Wally Cox
Wally Cox was a beloved character actor who made his mark in television and ranks as one of the medium's most memorable performers. His ability to show his range likely was limited by his short stature, slight frame, and high-pitched voice, which along with his talent for being very funny, made him ideal for comedy parts such as his memorable turn as Professor P. Caspar Biddle in "The Bird-Watchers" episode of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) in 1966. His television persona was that of a shy, timid man in horn-rimed glasses who spoke in a tentative, though distinctly enunciated, voice. It was a persona that his long-time friend Marlon Brando said was completely at odds with the real man.
Cox always will be remembered as the eponymous "Mr. Peepers" and the voice of "Underdog," but he was an actor of wider talents seldom used by the industry, as can be seen in his turns as the sonar operator in The Bedford Incident (1965) and as the potential suicide Wally Haverstraw in The Bill Cosby Show (1969) episode "Goodbye, Cruel World" in 1970. Dying unexpectedly on February 15, 1973, from what some newspapers described as an accidental overdose of sedatives but which Marlon Brando in his autobiography said was a heart attack, Wally Cox's cremated remains were kept hidden in a closet by his old friend for three decades. According to Brando's son Miko, both his father's and Cox's ashes were scattered at the same time in Death Valley, California, in a ceremony following Brando's death, thus reuniting the lifetime friends.
Acted in
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
as Robinson J. Peepers (archive footage)
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
1990
as (archive footage)
Reel Horror
1985
as Clyde (archive footage)
The Night Strangler
1973
as Mr. Berry
Once Upon a Mattress
1972
as The Jester
Magic Carpet
1972
as Harold Kane
Search
1972
McMillan and Wife
1971
The Barefoot Executive
1971
as Mertons
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Up Your Teddy Bear
1970
as Clyde King
Night Gallery
1970
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City
1970
as Becker
The Odd Couple
1970
as Mr. Fegivney
The Boatniks
1970
as Jason
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
1970
as Mr. Bester
The Young Country
1970
as Aaron Grimes / Ira Greebe
Quarantined
1970
as Wilbur Mott
The Bill Cosby Show
1969
as Wally Haverstraw
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
1969
as Self
Here's Lucy
1968
as Rock Barnett
Here's Lucy
1968
as Wally Manley
Here's Lucy
1968
as Gustav Vandemeer
Here's Lucy
1968
as Tommy Tucker
The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band
1968
as Mr. Wampler
It Takes a Thief
1968
as Tourist
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1967
as Self
A Guide for the Married Man
1967
as Technical Adviser (Married 14 years)
Ironside
1967
as Scoutmaster
Hollywood Squares
1966
as Self
Mission: Impossible
1966
as Terry Targo
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
1966
The Bedford Incident
1965
as Seaman Merlin Queffle
Get Smart
1965
Mister Roberts
1965
Lost in Space
1965
as Tiabo
I Spy
1965
as Herbie
Morituri
1965
as Dr. Ambach
The Yellow Rolls-Royce
1964
as Ferguson
Fate Is the Hunter
1964
as Ralph Bundy
Underdog
1964
The Hollywood Palace
1964
as Self
Burke's Law
1963
as Count Carlo Szipesti
Burke's Law
1963
as Dr. Heresford Handy
Vacation Playhouse
1963
as Alfred
Spencer's Mountain
1963
as Preacher Goodman
Marilyn
1963
as Self ("Something's Got to Give") (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Lucy Show
1962
as Harold Tuttle
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
as Professor P. Caspar Biddle
State Fair
1962
as Hipplewaite
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961
The Twilight Zone
1959
as James Elwood
DuPont Show of the Month
1957
as Messenger 7013
The Lux Show
1957
as Self
Wagon Train
1957
as Vincent Eaglewood
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
The Adventures of Hiram Holliday
1956
as Hiram Holliday
The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self
Babes in Toyland
1955
as Grumio, the Toymaker
Matinee Theater
1955
Babes in Toyland
1954
as Grumio, the Toymaker
Max Liebman Presents
1954
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Leslie Nettleton
General Electric Theater
1953
as Monroe Winkler
Mister Peepers
1952
as Robinson Peepers
Danger
1950
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
Your Show of Shows
1950
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Panelist
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
Suspense
1949
Suspense
1949
as Ace McCoy