Acting · Tucumcari, New Mexico, USA · Born December 19, 1917
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Paul Brinegar (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three western series: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Rawhide, and Lancer. Brinegar's first credited appearance in a feature film was in Larceny (1948). From there, he launched a steady film career that slowed considerably in the late 1950s, after he began appearing on television but did not end until 1994, when Brinegar made his final screen appearance, as a stagecoach driver, in the 1994 film version of Maverick. Brinegar appeared more than 100 times between 1946 and 1994 in western films, often specializing in playing "feisty, grizzled cowboy sidekicks". On television, from 1956 to 1958, he played James H. "Dog" Kelley, the mayor of Dodge City, Kansas, in the ABC/Desilu western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp starring Hugh O'Brian. Brinegar appeared in that series 33 times as Kelley and in one other episode in another role. In 1959 he played Ludwig, a bartender, in the episode "The Ringer" of the western series The Texan with Rory Calhoun. Brinegar, however, is best remembered as the cattle-drive cook George Washington Wishbone on the CBS series Rawhide from 1959 to 1966. Earlier he had played a similar role, one as the character Tom Jefferson Jeffrey, in the 1958 movie Cattle Empire upon which Rawhide was based. Brinegar also made two guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason. His first appearance on that series, prior to Rawhide, was in 1958. He performed as Tom Sackett in the first-season episode titled "The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary". His second appearance on Perry Mason was during the series' ninth and final season. He played Jason Rohan in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Unwelcome Well". In the 1968-1970 CBS western series Lancer, Brinegar had the role of Jelly Hoskins; and in 1969 he appeared in the western film Charro! starring Elvis Presley. Then, in 1973, he played the barman in Clint Eastwood's film High Plains Drifter. From 1982 to 1983, returning to television, Brinegar portrayed a humorous cowboy-like character, Lamar Pettybone, during the first season of the ABC series Matt Houston. Later he reprised a revised version of his Rawhide Wishbone character for the 1991 TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, in which he delivers a brief monologue that includes about a dozen references to old television western series.
MovieWyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone
1994
as Jim 'Dog' Kelly
MovieMaverick
1994
as Stage Driver
TVThe Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
1993
as Francis Kilbride
MovieThe Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
1991
as Cookie
MovieLife Stinks
1991
as Old Bellboy
TVThey Came from Outer Space
1990
as John Peckham
MovieAnnihilator
1986
as Pops
MovieChattanooga Choo Choo
1984
as Pee Wee
MovieSpaceship
1983
as Clint Eastwood / Dirty Harry
MovieThe Young Landlords
1983
as Mr. Darden
MovieThe Wild Women of Chastity Gulch
1982
as Bodie
TVKnight Rider
1982
as Chuck
TVMatt Houston
1982
as Lamar Pettybone
TVCapitol
1982
TVTrapper John, M.D.
1979
MovieCrisis in Sun Valley
1978
as Poole
TVCHiPs
1977
as Keith Lawton / Old Surfer
TVLucan
1977
TVGrizzly Adams
1977
as Trapper Tom
TVCode R
1977
as Alvin Purdy
MovieThe Golden Dog
1977
as Jock
TVBarbary Coast
1975
as Jesse
TVHarry O
1974
as Old Man
TVLittle House on the Prairie
1974
as Glover
TVPetrocelli
1974
as Patch Dressler
TVThe Six Million Dollar Man
1974
as Rafe Morris
MovieHigh Plains Drifter
1973
as Lutie Naylor
The Secret Sharer
1973
as Captain Archbold
TVEmergency!
1972
as Husband (Tom)
TVNichols
1971
as Gaffer
TVCannon
1971
as Charlie Tompkins
TVMedical Center
1969
as Hnchoo
MovieCharro!
1969
as Opie Keetch
TVLancer
1968
TVThe Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
as Charlie Moss
Hero
1966
MovieThe Magnificent Stranger
1966
as Wishbone
Country Boy
1966
TVDaniel Boone
1964
as Gurney
TVBonanza
1959
as Lev Buckalew
TVRawhide
1959
as Wishbone
TVLawman
1958
as George the Stage Line Clerk
TVThe Texan
1958
as Ludwig
MovieHow to Make a Monster
1958
as Rivero
MovieCattle Empire
1958
as Tom Jefferson Jeffrey
TVShirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Van Kimmel
TVTrackdown
1957
as Zack Armstead
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Jason Rohan
TVSugarfoot
1957
as Austin (uncredited)
MovieCopper Sky
1957
as Charlie Martin
MovieThe Vampire
1957
as Willy Warner
MovieThe Spirit of St. Louis
1957
as Okie (uncredited)
TVWhirlybirds
1957
as Joe Slade
State Trooper
1956
as Storekeeper
MovieFighting Trouble
1956
as Mailman (uncredited)
TVThe Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
MovieWorld Without End
1956
as Vida (uncredited)
MovieRansom!
1956
as Bank Clerk (uncredited)
MovieInside Detroit
1955
MovieI Died a Thousand Times
1955
as Bus Driver (uncredited)
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Milkman (uncredited)
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mason
TVCheyenne
1955
as Slim Mantell
TVThe Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955
as Jim Begley
MovieThe Silver Chalice
1954
as Audience Member (uncredited)
MovieFour Guns to the Border
1954
TVThe Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Jock
TVFather Knows Best
1954
as Delivery Man (uncredited)
MovieA Star Is Born
1954
as Man at Funeral (uncredited)
TVLassie
1954
as Ben Adams
MovieDawn at Socorro
1954
as Desk Clerk
MovieHuman Desire
1954
as Brakeman
TVThe Whistler
1954
MovieRails Into Laramie
1954
as Bandleader (uncredited)
MoviePhantom of the Rue Morgue
1954
as Angry Accuser in Street (uncredited)
TVPublic Defender
1954
as Bud
MovieCaptain Scarface
1953
as Clegg
TVThe Man Behind the Badge
1953
TVLetter to Loretta
1953
as Pete
TVThe Ford Television Theatre
1952
as Hans
TVCavalcade of America
1952
MovieWe're Not Married!
1952
as Beauty Contest Spectator (uncredited)
MoviePat and Mike
1952
as Caddy (uncredited)
MovieThe Captive City
1952
as Police Sergeant
TVDragnet
1951
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Brown
MovieJourney Into Light
1951
as Bum
TVRacket Squad
1951
MovieInsurance Investigator
1951
as Mr. Spangler
MovieStorm Warning
1951
as Cameraman #1 (uncredited)
MovieA Ticket to Tomahawk
1950
MovieYoung Man with a Horn
1950
as Stage Manager (uncredited)
MoviePinky
1949
as Western Union Clerk (uncredited)
TVThe Lone Ranger
1949
as Frankie
MovieTake One False Step
1949
as Reporter (uncredited)
MovieLarceny
1948
as Mechanic
