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Richard Lewis Wesson (November 19, 1922 – April 25, 1996) was a prolific character actor, comedian, comedy writer, and producer.

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Dick Wesson
Wesson in Calamity Jane
Born	Richard Lewis Wesson (1922-11-19)November 19, 1922 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 25, 1996(1996-04-25) (aged 73) Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Years active	1950–82
Spouse	Wini Walsh Wesson
Children	2

Biography

Dick Wesson was born on November 19, 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts. A comedian, impressionist and singer, Wesson appeared with his brother Gene in a comedy act appropriately called "The Wesson Brothers". They had some hit records such as "Oodles of Boodle" and "All Right Louie, Drop the Gun".[1] Wesson married Wini Walsh and they had one child together, daughter Eileen Wesson (b. 1947).^{[citation needed]}

In 1949, Wesson became a television series regular with Jim Backus in Hollywood House. Making his film debut in Destination Moon (1950),[2] Wesson signed a contract as a supporting actor with Warner Bros., leaving that studio in 1953. His films for Warner's included Burning Arrow, Calamity Jane (1953), and Desert Song.[3] Wesson played comedy relief in all his films, frequently as a World War II soldier in Breakthrough (1950) and Force of Arms (1951), and in the Old West with The Man Behind the Gun (1952) and The Charge at Feather River (1953). Wesson's best known role was as Francis Fryer in Calamity Jane (1953).

Wesson moved to television appearing as Jackie Cooper's ex-United States Marine Corps sidekick, Rollo, on NBC's The People's Choice[4]^: 822-823 and as Frank Crenshaw in The Bob Cummings Show.[4] Wesson began writing for The Bob Cummings Show and later The Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared in The Beverly Hillbillies as a taxi driver and as a patient in The Beverly Hillbillies season 1, episode 33 The Clampetts Get Psychoanalyzed. He produced CBS's My Sister Eileen and many episodes of Petticoat Junction and directed several episodes of each series.^{[citation needed]} He portrayed Jack Reardon on the 1974 CBS situation comedy Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers.[4]^: 818

Wesson later died of an aneurysm on April 25, 1996 in Rancho Mirage, California.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	Destination Moon	Joe Sweeney
1950	Breakthrough	Pvt. Sammy Hansen
1951	Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison	Tinker
1951	Force of Arms	Kleiner
1951	Jim Thorpe – All-American	Ed Guyac
1951	Sunny Side of the Street	Dave Gibson
1951	Starlift	Sgt. Mike Nolan
1952	About Face	Dave Crouse
1953	The Man Behind the Gun	Sgt. 'Monk' Walker
1953	The Desert Song	Benjamin 'Benjy' Kidd
1953	The Charge at Feather River	Pvt. Cullen
1953	Calamity Jane	Francis Fryer
1955	Paris Follies of 1956	Chuck Russell
1961	The Errand Boy	The A.D.
1977	Rollercoaster	Tourist Father

Notes

External links

• Dick Wesson at IMDb
• Great character actors http://www.playbrass.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Dick&actor_last=Wesson
• Wesson with Sammy Davis Jr. on Hollywood House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbpcY0svdvU

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