William Franklin Walker (July 1, 1896 – January 27, 1992) was an American television and film actor. Walker is best remembered for his role as Reverend Sykes in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.
Bill Walker | |
|---|---|
 Walker in 1951 | |
| Born | William Franklin Walker July 1, 1896 Pendleton, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 1992 (aged 95) |
| Resting place | Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1946–1987 |
| Spouses |
|
Career
editBorn in Pendleton, Indiana,[1] Walker began his acting career in 1946. In a career that spanned five decades, Walker appeared in numerous television shows and films including Goodyear Television Playhouse, Raintree County, Yancy Derringer, Official Detective, The Amos 'n' Andy Show, Rawhide, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone, Maverick, Columbo, Perry Mason, Daniel Boone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Hunter, The Rockford Files, Mannix, Love, American Style, Mod Squad, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Green Hornet, Dr. Kildare, Profiles in Courage, Emergency!, Good Times, The Long, Hot Summer, To Kill a Mockingbird, Big Jake, What's Happening!!, Twilight's Last Gleaming, The President's Plane is Missing, Our Man Flint, Billy Jack Goes to Washington, Maurie, A Piece of the Action, The Girl Who Had Everything, The Wiz, and The Choirboys.
He was in the 1961 film The Mask, not to be confused with the Twilight Zone episode "The Masks" (1964), in which he also appeared (uncredited).
Personal life
editOn February 22, 1953, Walker married Hannah Robison Linden, a writer and civic worker in Los Angeles.[2] On August 13, 1959, Walker married Canadian actress Peggy Cartwright, a member of the original silent Our Gang troupe.[3]
Death
editWalker died of cancer on January 27, 1992. A World War I United States Army veteran, he is buried alongside his wife at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.[4]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | The Killers | Sam | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Three Little Girls in Blue | Captain of Waiters | Uncredited |
| 1946 | Swell Guy | Albert, Train Porter | Uncredited |
| 1946 | The Falcon's Adventure | Train Porter | Uncredited |
| 1947 | New Orleans | Mokey | Uncredited |
| 1947 | The Foxes of Harrow | Ty Demon | Uncredited |
| 1948 | I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes | Prisoner | |
| 1948 | Canon City | Prisoner | |
| 1948 | Larceny | Butler | Uncredited |
| 1948 | When My Baby Smiles at Me | Porter | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Sun Tan Ranch | ||
| 1948 | No Time for Romance | J.T. Richards | |
| 1949 | Bad Boy | Ollie, the Cook | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Africa Screams | Interpreter | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Sand | Sam | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Free for All | Herbert | |
| 1949 | Bomba on Panther Island | Luke | |
| 1950 | Young Man with a Horn | Black Minister | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Woman in Hiding | Porter | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Bright Leaf | Simon, Singleton's Butler | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Peggy | Porter | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | Pullman Porter | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Follow the Sun | Golf Club Waiter Lee | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Lightning Strikes Twice | The Nolans' Butler | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Francis Goes to the Races | Sam | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Harlem Globetrotters | Professor Turner | |
| 1951 | Angels in the Outfield | Waiter on Train | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Well | Dr. Billings | |
| 1951 | Anne of the Indies | British Club Servant | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Family Secret | Larry | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Tarzan's Savage Fury | Native Chief | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Lydia Bailey | General LaPlume | |
| 1952 | Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie | Robert Waverly Ferris aka Trooper | |
| 1952 | The Story of Will Rogers | Train Porter | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Night Without Sleep | Henry | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Bloodhounds of Broadway | Uncle Old Fella | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Bomba and the Jungle Girl | The Wards' Headman | |
| 1952 | Stars and Stripes Forever | Train Porter | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Ruby Gentry | Bartender | Uncredited |
| 1953 | The Mississippi Gambler | Dureau Butler | Uncredited |
| 1953 | The I Don't Care Girl | Cook | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Jungle Drums of Africa | Chief Douanga | Serial |
| 1953 | The Girl Who Had Everything | Julian | |
| 1953 | Bright Road | Jake Young, C.T.'s Father | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Jamaica Run | Human | |
| 1953 | Cry of the Hunted | Dock Attendant | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Rebel City | William | |
| 1953 | The President's Lady | Uncle Alfred | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Sangaree | Priam | |
| 1954 | The Golden Idol | Nadji | |
| 1954 | The Gambler from Natchez | Rivage's Butler | Uncredited |
| 1954 | The Outcast | Sam Allen | |
| 1954 | Killer Leopard | Jonas | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Prince of Players | Old Ben | |
| 1955 | A Man Called Peter | The Whiting's Butler | Uncredited |
| 1955 | The Far Horizons | Tom (servant) | Uncredited |
| 1955 | The Big Knife | Russell | |
| 1955 | The View from Pompey's Head | Pullman Porter | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Queen Bee | Sam | Uncredited |
| 1955 | I'll Cry Tomorrow | Porter | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Good Morning, Miss Dove | Henry | Uncredited |
| 1956 | A Kiss Before Dying | Bill, the Butler | |
| 1956 | You Can't Run Away from It | Norville, the Butler | |
| 1956 | Everything But the Truth | Waiter | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Raintree County | Old George | Uncredited |
| 1958 | The Long, Hot Summer | Lucius | |
| 1958 | Hot Spell | Attendant | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Ride a Crooked Trail | Jackson | |
| 1958-1959 | Yancy Derringer | Obadiah | 7 episodes |
| 1959 | The Mating Game | Servant | Uncredited |
| 1959 | Porgy and Bess | Undertaker | |
| 1959 | Take a Giant Step | Frank, the Bartender | |
| 1959 | Perry Mason | Watchman | Season 3 Episode 4: "The Case of the Blushing Pearls" |
| 1960 | Maverick | Museum Attendant | Season 3 Episode 24: "The Resurrection of Joe November" |
| 1961 | The Big Bankroll | Bartender | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Ada | William, Servant | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Boy Who Caught a Crook | Keeper | |
| 1962 | Walk on the Wild Side | Black Man | (scenes deleted) |
| 1962 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Reverend Sykes | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Rawhide | Sandy | Season 4 Episode 14: "The Captain's Wife" |
| 1962 | The Untouchables | Porter | Season 4 Episode 6: "Bird in the Hand" |
| 1962 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Deliveryman | (scenes deleted) |
| 1963 | Wall of Noise | Money | |
| 1963 | 4 for Texas | Attendant | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Kisses for My President | Joseph | |
| 1964 | Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Chauffeur | |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | William | Season 2 Episode 29: "Bed of Roses" |
| 1964 | The Twilight Zone | Jeffrey | Season 5 Episode 25: "The Masks" (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Profiles in Courage | Joseph | Season 1 Episode 3: "Thomas Hart Benton" |
| 1965 | The Third Day | Logan | |
| 1966 | Our Man Flint | American Diplomat | |
| 1966 | Dimension 5 | Slim | |
| 1966 | The Green Hornet | Bartender | Season 1 Episode 11: "The Hunters and the Hunted" |
| 1966 | Dr. Kildare | Tad | (1) Season 5 Episode 39: "Gratitude Won't Pay the Bills" (2) Season 5 Episode 41: "These Hands That Heal" |
| 1966 | Daniel Boone | Perrault | Season 3 Episode 14: "When a King Is a Pawn" |
| 1967 | The Last Challenge | Joey Moon Eagle, Servant | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Three Guns for Texas | Ulmer Applin | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Uptight | Bartender | Uncredited |
| 1968-1970 | Mod Squad | Rollie | (1) Season 1 Episode 4: "When Smitty Comes Marching Home" (1968) (2) Season 3 Episode 5: "The Song of Willie" (1970) |
| 1969 | Riot | Jake | |
| 1969 | A Dream of Kings | Kampana | |
| 1970 | ...tick...tick...tick... | John Sawyer | |
| 1970 | The Great White Hope | Deacon | |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Donald | Season 1 Episode 15: "The Soft Phrase of Peace" |
| 1971 | Big Jake | Moses Brown | |
| 1971-1974 | Mannix | (1) Bartender (2) Martin Johnson |
(1) Season 5 Episode 1: "Dark So Early, Dark So Long" (1971) (2) Season 7 Episode 22: "A Question of Murder" (1974) |
| 1973 | Maurie | Stokes | |
| 1974 | Lost in the Stars | ||
| 1976 | Chesty Anderson, USN | Texas Oil Man | |
| 1976 | The Rockford Files | Rosie | Season 2 Episode 14: "The Hammer of C Block" |
| 1977 | Twilight's Last Gleaming | Willard | |
| 1977 | Billy Jack Goes to Washington | Security Guard | |
| 1977 | A Piece of the Action | Clair Hurst | |
| 1977 | The Choirboys | Tilden | |
| 1977 | Emergency! | Musician | Season 6 Episode 24: "All Night Long" |
| 1978 | The Wiz | The Wiz Singers Adult Choir | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1987 | Hunter | (1) Grandfather (2) Sporty's Grandfather |
(1) Season 3 Episode 17: "Any Second Now" (2) Season 4 Episode 10: "Hot Prowl" |
References
edit- ^ William Walker at BlackPast.org (includes photo)
- ^ "Jet Magazine". Johnson Publishing Company. July 9, 1953.
- ^ "California Marriage Index". Ancestry.com.
- ^ Los Angeles Times
External links
edit
- Bill Walker at IMDb
- Bill Walker at the Internet Broadway Database