Frank Ferguson

Frank Ferguson
Frank Ferguson as Eli Carson on NBC's Return to Peyton Place (1972)
Born	(1906-12-25)December 25, 1906 Ferndale, Humboldt County California, USA
Died	September 12, 1978(1978-09-12) (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1940–1977

Frank S. Ferguson (born December 25, 1906, Ferndale, California – died September 12, 1978, Los Angeles) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television.

Ferguson was the eldest of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottish merchant, and his American wife Annie Boynton. He grew up in his native Ferndale. As a young man, he became connected with Gilmor Brown, the famed founder and director of the Pasadena Community Playhouse, and became one of its first directors. He directed as well as acted in many plays there. He made his film debut in 1939 in Gambling on the High Seas (released in 1940), and appeared in nearly 200 feature films and hundreds of TV episodes subsequently.

Ferguson's best known role was as the Swedish 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.

In 1948, he appeared as "McDougal"- the quickly agitated owner of "McDougal's House of Horrors"- in the Universal comedy/horror film "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein". In 1952, he had an uncredited role as a jailer in the film Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair. He also appeared in Episodes 149, 173 and 178 of "The Lone Ranger".