By Mike Barnes
Gregory
Walcott, an admired actor who appeared in such memorable films
as Mister Roberts, The Eiger Sanction, Norma Rae and, unfortunately for
him, Ed Wood’s lamentable Plan 9 From Outer Space, has died. He was 87.
Walcott,
who starred as pilot Jeff Trent in Plan 9, considered one of the worst
films ever made, died Friday at his home, his son, Men in
Black puppeteer Todd Mattox, announced on Facebook.
In a 1998 interview with Filmax magazine’s Dwayne
Epstein, Walcott recalled being asked by a friend, fledgling
producer J. Edwards Reynolds, about starring in a sci-fi film
opposite Bela Lugosi. “But Ed, Bela Lugosi is dead,” he noted.
Indeed,
the horror legend had died in 1956, but footage of him shot by
writer-director Wood would be used in the 1959 ultra-low-budget movie.
“I
refused at first,” Walcott said in the interview. “I read the script,
and it was gibberish. It made no sense, but I saw Ed Reynolds as a
naive, sweet man. I had done some pretty good things prior to that, so I
thought I had a little credibility in Hollywood. I thought maybe my
name would give the show some credibility. … The film was made
surreptitiously. My agent didn’t even know I did it.”Plan 9 has become a cult classic, but Walcott for years wanted nothing to do with it.
“I
refused at first,” Walcott said in the interview. “I read the script,
and it was gibberish. It made no sense, but I saw Ed Reynolds as a
naive, sweet man. I had done some pretty good things prior to that, so I
thought I had a little credibility in Hollywood. I thought maybe my
name would give the show some credibility. … The film was made
surreptitiously. My agent didn’t even know I did it.”
Plan 9 has become a cult classic, but Walcott for years wanted nothing to do with it.
“I
had done so many great films and worked with so many great directors
that I didn’t want to be identified with such a piece of trash,” he
said. In his final onscreen role, however, Walcott appeared in a cameo
as a potential film backer (much like Reynolds) in Tim Burton’s 1994
biopic Ed Wood.
In
films he was much more proud of, the burly 6-foot-4 Walcott played a
shore patrolman in Mister Roberts (1955), romanced Claudette
Colbert in Texas Lady (1955), portrayed merciless drill instructors
in Battle Cry (1955) and Delbert Mann’s The Outsider (1960), and
was Gene Hackman’s psychopathic brother in Prime
Cut (1972). In Martin Ritt’s Norma Rae (1978), he played the police
chief who hauls away Sally Field’s character during the film’s famous
protest scene.
Walcott
also was a favorite of Clint Eastwood who worked with the
actor-director on CBS’ Rawhide and in the features Joe
Kidd (1971), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1973), The Eiger
Sanction (1975), and Every Which Way But Loose (1978).
He
also starred as Det. Roger Havilland on the 1961-62 NBC series 87th
Precinct, based on the books by Ed McBain, and stood out as seven
different characters on seven episodes of Bonanza — just one of the
dozens of TV Westerns in which he appeared (Bat
Masterson, Maverick, Laramie, Cheyenne, etc.).
Born
Bernard Mattox, Walcott was raised in Wilson, N.C., where his father
sold furniture. He served in the U.S. Army, attended Furman University
on a football scholarship and in 1949 hitchhiked with just $100 in his
pocket all the way to Los Angeles, where he studied acting with Ben
Bard.
Legendary Western star Dale Evans introduced him to his future wife, Barbara, at a party.
Walcott
landed a bit part in Red Skies of Montana (1951), starring Richard
Widmark, and then appeared in Raoul Walsh’s Battle Cry (1954), which got
him a contract at Warner Bros. Walcott starred as a medical
missionary (as well as produced) the 1967 film Bill Wallace in
China (1966) and had roles in such other films as Badman’s
Country (1958), On the Double (1961), Captain Newman,
M.D. (1963), Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express (1974)
and Midway (1976).
He published a memoir, Hollywood Adventures: The Gregory Walcott Story, in 2003.
Tempus fugit
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