Barton Yarborough
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William Barton Yarborough (October 2, 1900, Goldthwaite, Texas – December 19, 1951, Pasadena, California) was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama.
As a youth, Yarborough ran away from home, attracted by the vaudeville stages, and he first worked in radio during the 1920s. In 1932 he began a long run as Clifford Barbour One Man's Family, continuing in the role throughout his life. While on this series in the late 1930s, he met and married the actress Barbara Jo Allen (1906-1974), famed during the 1940s as Vera Vague on The Bob Hope Show.
Yarborough was probably best known for his roles as Doc Long on Carlton E. Morse's I Love a Mystery and Sergeant Ben Romero on Dragnet.
Yarborough appeared as Doc Long in three movies based on the radio series I Love a Mystery: the feature films I Love a Mystery (1945), The Devil's Mask (1946), and The Unknown (1946). He started work on the Dragnet television series in 1951. However, the day after he filmed the second episode, he suffered a heart attack and died four days later. On Dragnet, the character of Ben Romero was replaced by Officer Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and on One Man's Family the character of Cliff Barbour, heard for 19 years, was dropped from the storyline.
Yarborough's other radio work includes the role of Skip Turner in Adventures by Morse, also by Carlton E. Morse. [1]
[edit] References
- ^ Terrace, Vincent [1999]. Radio Programs, 1924-1984:A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.
