William Henry Pyle Popular Books

William Henry Pyle Biography & Facts

Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985, as Mad Jack in the NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and as the titular character's father, Buck Webb, in CBS's The Doris Day Show. In many of his roles, he portrayed either authority figures, or gruff, demanding father figures, often as comic relief. Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush. Early life Pyle was born in Bethune, Colorado on May 11, 1920, to farmer Ben H. Pyle and his wife Maude. His brother, Willis, was an animator known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios and UPA. After graduating from high school, Pyle briefly attended Colorado State University, but dropped out to enter show business, moving to Los Angeles in 1940. He worked as a drummer and band member until the United States entered World War II. His military service is unclear, and he possibly enlisted in the U.S. Navy or Merchant Marines, or both. Career After the war, Pyle embarked on his film and television career. He played many bit parts on television series and movies before starring in several movies and on television during the 1950s and '60s. Limited roles Pyle guest-starred 14 times between 1951 and 1953 on the syndicated television series The Range Rider with Jock Mahoney and Dick Jones, and appeared as an outlaw in a 1951 episode of the television series The Lone Ranger titled "Backtrail," then as a deputy in the episode "The Hooded Men" and returned in episode 71 "The Outcast", episode 166 "Woman in the White Mask" and episode 187 "Cross of Santo Domingo". He also appeared in "Frontier Range", a 1951 episode of The Gene Autry Show. In 1953, Pyle appeared on The Roy Rogers Show (season two, "Loaded Guns") as the wrongly accused killer, ranch hand Tom Larrabee. Also in 1953, Pyle played Emil Hatch in episode 46 of The Adventures of Superman entitled "Beware the Wrecker". He had a part in the 1955 Audie Murphy film To Hell and Back, and appeared twice on NBC's 1955–1956 Western anthology series Frontier (in "Mother of the Brave" and in "The Voyage of Captain Castle"). Pyle was twice cast on CBS's The Public Defender in the role of George Hansen, and three times on the religious anthology series, Crossroads on ABC. He acted the part of a police detective in the 1956 film noir Please Murder Me, starring Raymond Burr. Pyle was cast as Carter in the 1955 episode "Joey's Father" on Fury. Three years later, he played an arsonist in the episode "The Fire Watchers" of the same series. In 1956, Pyle appeared as Vance Kiley in the episode called "Quicksand" in the TV Western series The Lone Ranger. That same year, he played "Willie Calhoun", a lovestruck, and soon-to-be murderer, in season 2’s "Poor Pearl" on Gunsmoke. He appeared as a professor in the syndicated Men into Space series' 1959 episode "Moonquake". In an episode of Ripcord, he played a suicidal parachutist. Also in 1959, he returned to Gunsmoke, playing the lead character Mike Blocker in the episode "The Bear". Pyle appeared twice each on the CBS Western series My Friend Flicka and NBC's The Restless Gun with John Payne. He guest-starred with Grant Withers in the 1959 episode "Tumbleweed Ranger" of Tris Coffin's syndicated Western series 26 Men, billed as true stories of the Arizona Rangers. He appeared seven times on Richard Boone's CBS Western Have Gun – Will Travel; his final appearance was on the show in 1960 as the character Croft in "The Puppeteer". He guest-starred in 1960 in several other Westerns, including Pony Express, The Man from Blackhawk, and Tombstone Territory. He was cast as Big Red in the 1959 episode "Woman in the River" of the detective series Bourbon Street Beat, starring Andrew Duggan and Richard Long. He made several appearances as Briscoe Darling, on The Andy Griffith Show. Pyle was cast in a number of Western movies by John Ford, including The Horse Soldiers with William Holden and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He played a Tennessee soldier (called Thimblerig) in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He portrayed Sam Houston in several episodes of CBS's The Adventures of Jim Bowie. He guest-starred as a law-enforcement officer in Jim Davis' other syndicated series, Rescue 8, and also appeared in an episode of the ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys with Walter Brennan. Pyle was cast in the 1960 episode "Three Wise Men" of ABC's Stagecoach West as an outlaw who promises to turn himself into the authorities if he can spend Christmas with his family. About this time, Pyle appeared in the segment "Lawyer in Petticoats" of William Bendix's 1960 NBC Western series Overland Trail with Doug McClure, and thereafter in 1961 in "Hand of Vengeance" in the syndicated Western series Two Faces West. Pyle was cast as Jed Corrigan in the 1961 episode "The Tramp" of the NBC family drama series National Velvet. Pyle guest-starred twice on the CBS series Route 66 with Martin Milner and George Maharis, first in 1961 in the episode "The Newborn" and again in 1962 in "A Long Piece of Mischief". He appeared as the father of the doomed family in the dystopian episode "Black Leather Jackets" of The Twilight Zone. In 1963, Pyle guest-starred on The Dick Van Dyke Show as Uncle George in the episode "Uncle George". He appeared twice in Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker. He played Sergeant Tripp in the episode "The Enemy" of the James Arness ABC series How the West Was Won. Pyle also had guest-starring roles on The Rifleman. He also is known for portraying both the suspect and the murder victim on the last original Perry Mason TV episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout", in 1966. He was one of 11 actors to hit the Perry Mason trifecta, portraying a victim, a defendant, and the actual murderer (in previous episodes) on the series, which he did in five appearances. Among his other appearances, he played defendant Robert Crane in "The Case of the Deadly Double" in 1958, Tom Quincy in "The Case of the Ominous Outcast" in 1960, Tilden Stuart in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist", Emery Fillmore in "The Case of the Renegade Refugee" (both in 1961), and Frank Honer in "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox" in 1963. Pyle portrayed Grandpa Tarleton in all 26 episodes of Tammy in the 1965–1966 season. Pyle portrayed the vengeful Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. He also appeared in an episode of The High Chaparral as a general who had lost his son. In 1968, he appeared as Titus Purcell, patriarch of a family of homesteaders, in the episode "The Price of Tomatoes" in the sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Worki.... Discover the William Henry Pyle popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William Henry Pyle books.