Arthur Hunnicutt
American Stage, Film, and Television Actor
1910 - 1979
Arthur Hunnicutt was born in 1910 in Gravelly, Arkansas. He attended Arkansas State Teachers College,
but was forced to drop out due to lack of money.
A young Arthur Hunnicutt
As a young man, he travelled to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts to join a theatre company, and moved to New York where he found acting roles on Broadway as well as touring. Tall and lean with a natural drawl, Arthur was perfect for roles in the many productions set in the rural South or West. He toured as the lead in Tobacco Road, then took some small roles in films in the early 1940’s before returning to the stage.
With Charles Starrett in Robin Hood of the Range, 1943.
In 1949 he returned to Hollywood, never to leave, and began a long career as an often humorous and wise rural American.
Arthur with Jimmy Stewart in Broken Arrow, 1950.
In 1952 his role as Zeb Calloway in The Big Sky earned him acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The Big Sky has been described as “a poetic, ramshackle film about fur traders who love, laugh, drink, sing, swap tall tales, and occasionally shoot bad guys.” Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin are the handsomer leads, but some say that Hunnicutt is the one who “makes it all work” with his homespun, casual narration.
Arthur Hunnicutt in The Big Sky, 1952.
He continued to play similar characters who were almost always likable for the remainder of his long career.
Arthur Hunnicutt with John Wayne, James Canaan, and Robert Mitchem in El Dorado, 1966.
Arthur in Cat Ballou, 1965
His 90 film and television credits include roles in Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, The Andy Griffith Show, Donna Reed, Twilight Zone, Outlaws, Laramie, Perry Mason, Burke’s Law, Lassie, Outer Limits, Walt Disney, Wagon Train, Cat Ballou, Daniel Boone, Wild, Wild West, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and My Three Sons.
Arthur Hunnicutt as Hyder Simpson Twilight Zone, 1962.
Arthur Hunnicutt appeared on Bonanza four times in The Hanging Posse (1959), Any Friend of Walter's (1963), Walter and the Outlaws, (1964), and Dead Wrong, (1969).
Paiute Scroggs pulling a gun on Adam in The Hanging Posse, 1959.
Obie with Walter in Walter and the Outlaws, 1964.
He was married to Pauline Lile who was also born in Arkansas in 1913. She is described as the "wife supporter, and helpmate of her husband...a good woman of Arkansas stock who was devoted to her family and friends."
After retirement he lived in Northridge, CA where he served as honorary major. He was honored in by being inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas.
He died in 1979 at the age of 69 of cancer of the tongue. He is buried in his home state in Coop Cemetery in Mansfield Georgia. His wife Pauline died in 1993 and is buried next to her husband.
WikipediaAmerican Stage, Film, and Television Actor
1910 - 1979
Arthur Hunnicutt was born in 1910 in Gravelly, Arkansas. He attended Arkansas State Teachers College,
but was forced to drop out due to lack of money.
A young Arthur Hunnicutt
As a young man, he travelled to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts to join a theatre company, and moved to New York where he found acting roles on Broadway as well as touring. Tall and lean with a natural drawl, Arthur was perfect for roles in the many productions set in the rural South or West. He toured as the lead in Tobacco Road, then took some small roles in films in the early 1940’s before returning to the stage.
With Charles Starrett in Robin Hood of the Range, 1943.
In 1949 he returned to Hollywood, never to leave, and began a long career as an often humorous and wise rural American.
Arthur with Jimmy Stewart in Broken Arrow, 1950.
In 1952 his role as Zeb Calloway in The Big Sky earned him acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The Big Sky has been described as “a poetic, ramshackle film about fur traders who love, laugh, drink, sing, swap tall tales, and occasionally shoot bad guys.” Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin are the handsomer leads, but some say that Hunnicutt is the one who “makes it all work” with his homespun, casual narration.
Arthur Hunnicutt in The Big Sky, 1952.
He continued to play similar characters who were almost always likable for the remainder of his long career.
Arthur Hunnicutt with John Wayne, James Canaan, and Robert Mitchem in El Dorado, 1966.
Arthur in Cat Ballou, 1965
His 90 film and television credits include roles in Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, The Andy Griffith Show, Donna Reed, Twilight Zone, Outlaws, Laramie, Perry Mason, Burke’s Law, Lassie, Outer Limits, Walt Disney, Wagon Train, Cat Ballou, Daniel Boone, Wild, Wild West, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, and My Three Sons.
Arthur Hunnicutt as Hyder Simpson Twilight Zone, 1962.
Arthur Hunnicutt appeared on Bonanza four times in The Hanging Posse (1959), Any Friend of Walter's (1963), Walter and the Outlaws, (1964), and Dead Wrong, (1969).
Paiute Scroggs pulling a gun on Adam in The Hanging Posse, 1959.
Obie with Walter in Walter and the Outlaws, 1964.
He was married to Pauline Lile who was also born in Arkansas in 1913. She is described as the "wife supporter, and helpmate of her husband...a good woman of Arkansas stock who was devoted to her family and friends."
After retirement he lived in Northridge, CA where he served as honorary major. He was honored in by being inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas.
He died in 1979 at the age of 69 of cancer of the tongue. He is buried in his home state in Coop Cemetery in Mansfield Georgia. His wife Pauline died in 1993 and is buried next to her husband.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Hunnicutt
