Dick Wesson (actor)

Richard Lewis Wesson (November 19, 1922 – April 25, 1996) was a prolific character actor, comedian, comedy writer, and producer. The dark haired man with a flat top haircut was frequently confused with announcer Dick Wesson.

Dick Wesson
Born
Richard Lewis Wesson

(1922-11-19)November 19, 1922
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 25, 1996(1996-04-25) (aged 73)
Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Years active1950–82
Spouse(s)Wini Walsh Wesson
Children1

Biography

Dick Wesson was born on November 19, 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts. A comedian, impressionist and singer, Wesson appeared with his brother Gene in a comedy act appropriately called "The Wesson Brothers". They had some hit records such as "Oodles of Boodle" and "All Right Louie, Drop the Gun".[1] Wesson married Wini Walsh and they had one child together, daughter Eileen Wesson (b. 1947).[2]

In 1949, Wesson became a television series regular with Jim Backus in Hollywood House.

Making his film debut as a wisecracking astronaut in Destination Moon (1950), Dick Wesson was soon signed to a contract as a supporting actor with Warner Bros. Wesson played comedy relief in all his films, frequently as a World War II soldier in Breakthrough (1950) and Force of Arms (1951), and in the Old West with The Man Behind the Gun (1952) and The Charge at Feather River (1953). Wesson's best known role was as Francis Fryer in Calamity Jane (1953).

Wesson moved to American television appearing as Jackie Cooper's ex-United States Marine Corps sidekick, Rollo, in 27 of the 104 episodes of NBC's The People's Choice and later as Frank Crenshaw in Paul Henning's The Bob Cummings Show. Wesson began writing for The Bob Cummings Show and later The Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared in The Beverly Hillbillies as a taxi driver and as a patient in The Beverly Hillbillies season 1, episode 33 The Clampetts Get Psychoanalyzed. He produced CBS's My Sister Eileen and many episodes of Petticoat Junction and directed several episodes of each series. He was a member of the cast of the 1974 CBS situation comedy Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers.

Wesson later died of an aneurysm on April 25, 1996 in Rancho Mirage, California.[3]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1950Destination MoonJoe Sweeney
1950BreakthroughPvt. Sammy Hansen
1951Inside the Walls of Folsom PrisonTinker
1951Force of ArmsKleiner
1951Jim Thorpe – All-AmericanEd Guyac
1951Sunny Side of the StreetDave Gibson
1951StarliftSgt. Mike Nolan
1952About FaceDave Crouse
1953The Man Behind the GunSgt. 'Monk' Walker
1953The Desert SongBenjamin 'Benjy' Kidd
1953The Charge at Feather RiverPvt. Cullen
1953Calamity JaneFrancis Fryer
1955Paris Follies of 1956Chuck Russell
1961The Errand BoyThe A.D.
1977RollercoasterTourist Father

Notes
  1. http://www.jazzdisco.org/savoy-records/discography-1949/
  2. http://www.nndb.com/people/211/000278374/
  3. http://www.nndb.com/people/211/000278374/
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