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{{short description|American actor}}
{{IMDb refimprove|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Wright King
| name = Wright King
| image = Wright King in Suspense (Death Drum).jpg
| image = Wright King in Suspense (Death Drum).jpg
| birth_name = Thomas Wright Thornburg King
| birth_name = Wright King
| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|1|11}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|1|11}}
| birth_place = [[Okmulgee, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| birth_place =
| death_place =[[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| death_place =[[Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|25|1923|1|11}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|25|1923|1|11}}
| resting_place =
| resting_place =
| occupation = Actor
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1949–1987
| years_active =
| alma_mater =
| alma_mater =
⚫
| spouse = June Ellen Roth King19482008
| residence = [[Woodland Hills, California]]
| children = 3
⚫
| spouse = June Ellen Roth King (1948-2008, her death)
| children = Wright King Jr., Michael King, Meegan King (born 1954)

}}
}}

'''Thomas Wright Thornburg King''' (January 11, 1923 – November 25, 2018), better known as '''Wright King''', was an American film and television actor, a native of [[Okmulgee, Oklahoma|Okmulgee]] in east central [[Oklahoma]].<ref name="King">{{cite web | url=http://www.nndb.com/people/267/000352208/ | title=Wright King | publisher=NNDB | accessdate=March 5, 2014}}</ref> His career spanned the years from 1949 until his retirement in 1987.
'''Wright Thornburgh King''' (January 11, 1923 – November 25, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career lasted for over forty years.<ref name="us1930">1930 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]</ref><ref name="us1940">1940 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]</ref><ref name="dc1942">U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Wright Thornburgh King, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]</ref><ref name="thrmb">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wright-king-dead-actor-a-streetcar-named-desire-twilight-zone-was-95-1165873|title=Wright King, Actor in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Twilight Zone,' Dies at 95|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=3 December 2018 |access-date=24 May 2019}}</ref> He is best known for playing Jason Nichols in the [[television series]] ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]'' (1958–1961).


==Early life and career==
==Early life and career==
King studied acting at the St Louis School of Theater, where he graduated in 1941, before enlisting in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] (1943-1945) where he served in the South Pacific campaign.<ref name="WrightStreetC">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1952/03-27/page-6?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1950&pey=1959 | title=Ex-Mt. Vernonite Wright King in "Streetcar" Cast | publisher=''Mt. Vernon Register News'' | date=March 27, 1952 | accessdate=June 4, 2016 | pages=6}}</ref>
King studied acting at the St Louis School of Theater, he graduated in 1941, before enlisting in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] he served in the South Pacific campaign.<ref name="WrightStreetC">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1952/03-27/page-6?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1950&pey=1959 | title=Ex-Mt. Vernonite Wright King in "Streetcar" Cast | publisher=Mt. Vernon Register News | date=March 27, 1952 | =June 4, 2016 | pages=6}}</ref>
[[File:Vivien Leigh-Wright King in A Streetcar Named Desire trailer.jpg|right|thumb|260px|With [[Vivien Leigh]] in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1951)]]
⚫
King made his small screen debut in 1949 as Midshipman Bascomb in the television series ''[[Captain Video and His Video Rangers]]''.


⚫
Throughout his career, he worked in both the United States and in the United Kingdom.<ref name="WrightK">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1956/12-07/page-8?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1950&pey=1959 | title=Wright King In Grenada Movie | publisher=Mt. Vernon Register News | date=December 7, 1956 | =June 4, 2016 | pages=8}}</ref>
⚫
King made his small screen debut in 1949 as Midshipman Bascomb in the television series, ''[[Captain Video and His Video Rangers]]''.


⚫
King was cast in numerous [[Western (genre)|]] and is particularly known for his role in the 1951 film adaptation of [[Tennessee Williams]]' ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', starring [[Vivien Leigh]] (whom his character kisses). Prior to that, he had appeared in the original stage production, a performance which was lauded by drama critic [[Harold Hobson]].<ref name="WrightKing">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1949/12-15/page-2?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1940&pey=1949 | title=Mt. Vernon Actor Is Praised by London Critic | publisher=Mt. Vernon Register News | date=December 15, 1949 | =June 4, 2016 | pages=2}}</ref>
⚫
Throughout his career, he worked in both the United States and in the United Kingdom.<ref name="WrightK">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1956/12-07/page-8?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1950&pey=1959 | title=Wright King In Grenada Movie | publisher=''Mt. Vernon Register News'' | date=December 7, 1956 | accessdate=June 4, 2016 | pages=8}}</ref>


⚫
Other noteworthy film credits included roles in ''[[Cast a Long Shadow]]'' (1959), ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965), ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (1968), ''[[Finian's Rainbow (film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' (1968) and ''[[Invasion of the Bee Girls]]'' (1973).
⚫
King was cast in numerous [[Western (genre)|westerns]] and is particularly known for his role in the 1951 film adaptation of [[Tennessee Williams]]' ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', starring [[Vivien Leigh]] (whom his character kisses). Prior to that, he had appeared in the original stage production, a performance which was lauded by drama critic [[Harold Hobson]].<ref name="WrightKing">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1949/12-15/page-2?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1940&pey=1949 | title=Mt. Vernon Actor Is Praised by London Critic | publisher=''Mt. Vernon Register'' News | date=December 15, 1949 | accessdate=June 4, 2016 | pages=2}}</ref>


⚫
In 1974, he played U.S. Senator [[Richard Russell Jr.|Richard B. Russell Jr.]] of Georgia in the ''[[The Missiles of October]]'', a dramatization of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962.<ref name="WKing">{{cite | url=http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/120616398770560.xml&coll=1 | title=King of the 'Streetcar' | =The Times-Picayune | date=March 22, 2008 | =August 3, 2014}}</ref>
⚫
Other noteworthy film credits included roles in ''[[Cast a Long Shadow]]'' (1959), ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965), ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (1968), ''[[Finian's Rainbow (film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' (1968) and ''[[Invasion of the Bee Girls]]'' (1973).


He appeared in the television series ''[[Johnny Jupiter]]'', was in two episodes of the TV series ''The Silent Service'' (S01 E10 "The Pampanito" and S01 E20 "The Squailfish"). He appeared with [[Richard Boone]] in ''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]'' in the episodes "Helen of Abajinan" and "A Knight to Remember". He also appeared with James Arness in ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' in the 1959 episode “False Witness” (S5Ep14), the 1961 episode "Colorado Sheriff" (S6E38), the 1964 episode “No Hands” (S9E19) and the 1965 episode "The Bounty Hunter" (S11E7).
⚫
In 1974, he played [[U.S. Senator]] [[Richard Russell Jr.|Richard B. Russell Jr.]], of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in the ABC television film, ''[[The Missiles of October]]'', a dramatization of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962.<ref name="WKing">{{cite web | url=http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/120616398770560.xml&coll=1 | title=King of the 'Streetcar' | publisher=''The Times-Picayune'' | date=March 22, 2008 | accessdate=August 3, 2014}}</ref>

He appeared in the television series ''[[Johnny Jupiter]]'', was in two episodes of the TV series ''The Silent Service'' (S01 E10 "The Pampanito" and S01 E20 "The Squailfish") and was the partner of [[Steve McQueen]] for a season of ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]''. He appeared with Richard Boone in Have Gun Will Travel /Season 1 episode "Helen of Abajinan"


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
King married June Ellen Roth in 1948. The couple had their first child the next year.<ref name="WKChildren">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1949/11-22/page-2?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1940&pey=1949 | title=Births | publisher=''Mt. Vernon Register News''|date=November 22, 1949 | accessdate=June 4, 2016 | pages=2}}</ref>
King married June Ellen Roth in 1948. The couple had .<ref name="WKChildren">{{cite web | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/mt-vernon/mt-vernon-register-news/1949/11-22/page-2?tag=wright+king&rtserp=tags/?pep=wright-king&ndt=by&py=1940&pey=1949 | title=Births | publisher=Mt. Vernon Register News|date=November 22, 1949 | =June 4, 2016 | pages=2}}</ref>


He died in [[Canoga Park, Los Angeles]] on 25 November 2018 at the age of 95.<ref>[https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/canoga-park-ca/wright-king-8074053 Wright T. King obituary]</ref><ref>https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wright-king-dead-actor-a-streetcar-named-desire-twilight-zone-was-95-1165873</ref>
He died in [[ ]] on November 2018 at the age of 95.<ref>https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries </ref><ref>https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wright-king-dead-actor-a-streetcar-named-desire-twilight-zone-was-95-1165873</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
Line 63: Line 62:
|1959|| ''[[Cast a Long Shadow]]'' || Noah Pringle ||
|1959|| ''[[Cast a Long Shadow]]'' || Noah Pringle ||
|-
|-
|1962|| ''Dangerous Charter'' || Joe ||
|1962|| ''Dangerous Charter'' || Joe ||
|-
|-
|1965|| ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' || Brough ||
|1965|| ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' || Brough ||
Line 69: Line 68:
|1968|| ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' || Dr. Galen ||
|1968|| ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' || Dr. Galen ||
|-
|-
|1968|| ''[[Finian's Rainbow (film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' || District Attorney ||
|1968|| ''[[Finian's Rainbow (film)|Finian's Rainbow]]'' || District Attorney ||
|-
|-
|1972|| ''[[Journey Through Rosebud]]'' || Indian Agent ||
|1972|| ''[[Journey Through Rosebud]]'' || Indian Agent ||
Line 76: Line 75:
|-
|-
|1987|| ''House Made of Dawn'' || Father Olguin || (final film role)
|1987|| ''House Made of Dawn'' || Father Olguin || (final film role)
|}

==Selected television==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
!scope="col"|Year
!scope="col"|Title
!scope="col"|Role
!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Captain Video and His Video Rangers]]''
| Midshipman Bascomb
|
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)]]''
| Frank Endicott
| Season 1/Episode 11 - "Quicksand"
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)]]''
| Blaney Wilcox / Pocatello Kid
| Season 2/Episode 15 - "Born Bad"
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''
| Jimmy O'Riley
| Season 1/Episode 16 - "Helen of Abajinian"
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)]]''
| The Kiowa Kid / Nevada Jones
| Season 3/Episode 14 - "Ghost of the Cimarron"
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Gunsmoke (TV series)|Gunsmoke]]''
| Crep
| Season 5/Episode 14 - "False Witness"
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]''
| Seth Blake
| Season 1/Episode 36 - "Amos Carter"
|-
| 1959-1960
| ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]''
| Jason Nichols
| Season 2 - 10 episodes
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Gunsmoke]]''
| Gant
| S8:E11 “Abe Blocker”
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''
| Mr. Hecate
| Episode: [[Of Late I Think of Cliffordville]]
|}
|}


Line 85: Line 143:
==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Commons}}
*{{IMDb name|0455389}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{IBDB name|109012}}
*{{ name}}
* {{TCMDb name|102461}}
* {{IBDB name}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Okmulgee, Oklahoma]]
[[Category: ]]
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Male actors from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Male actors from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
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[[Category:Male actors from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Male actors from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Western (genre) television actors]]
[[Category:Male Western (genre) film actors]]
[[Category:Male Western (genre) film actors]]

Latest revision as of 08:35, 27 August 2024

Wright King
Born
Wright Thornburgh King

(1923-01-11)January 11, 1923
DiedNovember 25, 2018(2018-11-25) (aged 95)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1946–1987
Spouse
June Ellen Roth King
​
​
(m. 1948; died 2008)​
Children3

Wright Thornburgh King (January 11, 1923 – November 25, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career lasted for over forty years.[1][2][3][4] He is best known for playing Jason Nichols in the television series Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961).

Early life and career

[edit]

King studied acting at the St Louis School of Theater, from which he graduated in 1941, before enlisting in the United States Navy during World War II, in which he served in the South Pacific campaign from 1943 to 1945.[5]

With Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

King made his small screen debut in 1949 as Midshipman Bascomb in the television series Captain Video and His Video Rangers.

Throughout his career, he worked in both the United States and in the United Kingdom.[6]

King was cast in numerous Westerns and is particularly known for his role in the 1951 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Vivien Leigh (whom his character kisses). Prior to that, he had appeared in the original stage production, a performance which was lauded by drama critic Harold Hobson.[7] In 1958 King appeared as the Kiowa Kid/Nevada Jones on the TV Western Cheyenne in the episode "Ghost of the Cimarron."[8]: 83  In 1957 King starred as Joe Digger, a falsely accused horse thief who was hanged but saved, then hanged again after he killed one of his original executioners in the Gunsmoke episode "Born to Hang". King also appeared in eleven episodes of the television series Wanted Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen, often playing a young sidekick named Jason Nichols. He also appeared in S2 E13 "No Trail Back" as Joe Hooker, the brother of a wanted man, who was bitten by a rabid dog. It aired 11/26/1959.

Other noteworthy film credits included roles in Cast a Long Shadow (1959), King Rat (1965), Planet of the Apes (1968), Finian's Rainbow (1968) and Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973).

In 1974, he played U.S. Senator Richard B. Russell Jr. of Georgia in the TV movie The Missiles of October, a dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.[9]

He appeared in the television series Johnny Jupiter, was in two episodes of the TV series The Silent Service (S01 E10 "The Pampanito" and S01 E20 "The Squailfish"). He appeared with Richard Boone in Have Gun – Will Travel in the episodes "Helen of Abajinan" and "A Knight to Remember". He also appeared with James Arness in Gunsmoke in the 1959 episode “False Witness” (S5Ep14), the 1961 episode "Colorado Sheriff" (S6E38), the 1964 episode “No Hands” (S9E19) and the 1965 episode "The Bounty Hunter" (S11E7).

Personal life

[edit]

King married June Ellen Roth in 1948. The couple had three sons, Wright Jr., Michael, and actor Meegan King.[10]

He died in Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hill, California on November 25, 2018, at the age of 95.[11][12]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1951 A Streetcar Named Desire Newspaper Collector
1956 The Bold and the Brave Technician Fifth Grade
1956 The Young Guns Jonesy
1956 Friendly Persuasion Forager Uncredited
1956 Stagecoach to Fury Ralph Slader
1957 Hot Rod Rumble Ray Johnson - Arnie's sidekick
1959 The Gunfight at Dodge City Billy Townsend
1959 Cast a Long Shadow Noah Pringle
1962 Dangerous Charter Joe Shot in 1958
1965 King Rat Brough
1968 Planet of the Apes Dr. Galen
1968 Finian's Rainbow District Attorney
1972 Journey Through Rosebud Indian Agent
1973 Invasion of the Bee Girls Dr. Murger
1987 House Made of Dawn Father Olguin (final film role)

Selected television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1949 Captain Video and His Video Rangers Midshipman Bascomb
1956 Cheyenne (TV series) Frank Endicott Season 1/Episode 11 - "Quicksand"
1957 Cheyenne (TV series) Blaney Wilcox / Pocatello Kid Season 2/Episode 15 - "Born Bad"
1957 Have Gun – Will Travel Jimmy O'Riley Season 1/Episode 16 - "Helen of Abajinian"
1958 Cheyenne (TV series) The Kiowa Kid / Nevada Jones Season 3/Episode 14 - "Ghost of the Cimarron"
1959 Gunsmoke Crep Season 5/Episode 14 - "False Witness"
1959 Wanted Dead or Alive Seth Blake Season 1/Episode 36 - "Amos Carter"
1959-1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Jason Nichols Season 2 - 10 episodes
1962 Gunsmoke Gant S8:E11 “Abe Blocker”
1963 The Twilight Zone Mr. Hecate Episode: Of Late I Think of Cliffordville

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 1930 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved from Ancestry.com
  2. ^ 1940 US Federal Census for Wright T. King, retrieved from Ancestry.com
  3. ^ U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Wright Thornburgh King, retrieved from Ancestry.com
  4. ^ "Wright King, Actor in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Twilight Zone,' Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Ex-Mt. Vernonite Wright King in "Streetcar" Cast". Mt. Vernon Register News. March 27, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Wright King In Grenada Movie". Mt. Vernon Register News. December 7, 1956. p. 8. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mt. Vernon Actor Is Praised by London Critic". Mt. Vernon Register News. December 15, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  8. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (1997). Television Westerns Episode Guide: All United States Series, 1949-1996. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-7386-1.
  9. ^ "King of the 'Streetcar'". The Times-Picayune. March 22, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  10. ^ "Births". Mt. Vernon Register News. November 22, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  11. ^ "Find Local Obituaries Online". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Wright King, Actor in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Twilight Zone,' Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
[edit]
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