Frank McGrath (playwright)
| Frank McGrath | |
|---|---|
Cast of Wagon Train in 1962; McGrath is at lower right
|
|
| Born |
Benjamin Franklin McGrath February 2, 1903 Mound City, Holt County, Missouri, USA |
| Died | May 13, 1967 (aged 64) Beverly Hills, California |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California |
| Occupation |
Television actor Stunt performer |
| Years active | 1925-1967 |
| Spouse(s) | Libby Quay Buschlen McGrath (?-1967, his death) |
| Children | Stepson Quay Casey Dillon |
Benjamin Franklin McGrath, known as Frank McGrath (February 2, 1903 – May 13, 1967), was an American television and film actor and stunt performer who played the comical, optimistic cook with the white beard, Charlie B. Wooster, on the western series Wagon Train for five seasons on NBC and then three seasons on ABC. McGrath appeared in all 272 episodes in the eight seasons of the series, which had ended its run only two years before his death. McGrath's Wooster character hence provided the meals and companionship for both fictional trail masters, Ward Bond as Seth Adams and John McIntire as Christopher "Chris" Hale.
McGrath was born in Mound City in Holt County in far northwestern Missouri.
His first role, uncredited, was in the 1932 film, The Rainbow Trail, a study of Mormon polygamy based on a 1915 Zane Grey novel of the same name. In 1948 and 1949, McGrath was the US Army Bugler in two of the greatest westerns ever made, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.In the movie "Fort Apache", McGrath appeared in fifty one (51) scenes with both main characters John Wayne and Henry Fonda. In the movie She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, McGrath appeared in one hundred and twelve scenes (112). Only John Wayne himself surpassed McGrath in scenes in this movie. McGrath worked closely with John Wayne and was in many screen shots in both of these films, which were directed by John Ford. Even at the age of fifty-three, the durable stunt performer McGrath completed three separate horse fall and drag scenes for the 1956 John Wayne picture The Searchers not long after McGrath had barely recovered from having broken his back.
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