Overview
William Henry Wright (March 26, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American actor. He was frequently cast in Westerns and as a curmudgeonly and argumentative old man. Over the course of his career, Wright appeared in more than 200 film and television roles.
Career
Born in San Francisco, Wright worked as a newspaperman before beginning a career in show business. He started his acting career in vaudeville and later moved to the stage. Wright also worked in radio, appearing in more than 5,000 radio programs. His radio performances have included Zeb on Al Pearce and His Gang, George Honeywell in My Little Margie, Mahoney on Glamour Manor and the title character, Ephraim Tutt in The Amazing Mr. Tutt. He also guest starred on radio shows, such as The Man Called X, The Charlotte Greenwood Show and The Jack Benny Program (he later appeared on the television version of the program).
Wright made his west coast film debut in 1940 in Blondie Plays Cupid. In 1942, he provided the voice of Friend Owl in Walt Disney's animated film Bambi. Wright also had roles in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) with William Powell and Myrna Loy, The Major and the Minor (1943) with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland, So Proudly We Hail! (1943) with Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake, Road to Utopia (1946) with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Mother Wore Tights (1947) with Betty Grable, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, with Elizabeth Taylor, Walk Softly, Stranger (1950) with Joseph Cotten, Sunset in the West (1950) with Roy Rogers, People Will Talk (1951) with Cary Grant, The Happy Time (1952) with Charles Boyer, River of No Return (1954) with Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, with Kim Novak, and Gunman's Walk (1958) with Van Heflin.
He portrayed Dolph Pillsbury in the Academy Award-winning picture, with Broderick Crawford.
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