R. G. Armstrong
| R.G. Armstrong | |
|---|---|
Armstrong in the 1960 film The Fugitive Kind
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| Born |
Robert Golden Armstrong, Jr. April 7, 1917 Pleasant Grove, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 27, 2012 (aged 95) Studio City, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Howard College University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1954–2001 |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Neale (m.1952-1972; 4 children) Susan M. Guthrie (m.1973-1976; divorced) Mary Craven (m.1993-2003; her death) |
Robert Golden Armstrong, Jr., known as R. G. Armstrong (April 7, 1917 – July 27, 2012), was an American actor and playwright. A veteran character actor who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah.
Armstrong was born in Pleasant Grove, Alabama, and was reared on a small farm near Birmingham. He came from a family of fundamentalist Christians, and his mother wanted him to be a pastor. Armstrong initially enrolled at Howard College, now Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, where he became interested in acting, and then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. While there, along with classmate Andy Griffith, he began acting on stage with the Carolina Playmakers. Upon graduating, he attended the Actors Studio.
Armstrong quickly launched a career on Broadway. He won considerable acclaim for his role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He also began writing his own plays, which were performed off-Broadway.
Armstrong's first film appearance was in the 1954 film Garden of Eden. However, it was television where he first earned a name for himself. He guest-starred in virtually every television western series produced in the 1950s and 1960s, including: Have Gun - Will Travel, The Californians, Jefferson Drum, The Tall Man, Riverboat, The Rifleman, Zane Grey Theater, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Westerner, The Big Valley, Bonanza, Maverick (as Louise Fletcher's character's father in the episode which drew the series' largest single viewership, "The Saga of Waco Williams"), Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Wagon Train.
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