Robert House Peters Jr. (January 12, 1916 – October 1, 2008) was an American character actor most noted for his roles in 1950s B movies and westerns. He is perhaps best remembered as the face and body of Mr. Clean in the Procter and Gamble cleaning product commercials of the era.
House Peters Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Peters in Under California Stars (1948) | |
| Born | Robert House Peters Jr. January 12, 1916 New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 1, 2008 (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1935–1966 |
| Spouse |
Lucy Pickett
(m. 1946) |
| Children | 3 |
Biography
editPeters was born in New Rochelle, New York to actors House Peters, a major leading man in the silent era, and Mae King. He grew up in Beverly Hills, California and graduated from Beverly Hills High School.
In a career that spanned 1935–1967, he appeared in many films, primarily as the "heavy," or villain. He appeared in television series including Perry Mason, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone and Lassie.
From the late 1950s into the 1960s, Peters Jr. played Mr. Clean in television commercials for the product.[1][2]
Peters served in the United States Army Air Forces' Air Sea Rescue section as a small-boat operator during World War II.[3][4][5][6] He was married to Lucy Pickett from 1946 until his death; they had three children. He died of pneumonia at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Los Angeles, California.[1][7]
Peters wrote a book, "Another Side of Hollywood" an autobiography by actor House Peters Jr. published by Empire Publishing of Madison, North Carolina in the year 2000. It is an entertaining, interesting look at the early days of Hollywood movie and television production with many black and white photos.
Filmography
edit| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1935 | Hot Tip | Racetrack Spectator | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Three Kids and a Queen | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1936 | The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | House Peters | Serial |
| 1936 | Flash Gordon | Shark Man | Serial, [Chs. 3-4] |
| 1936 | Yellowstone | Ranger | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Ace Drummond | Pete - Second Pilot / Clipper Pilot | Serial, [Ch. 1], [Ch. 8] Uncredited |
| 1936 | Four Days' Wonder | Chauffeur | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Windjammer | Bob - Sailor | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Public Cowboy No. 1 | Jim Shannon | |
| 1937 | Life Begins in College | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1937 | All American Sweetheart | Eddie | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Wells Fargo | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| 1938 | Start Cheering | Football Playing Student | Uncredited |
| 1939 | Frontier Pony Express | Lieutenant Trent | Uncredited |
| 1941 | Sea Raiders | Agent Burke | Serial, [Ch. 4], Uncredited |
| 1947 | Danger Street | Magazine Staffer | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Oklahoma Badlands | The Dude | |
| 1948 | Dangers of the Canadian Mounted | Ford - Henchman | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Under California Stars | Henchman Ed | |
| 1948 | Desperadoes of Dodge City | Henry | |
| 1948 | Adventures of Frank and Jesse James | Sheriff Towey | Serial, [Chs. 1–2, 5–6, 11] |
| 1948 | The Plunderers | Sentinel | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Gunning for Justice | Kirk Wheeler - Henchman | |
| 1948 | Courtin' Trouble | Burt Larsen | |
| 1948 | Renegades of Sonora | Courier | |
| 1949 | Rose of the Yukon | Uncredited | |
| 1949 | Outlaw Country | Cal Saunders | |
| 1949 | Sheriff of Wichita | Deputy Jack Thorpe | |
| 1949 | Son of Billy the Kid | Yantis Henchman | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Batman and Robin | Henchman Earl | Serial, [Chs. 7-15] |
| 1949 | King of the Rocket Men | Burt Winslow | Serial |
| 1949 | The Gal Who Took the West | Trooper | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Love Happy | Clergyman in Sadie Thompson Number | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Over the Border | Wade Shelton | |
| 1950 | Cow Town | Gill Saunders | |
| 1950 | Twilight in the Sierras | Jim Williams | |
| 1950 | Hi-Jacked | Hank | |
| 1950 | Border Treasure | Rod | |
| 1951 | Three Desperate Men | Dick Cable | |
| 1951 | Gene Autry and the Mounties | Henchman Hogan | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Spoilers of the Plains | Henchman Scheller | |
| 1951 | Man from Sonora | Ed Hooper | |
| 1951 | Blazing Bullets | Bill Grant | |
| 1951 | Lorna Doone | Patrol Leader | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Dakota Kid | Sam Dawson | |
| 1951 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | MP captain | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Red Badge of Courage | Passing Soldier - Veteran | Uncredited |
| 1952 | The Old West | Henchman Mike | |
| 1952 | Waco | Doctor | |
| 1952 | Oklahoma Annie | Jim Tullett | |
| 1952 | Kansas Territory | Ralph Carruthers | |
| 1952 | Red Planet Mars | Dr. Boulting | Uncredited |
| 1952 | The Lion and the Horse | 'Rocky' Steuber | |
| 1952 | And Now Tomorrow | ||
| 1952 | Carson City | Miner | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Hellgate | Witness | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Fargo | Bill Martin's Brother | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Kansas City Confidential | Policeman | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Wyoming Roundup | Kent Randolph | |
| 1953 | Winning of the West | Marshal Jim Hackett | |
| 1953 | The Man Behind the Gun | Sheldon's Henchman at Hideout | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Port Sinister | Jim Garry | Alternative title: Beast of Paradise Isle |
| 1954 | Highway Dragnet | Steve | |
| 1954 | Overland Pacific | Perkins | Uncredited |
| 1954 | Target Earth | Technician | |
| 1955 | Strategic Air Command | Captain | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Rebel Without a Cause | Officer at Police Station | Uncredited |
| 1956 | The Women of Pitcairn Island | Coggins | |
| 1957 | Man Afraid | Detective | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Johnny Tremain | Patriot Commander at Lexington | Uncredited |
| 1957 | House of Numbers | Patrolman | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Black Patch | Holman | |
| 1958 | Man from God's Country | Curt Warren | |
| 1959 | Inside the Mafia | Marty Raven | Uncredited |
| 1959 | Ordeal at Dry Red | ||
| 1960 | The Big Night | Robert Shaw | |
| 1962 | Terror at Black Falls | Sheriff Cal | |
| 1962 | Who's Got the Action? | Cop in Elevator | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Rio Conchos | Major Johnson | |
| 1965 | The Great Sioux Massacre | Reporter | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1950 | The Gene Autry Show | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1953 | Death Valley Days | Season 1, Episode 18 "Land of the Free" | |
| 1950–1957 | The Lone Ranger | Various roles | 12 episodes |
| 1951–1953 | The Range Rider | Various roles | 6 episodes |
| 1954–1956 | Annie Oakley | Various roles | 4 episodes |
| 1955 | The Adventures of Champion | Ote Bledsoe | 1 episode |
| The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Dave Bennett | 4 episodes | |
| You are There | Bruce Greeves | 1 episodes | |
| 1957 | The Gray Ghost | Hollingshead | 1 episode |
| 1958 | Broken Arrow | Captain Rowan | 1 episode |
| 1959 | Bat Masterson | Town Marshall | "Shakedown at St. Joe" |
| 1959 | Buckskin | Pat Devlin | 1 episode |
| 1959 | Gunsmoke | Nat Swan | “The Coward” (S4E26) |
| 1960 | The Twilight Zone | Policeman | 1 episode |
| 1961 | Lawman | Joe Poole | 1 episode |
| 1962 | 77 Sunset Strip | Sheriff Goodson | 1 episode |
| 1956–1966 | Lassie | Sheriff Jim Billings | 12 episodes, (final appearance) |
References
edit- ^ a b Dillon, Raquel Maria (October 1, 2008). "Mr. Clean actor House Peters Jr. dead at 92". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
- ^ "House Peters Jr., the original Mr. Clean, dies". Hollywood Reporter. October 2, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ Actor House Peters Jr. dies at 92 Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ^ Actor House Peters Dies www.emmys.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ^ House Peters Jr.; Actor Amazon.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ^ House Peters Jr. at www.historyforsale.org. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ^ Variety Staff (October 1, 2008). "Actor House Peters Jr. dies at 92". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
External links
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