This great character actor was a member of a famous acting family and
seemed to age like 'fine wine.' Dark and macho looking with a square jaw,
expressive eyes and an upbeat, laid back demeanor he was often the sidekick.
He was born in New York City on August 10, 1913 the son of actor Noah Beery
and the nephew of character actor Wallace Beery. With such a background
it was inevitable that he would perform and he made his debut as a child
in the silent film "The Mark of Zorro" (1920) with his father
and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. He toured with his father acting in stock companies
and attending military academies for his education. His other film credits
include: "Heroes of the West" (1932) as Noah Blaine; "Tailspin
Tommy" (1934) as Peter 'Skeeter' Milligan; "Stormy" (1935)
as Stormy; "Ace Drummond" (1936) as Jerry; "Only Angels Have
Wings" (1939) as Joe Souther; "Of Mice and Men" (1939) with
Lon Chaney Jr., as Whit; "20 Mule Team" (1940) as Mitch; "Sergeant
York" (1941) with Gary Cooper, as Buck Lipscomb; "'Neath the Brooklyn
Bridge" (1942) as Butch; "The Daltons Ride Again" (1945)
as Ben Dalton; "Red River" (1948) with John Wayne, as Buster McGee;
"Two Flags West" (1950) as Cy Davis; "Rocketship X-M (1950)
as Maj. William Corrigan; Disney's "Davey Crockett, Indian Scout"
(1950) as Tex; "The Cimmaron Kid" (1951) as Bob Dalton; "War
Arrow" (1953) as Sgt. Augustus Wilks; "Seven Faces of Dr. Lao"
(1964) as Tim Mitchell; "Little Fauss and Big Halsy" (1970) as
Seally Fauss; "Walking Tall" (1973) as Grandpa; "The Spikes
Gang" (1974) as Jack Basset, one of my favorite films and "The
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1980) as Edsel, his last film. He
became quite popular on TV as a regular on: "The Adventures of Noah
Beery Jr." (1954) an adventure series; "Circus Boy" (1956-58)
with Mickey Braddock (later Dolenz), as Joey, the clown; "Riverboat"
(1960-61) as Bill Blake; "Hondo" (1967) as Buffalo Baker; "Doc
Elliot" (1973-74) as Barney Weeks; "The Rockford Files" (1974-80)
as Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford, probably his best known role; "The Quest"
(1982) as Art Henley and "The Yellow Rose" (1983-84) as Luther
Dillard. He also starred in TV movies and guested on such series as: "Gunsmoke";
"Lassie"; "Wagon Train"; "Perry Mason"; "Magnum
P.I." and "Murder She Wrote. He died on November 1, 1994 in Tehachapi,
California, at his ranch, of complications of brain surgery at age 81.
