William Fawcett

William Fawcett Thompson (September 8, 1894 – January 25, 1974) was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of films and television episodes. Because there were other actors named William Thompson he used his first and middle name when seeking acting roles. He was best known for playing Pete Wilkey in the television series Fury which ran from 1955 to 1960. Early life Fawcett's father was a Methodist minister, and after Fawcett attended Hamline University he became licensed to preach in 1916. During World War I, he joined the United States Army, serving as an ambulance driver. The French government honored him with the Legion of Honour for his care of the wounded. After his military service, Fawcett became a teacher of English and literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and, after earning a Ph.D. degree in Elizabethan drama from the University of Nebraska, he became a professor of theatre arts at Michigan State University. In 1925 he married Helene Krag. Acting career At the age of 52, Fawcett obtained his first film role in the 1946 Eddie Dean movie Stars Over Texas. He was soon finding steady work acting in movie serials, including Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), Batman and Robin (1949), and Cody of the Pony Express (1950) Many of Fawcett's film roles were in B movies, such as 1953's The Neanderthal Man but he also had small roles in major movies. He played Cubby Crouch in the 1955 George Montgomery film Seminole Uprising and Fawcett was cast as a card player in the 1961 John Wayne movie The Comancheros. Fawcett had roles in seven episodes of The Roy Rogers Show, five episodes of [[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|The Lone Ranger]], as well as episodes of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and other westerns.