Walter Coy

Walter Coy
Coy in Frontier, 1955.
Born	Walter Darrwin Coy (1909-01-31)January 31, 1909 Great Falls, Cascade County Montana, U.S.
Died	December 11, 1974(1974-12-11) (aged 65) Santa Maria Santa Barbara County California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Washington
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1974
Spouses	Anne Burr (m. 1942; div. 194?) Pamela Gillespie (m. 1948; div. 1961) Ruth E. Harburger (m. 1969; div. 1971)
Children	3

Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, arguably most well known as John Wayne's character's brother in The Searchers (1956).

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Early years

Originally from Great Falls, Montana, Coy was the son of Theodore Coy, who had a furniture store. The family moved to Seattle, Washington, around 1923.^[1] He played varsity football at the University of Washington^[2] and majored in dramatics.^[1]

Before Coy became an actor, he worked at salmon canneries in Alaska. In 1929, he moved to New York. During World War II, he served in the Army.^[1]

Career

Coy performed on Broadway from 1930 to 1948.^[3] He appeared in several early Group Theatre productions.^[4] He was the first actor to play Lone Wolf on the radio series of the same name.^[5]

Broadway roles

The House of Connelly (1931) - Charlie and as Seranader
Night Over Taos (1932) - Felipe
Men in White (1933) - Dr. Bradley
Gold Eagle Guy (1934) - Adam Keane
Till the Day I Die (1935) - Karl Taussig
Waiting For Lefty (1935) - Irv
Paradise Lost (1935) - Ben
Case of Clyde Griffiths (1936) - Gilbert Griffiths
Many Mansions (1937) - George Graham
Lady in the Dark (1941) - Charley Johnson (replacement)
Hamlet (1945) - Horatio

Western programs

Of the 31 Frontier episodes, 16 are narrated by Coy:

"Paper Gunman" (September 25, 1955)
"Tomas and the Widow" (October 2)
"A Stillness in Wyoming" (October 16)
"The Shame of a Nation" (October 23)
"In Nebraska" (October 30)
"The Suspects" (November 6)
"King of the Dakotas" (2 parts, November 8 and 20)
"Cattle Drive to Casper" (November 27)
"The Texicans" (January 8, 1956)
"Mother of the Brave" (January 15)
"The Ten Days of John Leslie" (January 22)
"The Devil and Dr. O'Hara" (February 5)
"Assassin" (March 4)
"The Hanging at Thunder Butte Creek (March 18)
"The Hostage" (September 9, 1956)

Coy also appeared on Jim Davis' western anthology series, Stories of the Century in the role of Sam Clayton in the 1954 episode entitled "Tom Horn," an account of the western lawman-turned outlaw Tom Horn. He appeared on many other western television programs, including Cheyenne, Bronco, Cimarron City, The Lone Ranger, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (one episode as Ben Thompson), Shotgun Slade, The Deputy, Bonanza, Bat Masterson, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Trackdown, Tales of Wells Fargo, Yancy Derringer, Laramie, Two Faces West, Lawman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Restless Gun, The Rough Riders, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, Pony Express, Rawhide, Mackenzie's Raiders, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Texan, The Man from Blackhawk, Hotel de Paree, Overland Trail, Maverick, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Bat Masterson, Laredo, The Outcasts, Wagon Train (five times), and Robert Conrad's The Wild Wild West.

Other television roles

Coy portrayed Jason Farrel in the ABC soap opera Flame in the Wind (1965),^[6] King Zorvac in the syndicated science fiction series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954)^[7]^: 905 and Jason in the ABC serial A Time for Us.^[7]^: 1085

Other guest-starring roles in drama include Crusader, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Crossroads, Whirlybirds, U.S. Marshal, Rescue 8, The Lineup, East Side/West Side, Mr. Adams and Eve, Mike Hammer, The Defenders, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Navy Log, Tightrope, Lock-Up, Lassie, Ironside, M Squad, and I Spy. Coy also appeared in two comedies, McKeever and the Colonel and Hazel, and was cast in the automotive history movie, The Studebaker Story (1953-uncredited role)

Coy's last television role was as Chief Blackfish on the NBC series Daniel Boone^[5] in the 1970 episode "How to Become a Goddess".

Selected filmography

Love Letters of a Star (1936) - Charley Warren
Barricade (1950) - Benson
Colt .45 (1950) - Carl (uncredited)
Saddle Tramp (1950) - Mr Phillips
Under Mexicali Stars (1950) - Giles Starkey
FBI Girl (1951) - Priest
Bugles in the Afternoon (1952) - Capt. Benteen (uncredited)
The Lusty Men (1952) - Buster Burgess
Flat Top (1952) - Air Group Commander
So Big (1953) - Roelf Pool
All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953) - Noah Shore (uncredited)
Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954) - Gendarme Arnot (uncredited)
Them! (1954) - Reporter (uncredited)
Sign of the Pagan (1954) - Emperor Valentinian
Cult of the Cobra (1955) - Police Inspector
Wichita (1955) - Sam McCoy
Running Wild (1955) - Lt. Ed Newpole
The Searchers (1956) - Aaron Edwards
On the Threshold of Space (1956) - Lt. Col. Dick Masters
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) - Clint Fallon (uncredited)
The Young Guns (1956) - Sheriff Jim Peyton
Pillars of the Sky (1956) - Maj. Donahue
Hot Summer Night (1957) - Pete Wayne (uncredited)
Johnny Tremain (1957) - Dr. Joseph Warren
Juvenile Jungle (1958) - John Elliot
South Seas Adventure (1958) - Supplemental Narration (voice)
The Restless Gun (1959) - Episode "Dead Ringer"
The Trap (1959) - Second Fake Policeman (uncredited)
Gunmen from Laredo (1959) - Ben Keefer
Warlock (1959) - Deputy Sheriff Ray Thomson (uncredited)
The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959) - Ben Townsend
North by Northwest (1959) - U.S. Intelligence Agency official (uncredited)
Cash McCall (1960) - Reporter (uncredited)
Five Guns to Tombstone (1960) - Ike Garvey
Gun Fight (1961) - Sheriff
Catlow (1971) - Parkman
I Eat Your Skin (1971) - Charles Bentley
Pancho Villa (1972) - Gen. Pershing
Hay que matar a B. (1974) - (final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Rawhide	Lem Trager	S3:E25, "Incident of the Running Man"

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Walter Coy, TV Actor, Falls Native". Great Falls Tribune. Montana, Great Falls. April 12, 1956. p. 10. Retrieved May 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Authors and Actors Are Familiar: The Play is New". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. December 8, 1935. p. 54. Retrieved May 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Walter Coy". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
^ Smith, Wendy (2013). Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-307-83098-2. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Brode, Douglas (2010). Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present. University of Texas Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-292-78331-7. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
^ Royal, Don (March 21, 1965). "Flame In The Wind, New ABC Soap Opera". Daily Press. Virginia, Newport News. p. TV-2. Retrieved May 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.