Willis Bouchey

Willis Bouchey
Willis Bouchey in Suddenly, 1954
Born	Willis Ben Bouchey (1907-05-24)May 24, 1907 Vernon, Michigan, U.S.
Died	August 26, 1977(1977-08-26) (aged 70) Burbank, California, U.S.
Years active	1951–1972

Willis Ben Bouchey (May 24, 1907 – September 27, 1977) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but reared by his mother and stepfather in Washington State.

Bouchey may be best known for his movie appearances in The Horse Soldiers, The Long Gray Line, Sergeant Rutledge, Two Rode Together, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Big Heat, Pickup on South Street, No Name on the Bullet, and Suddenly. He also made uncredited appearances in From Here to Eternity, How the West Was Won, Them!, Executive Suite, and A Star is Born, and appears briefly in Frank Capra's cameo-filled comedy Pocketful of Miracles.

Television

Bouchey projected a sober, dignified demeanor that served him well in character roles. He was a member of Jack Webb's Dragnet stock company, billed variously as "Willis Bouchey", "William Bouchey", or "Bill Bouchey." He appeared as a sheep trader in the title 1958 episode "Cash Robertson" of the NBC children's western series, Buckskin. In 1960 to 1961, he was cast twice in the ABC sitcom, Harrigan and Son, starring Pat O'Brien and Roger Perry, and four times in the role of Springer in the CBS sitcom, Pete and Gladys.

He guest starred on CBS's Dennis the Menace and played a judge in 23 episodes of that same network's Perry Mason, "one of the more frequent judges on the bench" in that program.^[1] Also on CBS, on Rod Sterling's The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), Willis Bouchey appeared as Dr. Samuel Thorne in the episode The Mask which premiered March 20th, 1964. He also worked again with Perry Mason title star Raymond Burr in an episode of NBC's Ironside. He made guest appearances on Sheriff of Cochise, Crossroads, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Johnny Ringo, Stoney Burke, Going My Way, The Dakotas, Hazel, and The Andy Griffith Show.

On ABC's Colt .45 television series, Bouchey played Lew Wallace, the governor of New Mexico Territory, in the episode "Amnesty". Wallace offered a pardon to the bandit Billy the Kid, played on Colt .45 by Robert Conrad.^[2]

Throughout his career, Bouchey worked in twelve different productions for director John Ford and was one of the more frequently-used members of Ford's stock company. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance he delivered the line, "Nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance."

Filmography

The Horse Soldiers (1959)

• The Violent Men (1955)
• The Wings of Eagles (1957)
• Two Rode Together (1961)

References

External links

• Willis Bouchey at the Internet Movie Database
• Willis Bouchey at AllMovie
• Willis Bouchey at Find a Grave
• In Loving Memory Of Willis Bouchey