Paul Brinegar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Brinegar (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three western series: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Rawhide, and Lancer.
Brinegar's first credited appearance in a feature film was in Larceny (1948). From there, he launched a steady film career that slowed considerably in the late 1950s, after he began appearing on television but did not end until 1994, when Brinegar made his final screen appearance, as a stagecoach driver, in the 1994 film version of Maverick.
Brinegar appeared more than 100 times between 1946 and 1994 in western films, often specializing in playing "feisty, grizzled cowboy sidekicks". On television, from 1956 to 1958, he played James H. "Dog" Kelley, the mayor of Dodge City, Kansas, in the ABC/Desilu western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp starring Hugh O'Brian. Brinegar appeared in that series 33 times as Kelley and in one other episode in another role. In 1959 he played Ludwig, a bartender, in the episode "The Ringer" of the western series The Texan with Rory Calhoun. Brinegar, however, is best remembered as the cattle-drive cook George Washington Wishbone on the CBS series Rawhide from 1959 to 1966. Earlier he had played a similar role, one as the character Tom Jefferson Jeffrey, in the 1958 movie Cattle Empire upon which Rawhide was based.
Brinegar also made two guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason. His first appearance on that series, prior to Rawhide, was in 1958. He performed as Tom Sackett in the first-season episode titled "The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary". His second appearance on Perry Mason was during the series' ninth and final season. He played Jason Rohan in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Unwelcome Well".
In the 1968-1970 CBS western series Lancer, Brinegar had the role of Jelly Hoskins; and in 1969 he appeared in the western film Charro! starring Elvis Presley. Then, in 1973, he played the barman in Clint Eastwood's film High Plains Drifter. From 1982 to 1983, returning to television, Brinegar portrayed a humorous cowboy-like character, Lamar Pettybone, during the first season of the ABC series Matt Houston. Later he reprised a revised version of his Rawhide Wishbone character for the 1991 TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, in which he delivers a brief monologue that includes about a dozen references to old television western series.
Acted in
Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone
1994
as Jim 'Dog' Kelly
Maverick
1994
as Stage Driver
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
1993
as Francis Kilbride
Life Stinks
1991
as Old Bellboy
They Came from Outer Space
1990
as John Peckham
Annihilator
1986
as Pops
Chattanooga Choo Choo
1984
as Pee Wee
Spaceship
1983
as Clint Eastwood / Dirty Harry
The Young Landlords
1983
as Mr. Darden
The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch
1982
as Bodie
Knight Rider
1982
as Chuck
Matt Houston
1982
as Lamar Pettybone
Capitol
1982
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
Crisis in Sun Valley
1978
as Poole
CHiPs
1977
as Keith Lawton / Old Surfer
CHiPs
1977
as Old Surfer
Lucan
1977
Grizzly Adams
1977
Code R
1977
as Alvin Purdy
The Golden Dog
1977
as Jock
Barbary Coast
1975
as Jesse
Harry O
1974
Little House on the Prairie
1974
Petrocelli
1974
as Patch Dressler
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
as Rafe Morris
High Plains Drifter
1973
as Lutie Naylor
Emergency!
1972
as Husband (Tom)
Emergency!
1972
as Grady
Emergency!
1972
as Max
Nichols
1971
as Gaffer
Cannon
1971
Medical Center
1969
as Hnchoo
Charro!
1969
as Opie Keetch
Lancer
1968
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
as Charlie Moss
Hero
1966
The Magnificent Stranger
1966
as Wishbone
Country Boy
1966
Daniel Boone
1964
as Gurney
Bonanza
1959
as Lev Buckalew
Rawhide
1959
as Wishbone
Lawman
1958
as George the Stage Line Clerk
The Texan
1958
as Ludwig
How to Make a Monster
1958
as Rivero
Cattle Empire
1958
as Tom Jefferson Jeffrey
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Van Kimmel
Trackdown
1957
as Zack Armstead
Perry Mason
1957
as Jason Rohan
Perry Mason
1957
as Tom Sackett
Sugarfoot
1957
as Austin (uncredited)
Copper Sky
1957
as Charlie Martin
The Vampire
1957
as Willy Warner
The Spirit of St. Louis
1957
as Okie (uncredited)
Whirlybirds
1957
as Joe Slade
State Trooper
1956
as Storekeeper
Fighting Trouble
1956
as Mailman (uncredited)
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
World Without End
1956
as Vida (uncredited)
Ransom!
1956
as Bank Clerk (uncredited)
Inside Detroit
1956
I Died a Thousand Times
1955
as Bus Driver (uncredited)
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Milkman (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mason
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Police Officer
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mr. Stern
Cheyenne
1955
as Slim Mantell
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
as Jim Begley
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
as Jim Kelley
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
as Jim Kelley (uncredited)
The Silver Chalice
1954
as Audience Member (uncredited)
Four Guns to the Border
1954
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Jock
Father Knows Best
1954
as Delivery Man (uncredited)
A Star Is Born
1954
as Man at Funeral (uncredited)
Lassie
1954
as Ben Adams
Dawn at Socorro
1954
as Desk Clerk
Human Desire
1954
as Brakeman
The Whistler
1954
Rails Into Laramie
1954
as Bandleader (uncredited)
Public Defender
1954
as Bud
Public Defender
1954
as Vic Oliver
Public Defender
1954
as Keller
Captain Scarface
1953
as Clegg
The Man Behind the Badge
1953
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Pete
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Ivan Fenwick
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Hans
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
The Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Jamie (uncredited)
Cavalcade of America
1952
We're Not Married!
1952
as Beauty Contest Spectator (uncredited)
Pat and Mike
1952
as Caddy (uncredited)
The Captive City
1952
as Police Sergeant
Dragnet
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Brown
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Link
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Cousin Obie (uncredited)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Joe
Journey Into Light
1951
as Bum
Racket Squad
1951
Insurance Investigator
1951
as Mr. Spangler
Storm Warning
1951
as Cameraman #1 (uncredited)
Young Man with a Horn
1950
as Stage Manager (uncredited)
Pinky
1949
as Western Union Clerk (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger
1949
as Frankie
Take One False Step
1949
as Reporter (uncredited)
Larceny
1948
as Mechanic