Billy Gray (actor)

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Billy Gray
Billy Gray 1977.jpg
Gray in 1977
Born
William Thomas Gray

(1938-01-13) January 13, 1938 (age 84)
OccupationActor, businessman

William Thomas Gray (born January 13, 1938) is an American actor.

Personal life[edit]

Gray was born in Los Angeles, to William H. and Beatrice Gray. He began acting as a child. His mother was an actress, and both had appeared in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (in separated scenes), a 1949 horror comedy.[1] As of July 2020, Gray lives in Topanga, California, after starring in Father Knows Best.[2] He did not attend school and was educated by teachers hired by the film studios, often having class in tents set up on studio lots.[3] He starred in the television series Father Knows Best and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Gray started his film career in the late 1940s. He portrayed a young Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe – All-American and starred in the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. He portrayed "Bullseye Tag", younger brother of Annie Oakley in the pilot episode of Annie Oakley. Gray retired from acting in 1980. He is a motorcycle collector and businessman.[4]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1948 Fighting Father Dunne Chip
1950 Father Is a Bachelor Feb Chalotte
1950 Mister 880 Mickey Uncredited
1951 Jim Thorpe – All-American Jim Thorpe (young)
1951 On Moonlight Bay (film) Wesley Winfield
1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still Bobby Benson
1952 Talk About a Stranger Robert 'Bud' Fontaine Jr.
1953 All I Desire Ted Murdoch
1953 By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film) Wesley Winfield
1954 The Outlaw Stallion Danny Saunders
1955 The Seven Little Foys Bryan Lincoln Foy
1961 The Explosive Generation Bobby Herman Jr.
1966 The Navy vs. the Night Monsters CPO Fred Twining
1971 Dusty and Sweets McGee City Life
1980 Porklips Now Dullard

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1953 Adventures of Superman (TV series) Young Alan Harper Episode: "Shot in the Dark"
1954-1960 Father Knows Best James "Bud" Anderson Jr. 200 episodes
1957 The Thin Man (TV series) Mike Edwards Episode: "Come Back Darling Asta"
1960 Stagecoach West (TV series) 'Frankie Niles' Episode: "Dark Return"
1960 Peter Gunn[5] 'Eric Thorwald' Episode: "S2 E35 The Semi-Private Eye"
1965 Rawhide (TV series) Lindsay McCullers Episode: "Moment in the Sun"
1977 The Father Knows Best Reunion James "Bud" Anderson Jr. Television film
1977 Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas James "Bud" Anderson Jr. Television film

References[edit]

  1. ^ Edward Torchy Smith. "Billy Grey, better known as Bud from Father Knows Best" (Podcast). Baby Boomers Talk Radio. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Uhler, Steve (July 23, 2020). "My Visit With Bud From 'Father Knows Best'". nextavenue.org. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Tom Goldrup, Jim Goldrup (2015). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television. pp. 101–102.
  4. ^ "Ken Hall, "Billy Gray, Bud from Father Knows Best. Collects Racing Motorcycles"". go-star.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  5. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0673690/[user-generated source]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 94–102. ISBN 1476613702.
  • Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 206-207.

External links[edit]