Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television.
Background
Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish merchant, and his American wife Annie Boynton. He grew up in his native Ferndale. He graduated from Ferndale Union High School in 1927. He earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and drama at the University of California and a master’s degree from Cornell University. He also taught at UCLA and Cornell.
As a young man, he became connected with Gilmor Brown, the founder and director of the Pasadena Community Playhouse, and became one of its first directors. He directed as well as acted in many plays there. He also taught at the Playhouse.
He made his film debut in 1939 in Gambling on the High Seas (released in 1940), and appeared in nearly 200 feature films and hundreds of TV episodes subsequently.
Career
Ferguson’s best known role was as the Swedish ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name. He appeared with Gene Evans, Johnny Washbrook and Anita Louise. At this time, Ferguson also portrayed the Calverton veterinarian in the first several seasons of CBS’s Lassie.
In 1948, he appeared as “McDougal”- the quickly agitated owner of “McDougal’s House of Horrors”- in the Universal comedy/horror film “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein”. In 1952, he had an uncredited role as a jailer in the film Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair. He also appeared in Episodes 149, 173, and 178 of “The Lone Ranger”.
Even before My Friend Flicka and Lassie, Ferguson appeared in five episodes as “Murdock” in the 1953–1954 ABC sitcom, The Pride of the Family, starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood and Robert Hyatt. He also appeared in an episode of Jackie Cooper’s NBC sitcom, The People’s Choice. In 1957 Ferguson appeared as Sheriff Allen on the TV western Cheyenne in the episode titled “The Spanish Grant.” He was cast as Doc Spooner in the 1959 episode “Wolf” of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Sugarfoot, with Will Hutchins in the title role.
In 1952, Ferguson played the part of a music professor at Pomona College in the second of two short films starring Jascha Heifetz, produced by Rudolph Polk and Bernard Luber. The set-up was that Heifetz and his accompanist, Emanuel Bay, had visited the college in order to see a collection of music/music scores. As they are leaving, the professor catches them and asks if Heifetz will come to his class and say a few words. He does, but when there are no questions immediately, he starts to leave. Suddenly there are some questions, and then it turns into a recital.
Ferguson portrayed Roy Bean, justice of the peace in Langtry, Texas, in the 1959 episode “Law West of the Pecos” of the ABC/WB western series, Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston. In the Colt .45 episode, Lisa Gaye portrayed June Webster, and Douglas Kennedy was cast as Jay Brisco. Ferguson had also appeared as Todd Slater in the 1958 Colt .45 segment, “Rare Specimen”.[citation needed] That year he also appeared in Bat Masterson as “Old Billy North”.
In 1960, Ferguson portrayed Judge Lloyd “Ol’ Hang ’em By The Neck” Pomeroy in “Riot At Arroyo Seco” on the syndicated television series, Cheyenne (S4:E9) in which he sees through an entire town’s deception and dismisses murder charges against Sheriff Body (Clint Walker) who had been forced to kill the leader of a lynch mob in order to protect a prisoner.
On June 3, 1961, Ferguson was cast as Governor Lew Wallace of the New Mexico Territory in “The Great Western” of the NBC western series, The Tall Man, starring Barry Sullivan as Sheriff Pat Garrett and Clu Gulager as Billy the Kid. In the story line, as Wallace visits Lincoln, New Mexico, Sheriff Garrett tries to keep down brawling in the cantina owned by Big Mamacita (Connie Gilchrist), who is the grandmother of the governor’s young aide.
In the 1963–1964 season, Ferguson was cast in the recurring role of Judge Gurney in the NBC/Warner Brothers western series Temple Houston, with Jeffrey Hunter as an historical person, the frontier lawyer Temple Lea Houston, youngest son of Sam Houston. Jack Elam and Mary Wickes were other secondary characters. The series ended after twenty-six weeks.
In 1964–1965, Ferguson portrayed Pa Stockdale in the ABC-TV comedy No Time for Sergeants.:769–770
Ferguson played three different characters on The Andy Griffith Show, two different characters on Petticoat Junction, four different characters on Bonanza, four different characters on Perry Mason (including three episodes as a sheriff), and four different characters on the ABC/WB western, Maverick. He guest starred on other series, including the syndicated Gunsmoke, Rescue 8,Bat Masterson, Whirlybirds, and The Everglades; NBC’s The Restless Gun, Riverboat, Overland Trail, National Velvet, and Mr. Novak; ABC’s The Real McCoys, The Rifleman, The Alaskans, Target: The Corruptors, The Asphalt Jungle, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and CBS’s General Electric Theater (hosted by Ronald W. Reagan), and The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun. Ferguson appeared twice in 1956 as Henry Murdock (a name similar to his character in The Pride of the Family) on the syndicated western-themed crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise.
He guest starred in all three of Rod Cameron’s crime series, City Detective, (1955), State Trooper (in the 1957 episode “No Blaze of Glory”, the story of a presumed arson case with a surprise ending (with Vivi Janiss as his wife) and Coronado 9 (1960). He also guest starred, in the role of a hobo Beaver befriends, during the final season of ABC’s Leave It to Beaver sitcom in 1963.
Ferguson played the role of Eli Carson in the primetime ABC serial Peyton Place:828–829 and reprised the role in the later daytime version Return to Peyton Place.:890 Ferguson also appeared in an episode of Green Acres in 1969.
Ferguson died in Los Angeles of cancer on September 12, 1978.
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Selected filmography
Young Tom Edison (1940) as Customer on the train (uncredited) (film debut)
Gambling on the High Seas (1940) as City District Attorney
Father Is a Prince (1940) as Ben Haley
Four Mothers (1941) as Music Foundation Director (uncredited)
Bullets for O’Hara (1941) as Prosecutor (uncredited)
You’ll Never Get Rich (1941) as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Passage from Hong Kong (1941) as Ship’s Doctor (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941) as Grant’s Secretary (uncredited)
The Body Disappears (1941) as Prof. McAuley (uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942) as Snaith (uncredited)
Broadway (1942) as Reporter (uncredited)
My Gal Sal (1942) as Loud Customer (uncredited)
This Gun for Hire (1942) as Albert Baker
Grand Central Murder (1942) as Det. Mike McAdams (uncredited)
Spy Ship (1942) as Burns
Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942) as Alden Brown
Moonlight Masquerade (1942) as Doctor (uncredited)
Wings for the Eagle (1942) as Hansford (uncredited)
The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) as Reporter (uncredited)
The Spirit of Stanford (1942) as Psychology Professor (uncredited)
You Can’t Escape Forever (1942) as Coroner (uncredited)
City of Silent Men (1942) as Fred Bernard
The Boss of Big Town (1942) as Bram Hart
Truck Busters (1943) as George Havelock
The Meanest Man in the World (1943) as Teller (uncredited)
Mission to Moscow (1943) as American Newsman (uncredited)
Pilot No. 5 (1943) as Mr. Tully (uncredited)
Salute to the Marines (1943) as Pvt. Williams (uncredited)
Thrill of a Romance (1945) as 1st Hotel Monte Belva Clerk (uncredited)
Secrets of a Sorority Girl (1945) as Justin Farley
The Dolly Sisters (1945) as Reporter at Boat Docking (uncredited)
O.S.S. (1946) as Electronics Engineer (uncredited)
Blonde for a Day (1946) as Walter Bronson
The Searching Wind (1946) as Embassy Attendant (uncredited)
Night and Day (1946) as Tina’s Father (uncredited)
Canyon Passage (1946) as Preacher (uncredited)
Little Miss Big (1946) as Dr. Raymond (uncredited)
If I’m Lucky (1946) as Statistician (scenes deleted)
Lady Chaser (1946) as Attorney J. T. Vickers
Swell Guy (1946) as Eddie (uncredited)
Cross My Heart (1946) as Reporter (uncredited)
The Man I Love (1947) as Army Doctor (uncredited)
California (1947) as Cavalry Lieutenant on Patrol (uncredited)
The Perfect Marriage (1947) as Gentleman (uncredited)
The Beginning or the End (1947) as Dr. James B. Conant
The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) as Maatinaan
Danger Street (1947) as Boward – Police Chief (uncredited)
Blaze of Noon (1947) as Cash Jones (uncredited)
Killer at Large (1947) as Edward Denton
Welcome Stranger (1947) as Crane (uncredited)
The Trouble with Women (1947) as Mr. Metcalfe (uncredited)
The Perils of Pauline (1947) as Movie Theatre Owner (uncredited)
They Won’t Believe Me (1947) as Cahill
Variety Girl (1947) as R.J. O’Connell
Cass Timberlane (1947) as Court Clerk (uncredited)
The Fabulous Texan (1947) as Andy Renfro (uncredited)
T-Men (1947) as Secret Service Man (uncredited)
Road to Rio (1947) as Texas Posse Member (uncredited)
The Bride Goes Wild (1948) as Reporter (uncredited)
The Inside Story (1948) as Eph – Editor of The Bugle
The Miracle of the Bells (1948) as Dolan
Fort Apache (1948) as Newspaperman (uncredited)
The Hunted (1948) as Paul Harrison
Fighting Father Dunne (1948) as M.R. Colpeck (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) as Mr. McDougal
The Vicious Circle (1948) as Stark
The Babe Ruth Story (1948) as Danny’s Father (uncredited)
The Walls of Jericho (1948) as Tom Ransome (uncredited)
They Live by Night (1948) as Bum (uncredited)
Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) as Carl Bemish
Rachel and the Stranger (1948) as Mr. Green
That Wonderful Urge (1948) as Findlay (uncredited)
Dynamite (1949) as ‘Hard Rock’ Mason
Shockproof (1949) as Logan (uncredited)
Slightly French (1949) as Marty Freeman (uncredited)
State Department: File 649 (1949) as Consul Reither
Caught (1949) as Dr. Hoffman
Homicide (1949) as Albert Murray (uncredited)
The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) as Mr. Perkins (uncredited)
Follow Me Quietly (1949) as J.C. McGill
Roseanna McCoy (1949) as Ellison Hatfield
Free for All (1949) as Hap Ross
Dancing in the Dark (1949) as John Sharkey (uncredited)
Key to the City (1950) as Councilman (uncredited)
Tyrant of the Sea (1950) as Officer (uncredited)
The Good Humor Man (1950) as Insp. Quint
Louisa (1950) as Park Attendant (uncredited)
The Lawless (1950) as Carl Green
The Furies (1950) as Dr. Grieve
Right Cross (1950) as Dr. George Esmond (uncredited)
He’s a Cockeyed Wonder (1950) as Sheriff Oliver (uncredited)
Under Mexicali Stars (1950) as Counterfeitor Goldie
The West Point Story (1950) as Commandant (uncredited)
Watch the Birdie (1950) as Mr. Whittle (uncredited)
Frenchie (1950) as Jim Dobbs
The Great Missouri Raid (1951) as Bank Teller (uncredited)
Santa Fe (1951) as Marshal Bat Masterson
Thunder in God’s Country (1951) as Bates
Warpath (1951) as Marshal
The People Against O’Hara (1951) as George (uncredited)
The Barefoot Mailman (1951) as Doc Bethune (uncredited)
Elopement (1951) as Pinkie’s Father (uncredited)
The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) as Conventioneer (uncredited)
On Dangerous Ground (1951) as Willows
Room for One More (1952) as Steve (uncredited)
Boots Malone (1952) as Detective Agency Head (uncredited)
The Cimarron Kid (1952) as Prison Warden (uncredited)
Bend of the River (1952) as Tom Grundy
Rancho Notorious (1952) as Preacher
Rodeo (1952) as Harry Cartwright
The Marrying Kind (1952) as Mr. Quinn (uncredited)
Oklahoma Annie (1952) as Eldridge Haskell
Models Inc. (1952) as Joe Reynolds – the Banker
The Winning Team (1952) as Sam Arrants
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952) as Edward Norton
Wagons West (1952) as Cyrus Cook
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952) as Sam (uncredited)
It Grows on Trees (1952) as John Letherby
The Iron Mistress (1952) as Doctor (uncredited)
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) as Prosecutor
Stars and Stripes Forever (1952) as Mr. Wells (scenes deleted)
Star of Texas (1953) as Marshal Bullock
The I Don’t Care Girl (1953) as Ned (uncredited)
The Stars Are Singing (1953) as Doorman (uncredited)
The Blue Gardenia (1953) as Drunk Reporter (uncredited)
Woman They Almost Lynched (1953) as Bartender (uncredited)
The Lone Hand (1953) as Mr. Dunn the Banker
Trouble Along the Way (1953) as Mike Edwards (uncredited)
House of Wax (1953) as Medical Examiner (uncredited)
The Marksman (1953) as Champ Wiley
Powder River (1953) as Johnny Slater
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) as Dr. Morton
Hannah Lee (1953) as John Britton
So This Is Love (1953) as High School Commencement Speaker (uncredited)
Big Leaguer (1953) as Wally Mitchell
City of Bad Men (1953) as Easterner at Training Camp (uncredited)
Main Street to Broadway (1953) as Mr. Cope in Fantasy Sequence
So Big (1953) as Ed (uncredited)
Wicked Woman (1953) as Bill Porter
Texas Bad Man (1953) as Gil
Dragonfly Squadron (1954) as Col. Conners (uncredited)
Riding Shotgun (1954) as Townsman (uncredited)
Johnny Guitar (1954) as Marshal Williams
The Outcast (1954) as Chad Polsen
The Shanghai Story (1954) as Mr. Haljerson
A Star Is Born (1954) as Judge George J. Barnes (uncredited)
Drum Beat (1954) as Mr. Dyar
Black Tuesday (1954) as Police Inspector Hailey (uncredited)
Young at Heart (1954) as Bartell
The Violent Men (1955) as Mahoney (uncredited)
Battle Cry (1955) as Mr. Hector Walker
New York Confidential (1955) as Dr. Ludlow
The Eternal Sea (1955) as Admiral L.D.
City of Shadows (1955) as District Attorney Hunt
Moonfleet (1955) as Coachman
The McConnell Story (1955) as Mechanic
Trial (1955) as Kiley (uncredited)
A Lawless Street (1955) as Abe Deland (uncredited)
At Gunpoint (1955) as Marshal George Henderson
The Phantom Stagecoach (1957) as Joe Patterson
The Iron Sheriff (1957) as District Attorney Holloway
Gun Duel in Durango (1957) as Sheriff Howard
This Could Be the Night (1957) as Mr. Shea – Landlord
The Lawless Eighties (1957) as Owen Sutter
Cole Younger, Gunfighter (1958) as Sheriff Ralph Wittrock
The Light in the Forest (1958) as Harry Butler
Terror in a Texas Town (1958) as Deacon Matt Holmes
Man of the West (1958) as Crosscut Marshal (uncredited)
Revolt in the Big House (1958) as Gannon’s Lawyer (uncredited)
Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958) as Mayor Benson
The Big Night (1960) as Dave
Raymie (1960) as Rex
Sunrise at Campobello (1960) as Dr. Bennett
Pocketful of Miracles (1961) as Newspaper Editor
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) as Editor
Those Calloways (1965) as Doctor (uncredited)
The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) as Gen. Alfred Howe Terry (final film)
External Links
Actor Frank Ferguson – Wikipedia
