| Gregory Walcott | |
|---|---|
Gregory Walcott in Plan 9 from Outer Space. |
|
| Born | Bernard Mattox January 13, 1928 Wendell, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Other names | Greg Walcott |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952–1994 |
| Spouse | Barbara (m. 1954–2010) (her death) 3 children |
Gregory Walcott (born January 13, 1928) is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1959 Ed Wood film, the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Born Bernard Mattox in Wendell, North Carolina, Walcott was raised in Wilson, North Carolina. While serving in the Army, he appeared as a drill instructor in the film Battle Cry, then as a military policeman in 1955's war-themed classic Mister Roberts with Henry Fonda, as the drill instructor with Tony Curtis in The Outsider, and later Midway as Capt. Elliott Buckmaster.
Walcott had roles in many television series, often in Westerns like Bonanza (on which he appeared seven times), Maverick, Wagon Train, 26 Men, Laramie, The Rifleman and in several episodes of Rawhide, where he began a long collaboration with Clint Eastwood. Walcott had featured roles in Eastwood's films Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Eiger Sanction, Joe Kidd and Every Which Way But Loose.
He also was one of the stars of a 1961–62 NBC television series, 87th Precinct, as Detective Roger Havilland. Walcott went on to guest roles on many popular TV series including recurring ones in Dallas, Murder, She Wrote, and appeared as Capt. Diggs on the '70s series Land Of The Lost.
His other film work also includes the comedy On the Double alongside Danny Kaye, the violent drama Prime Cut with Lee Marvin and in the chase film The Sugarland Express directed by a 24-year-old Steven Spielberg. Walcott played a sheriff in the 1979 film Norma Rae, the film that won an Oscar for star Sally Field. He also agreeably made a cameo appearance in the 1994 Ed Wood bio-pic starring Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton.
Walcott long regretted having anything to do with Plan 9, but in a Sept. 10, 2000 Los Angeles Times interview, he said, "It's better to be remembered for something than for nothing, don't you think?"[1]
Walcott also served as interim pastor for the First Southern Baptist Church in Oxnard, CA, during the 1960s. He was said to be a good preacher, but several promises he made to the congregation there, he later, apparently, recanted in his film work.