American character actor Frank Ferguson appeared in scores of films and
television shows, often as self-important types. Prior to his film
debut, he was a prominent performer and director with the acclaimed
Pasadena Community Playhouse, where he coached numerous up-and-coming
young actors such as
Dana Andrews,
George Reeves,
Robert Preston and
Victor Mature. He broke into films,
himself, in the early 1940s, usually playing minor supporting roles,
though he was seen to advantage in larger roles, notably in two of the
best-known (and oddest) westerns of the '50s,
Rancho Notorious (1952) and
Johnny Guitar (1954). He played
hundreds of ranchers, bankers and police detectives in films and
television throughout the '50s and '60s. He became most familiar as
"Gus" on the children's program
My Friend Flicka (1955) and
later as "Eli Carson" on the two TV series based on the novel
Peyton Place (1964). He
semi-retired in 1972 and died of cancer six years later.
Little House on the Prairie(1974)as Calder
How the West Was Won(1976)as Grandpa Macahan, Grandpa
The Waltons(1972)as Allen McCreary
McMillan & Wife(1971)as Amos Tolliver
The Manhunter(1974)as Murdock
Leave It to Beaver(1957)
The Battle of Gettysburg(1955)as Gettysburg Address reciter
Of Men and Music(1951)as Self
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness(2007)as Mr. McDougal
Century of Cinema(1995)as Marshal Williams, 'Johnny Guitar'
The Republic Pictures Story(1991)as Marshal Williams (clip from Johnny Guitar (1954))
The American West of John Ford(1971)as actor 'Fort Apache'
The Magical World of Disney(1954)as Harry Butler
