Frank Ferguson

Ferguson as Eli Carson, 1972.

Frank Ferguson (born December 25, 1899, Ferndale, California — died September 12, 1978, Los Angeles) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Perhaps his best known role was as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name. He appeared with Gene Evans, Johnny Washbrook, and Anita Louise. At this time, Ferguson also portrayed the Calverton veterinarian in the first several seasons of CBS's Lassie.

Even before My Friend Flicka and Lassie, Ferguson appeared in five episodes as "Murdock" in the 1953-1954 ABC sitcom, The Pride of the Family, starring Paul Hartman, Fay Wray, Natalie Wood, and Robert Hyatt.

Ferguson also played three different characters on The Andy Griffith Show, two different characters on Petticoat Junction, four different characters on Bonanza, four different characters on Perry Mason, and four different characters on Maverick. He guest starred on other series, including The Rifleman, NBC's The Restless Gun and Overland Trail, ABC's Target: The Corruptors!, ABC's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, twice on CBS's General Electric Theater, hosted by Ronald W. Reagan, and twice in 1956 as Henry Murdock (a name similar to his character in The Pride of the Family) on the syndicated western-themed crime drama Sheriff of Cochise. He appeared on all three of Rod Cameron's crime series, City Detective, (1955), State Trooper (1957) and COronado 9 (1960). He appeared too in 1963 in the final season of Leave it to Beaver.

He also played the role of Eli Carson in the primetime serial Peyton Place and reprised the role in the later daytime version Return to Peyton Place.

External links

• Frank Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database