranger
(1950)
Jake, Poker Player (uncredited)
The Savage Horde
(1950)
Judge Thomas Cole
Dallas
(1950)
Judge Harper
Vengeance Valley
(1951)
Mr. Willoughby
My Forbidden Past
(1951)
Luther Toplady
The Tall Target
(1951)
Thomas Ogden (uncredited)
Excuse My Dust
(1951)
Race judge
People Will Talk
(1951)
Uncle John Higgins (uncredited)
Never Trust a Gambler
(1951)
Cap Douglas (uncredited)
The Las Vegas Story
(1952)
Mike Fogarty
Paula
(1952)
Raymond Bascom
Lure of the Wilderness
(1952)
Sheriff Brink
O. Henry's Full House
(1952)
Hotel Desk Clerk (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)
The Happy Time
(1952)
Family Doctor
Young Man with Ideas
(1952)
Party Guest (uncredited)
Holiday for Sinners
(1952)
The Man with a Cigar
Lydia Bailey
(1952)
Consul (uncredited)
Niagara
(1953)
Boatman
The Last Posse
(1953)
Todd Mitchell
The Wild One
(1953)
Art Kleiner
The Raid
(1954)
Josiah Anderson
Johnny Guitar
(1954)
Ned - Bank Teller (uncredited)
River of No Return
(1954)
Trader (uncredited)
Atomic Energy as a Force for Good
(1955)
Tim Summers
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
(1955)
Admiral William S. Sims
The Kentuckian
(1955)
John Decker (uncredited)
The Tall Men
(1955)
Gus - Bartender (uncredited)
Not as a Stranger
(1955)
Mr. Roberts (uncredited)
The Man with the Golden Arm
(1955)
These Wilder Years
(1956)
Old Cab Driver
Johnny Tremain
(1957)
Ephraim Lapham
The Wayward Bus
(1957)
Van Brunt
The Iron Sheriff
(1957)
Judge
Jeanne Eagels
(1957)
Marshal (uncredited)
Gunman's Walk
(1958)
Judge
Quantrill's Raiders
(1958)
Judge Wood
The Missouri Traveler
(1958)
Sheriff Marvin Peavy
Rock-a-Bye Baby
(1958)
Fire Chief (uncredited)
Alias Jesse James
(1959)
Titus Queasley
The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
(1959)
Pentagon General
Inherit the Wind
(1960)
Bible Salesman (uncredited)
The Deadly Companions
(1961)
Doctor Acton
Twenty Plus Two
(1961)
Newspaper morgue attendant
Cape Fear
(1962)
Dr. Pearsall
Fail Safe
(1964)
Bit Part (uncredited)