William Fawcett Thompson (September 8, 1894 – January 25, 1974) was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of films and television episodes. Because there were other actors named William Thompson he used his first and middle name when seeking acting roles. He was best known for playing Pete Wilkey in the television series Fury which ran from 1955 to 1960.Hyatt, Wesley, The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television, pages 170 - 171, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1997
Early life Fawcett's father was a Methodist minister, and after Fawcett attended Hamline University he became licensed to preach in 1916. During World War I, he joined the United States Army, serving as an ambulance driver. The French government honored him with the Legion of Honour for his care of the wounded.Veteran Actor Visiting Ripon Speaks of TV, Movie Roles, The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, January 25, 1969, page 13 After his military service, Fawcett became a teacher of English and literature at the University of Nebraska and, after earning a Ph.D. degree in Elizabethan drama from the school, he became a professor of theatre arts at Michigan State University.Western Clippings In 1925 he married Helene Krag.
Acting career At the age of 52, Fawcett obtained his first film role in the 1946 Eddie Dean movie Stars Over Texas. He was soon finding steady work acting in movie serials, including Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), Batman and Robin (1949), and Cody of the Pony Express (1950)Mayer, Geoff, Encycloypedia of American Film Serials, pages 35, 46, and 77, McFarland, Incorporated, 2017 Many of Fawcett's film roles were in B movies, such as 1953's The Neanderthal ManRaw, Laurance, Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films 1930-1960, page 87, McFarland, Incorporated, 2012 but he also had small roles in major movies. He played Cubby Crouch in the 1955 George Montgomery film Seminole Uprising and was cast as a card player in the 1961 John Wayne movie The Comancheros.Lilly, Tim, The Comancheros, The Big Trail, April 1994, page 7
Fawcett had roles in seven episodes of The Roy Rogers Show,Chance, Norman, Who's Who on TV - Volume 3, page 145, Xlibris, 2010 five episodes of The Lone Ranger,Andreychuk, Ed, The Lone Ranger on Radio, Film and Television, page 86, McFarland, Incorporated, 2018 as well as episodes of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and other westerns.
In 1955, Fawcett was cast in the role of Pete Wilkey, the raspy-voiced combination housekeeper and ranch hand on the western television series Fury. During the series' opening sequence, the narrator states that Fawcett's character, Pete, cut his teeth on a branding iron. In the first episode, "Joey Finds a Friend", Pete says the captured wild stallion was filled with fire and fury, thus giving the horse his name.Terrace, Vincent, Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2nd edition, page 374, McFarland, Incorporated, 2011 Fawcett appeared in all 116 episodes of Fury, which was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC from 1955 through 1960.
Fawcett also had a starring role in Gene Barry's TV Western Bat Masterson; appeared in a 1961 episode of Maverick titled "Poker Face" starring Jack Kelly; as the town Sheriff in "Six Feet of Gold" (1960 - Season 2 Episode 20) and in Gunsmoke as "Packy" in the 1959 (Season 5 Episode 8) episode "Box of Rocks", as "Turner" in the 1963 episode (Season 9 Episode 8) "Carter Caper", as “Bert Farley” in 1965’s “20 Miles From Dodge” (Season 10 Episode 29), and as "1st Stage Man" in the 1966 (Season 11 Episode 19) episode "The Raid". He appeared on "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (Season 2 Episode 19: "The Monster") as a gold prospector who escapes a rampaging elephant, trained for crime by Martin Landau's character Khorba. The episode first aired on 1/14/1960.
Death and burial Fawcett died of cardiovascular disease at age 79 on January 25, 1974, in Sherman Oaks, California.William Fawcett , Broken Wheel Ranch (2003). He is buried at Roselawn Cemetery, in Roseville, Minnesota. His grave has a World War I veteran’s marker.Scott Wilson, Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d Ed., page 236, McFarland, Inc., 2016
Selected filmography Batman and Robin (1949) as Professor Hammil The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) (5 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 4: "The Legion of Old Timers") (1949) as Pete (Season 3 Episode 30: "Trouble in Town") (1953) as Bert Gilroy (Season 5 Episode 25: "Dead Eye") (1957) as Marshal 'Dead-Eye' Jones (Season 5 Episode 32: "The Tarnished Star") (1957) as Banker Elias Rush (Season 5 Episode 38: "Blind Witness") (1957) as Tom Ellsworth The Gene Autry Show (1951-1954) (13 episodes) (Season 2 Episode 1: "Ghost Town Raiders") (1951) as Crazy Charley (Season 2 Episode 3: "Silver Dollars") (1951) as Sheriff Bailey (Season 2 Episode 10: "The Kid Comes West") (1951) as Frank Graham (Season 2 Episode 16: "Rock River Feud") (1952) as Jim Ford (Season 3 Episode 1: "Thunder Out West") (1953) as Old John Turner (Season 3 Episode 8: "Bandidos") (1953) as Mayor (Season 3 Episode 10: "Cold Decked") (1953) as Game Warden (Season 4 Episode 2: "Johnny Jackeroo") (1954) as Steve Harper, Driver (Season 4 Episode 3: "Holdup") (1954) as Pop Wallace (Season 4 Episode 6: "Talking Guns") (1954) as Jim Dekker (Season 4 Episode 7: "Hoodoo Canyon") (1954) as Hank, Stage Driver (Season 4 Episode 8: "The Carnival Comes West") (1954) as Slim, Carnival Worker (Season 4 Episode 11: "Civil War at Deadwood") (1954) as Muskets Corby The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951-1955) (8 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 12: "Fury at Red Gulch") (1951) as Tom Phillips (Season 2 Episode 8: "Powder Smoke Trail") (1952) as Pete the Stableman (Season 2 Episode 19: "Mojave Desperados") (1952) as Trader Bill (Season 3 Episode 11: "Frontier Mail") (1953) (Season 3 Episode 15: "Marshal of Gun Town") (1953) as Jeremy Repp (Season 4 Episode 21: "The Golden Ring of Cibola") (1954) (Season 4 Episode 23: "Devil's Remuda") (1955) (Season 4 Episode 24: "The Phantom Uprising") (1955) as Chris Wheeler The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951-1955) (4 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 4: "The Dog Collar Story") (1951) as Hawkins (Season 3 Episode 8: "Photographer Story") (1952) as Doc Parker (Season 5 Episode 5: "'Ol Pardner Rides Again") (1954) (Season 6 Episode 1: "Outlaw's Portrait") (1955) as Doc Parker The Roy Rogers Show (1952-1954) (7 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 5: "The Train Robbery") (1952) as Tom the Banker (Season 1 Episode 10: "Unwilling Outlaw") (1952) as Marty the Banker (Season 1 Episode 13: "Ghost Gulch") (1952) as Cafe Customer (Season 2 Episode 4: "The Feud") (1952) as Grandpa (Season 2 Episode 5: "Go for Your Gun") (1952) as Sam Hanley, Assayer (Season 2 Episode 14: "The Long Chance") (1953) as Seth (Season 4 Episode 10: "Hidden Treasure") (1954) as Lode Turner The Cisco Kid (1953-1956) (7 episodes) (Season 3 Episode 21: "The Census Taker") (1953) as Zeke Tobias (Season 4 Episode 6: "Battle of Red Rock Pass") (1953) as John Matlock (Season 4 Episode 13: "Outlaw's Gallery") (1953) as Zack Marsh (Season 4 Episode 22: "Horseless Carriage") (1954) as Scroggins the Banker (Season 5 Episode 26: "The Tumblers") (1955) as Sheriff Len Cooper (Season 6 Episode 21: "He Couldn't Quit") (1956) as Hunt (Season 6 Episode 25: "Magician of Jamesville") (1956) as Grandpa Joe The Loretta Young Show (1953-1960) (3 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 10: "Thanksgiving in Beaver Run") (1953) as Station Master (Season 2 Episode 6: "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt") (1954) as Watchman (Season 7 Episode 18: "The Hired Hand") (1960) as Jake Death Valley Days (1953-1970) (3 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 10: "The Rival Hash Houses") (1953) as Flapjack Kelly (Season 10 Episode 16: "Feud at Dome Rock") (1962) as Rufe Daniel (Season 18 Episode 16: "The Biggest Little Post Office in the World") (1970) as Hank Stearns Duffy's Tavern (1954) (30 episodes) as Clayton The Public Defender (1954-1955) (3 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 16: "Youth Crime Ring") (1954) as Pops (Season 2 Episode 18: "The Man Who Couldn't Remember") (1954) as Quimby (Season 2 Episode 36: "Clifford Pike") (1955) as James Baldwin Annie Oakley (1954-1956) (7 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 5: "Ambush Canyon") (1954) as Jessie Clemmons (Season 1 Episode 13: "The Hardrock Trail") (1954) as Walt, the Telegrapher (Season 1 Episode 21: "Bull's Eye") (1954) as Sam Porter, the Assayer (Season 2 Episode 2: "The Tomboy") (1954) as Tom Jennings (Season 2 Episode 10: "Diablo Doctor") (1955) as Silas Turner (Season 3 Episode 5: "The Robin Hood Kid") (1956) as Gabe Upton (Season 3 Episode 15: "Dilemma at Diablo") (1956) as Sam Briggs The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin (1954-1957) (6 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 10: "Rin-Tin-Tin and the Ancient Mariner") (1954) as Captain Longey (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Ghost Town") (1955) as George Higgins (Season 2 Episode 10: "Higgins Rides Again") (1955) as Higgins (Season 2 Episode 24: "The Return of the Ancient Mariner") (1956) as Captain Longey (Season 3 Episode 16: "Higgins' Last Stand") (1957) as Marshal George Higgins (Season 4 Episode 2: "The Courtship of Marshal Higgins") (1957) as Marshal George Higgins General Electric Theatre (1954-1960) (3 episodes) (Season 2 Episode 24: "Desert Crossing") (1954) (Season 3 Episode 32: "Into the Night") (1955) as Farmer Tom (Season 8 Episode 28: "Aftermath") (1960) as Harris Lux Video Theatre (1955) (Season 6 Episode 12: "Branded") as Tattoo Buffalo Bill, Jr. (1955-1956) (5 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 17: "Lucky Horseshoe") (1955) as Poke Hanna (Season 1 Episode 20: "Legacy of Jesse James") (1955) as Cass Ricketts (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Fight for Texas") (1955) as Corporal Dunbar (Season 2 Episode 9: "Kansas City Lady") (1956) as Banker Taggart (Season 2 Episode 10: "A Diamond for Grandpa") (1956) as Grandpa Andrews Fury (1955-1960) (116 episodes) as Pete Wilkey Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1957) (Season 1 Episode 20: "The Necessary Breed") as Petey Feeney Whirlybirds (1957) (Season 1 Episode 10: "Lynch Mob") as Virgil Hook Matinee Theatre (1957) (Season 2 Episode 122: "A Tongue of Silver") as Willy Figg Have Gun – Will Travel (1957) (Season 1 Episode 3: "The Great Mojave Chase") as Jake Leave It to Beaver (1957) (Season 1 Episode 8: "Beaver's Crush") as Mr. Johnson Dragnet (1957) (Season 7 Episode 14: "The Big Full Moon") The Restless Gun (1957-1959) (4 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 9: "The New Sheriff") (1957) as Tom (Season 1 Episode 28: "The Whip") (1958) as Seth (Season 1 Episode 30: "Aunt Emma") (1958) as Doctor (Season 2 Episode 26: "Incident at Bluefield") (1959) as Moss Blaine Cheyenne (1957-1961) (4 episodes) (Season 2 Episode 15: "Born Bad") (1957) as Gus Lundy (Season 2 Episode 20: "The Broken Pledge") (1957) as Gib Anders (Season 5 Episode 10: "The Frightened Town") (1961) as Luke (Season 6 Episode 1: "Winchester Quarantine") (1961) as Uncle Rufe Tales of Wells Fargo (1957-1962) (4 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 13: "Jesse James") (1957) as Livery Stable Owner (Season 3 Episode 17: "Showdown Trail") (1959) as Conductor (Season 3 Episode 26: "The Legacy") (1959) as Bart Casement / Ed York (Season 6 Episode 20: "Portrait of Teresa") (1962) as Charlie, the Stagecoach Driver M Squad (1958) (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Frightened Wife") as Guard Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1958) (Season 3 Episode 22: "The Criminal Collie") as Skagway Bill Alcoa Theatre (1958-1959) (2 episodes) (Season 2 Episode 6: "The Town Budget") (1958) as Obie (Season 2 Episode 12: "Man of His House") (1959) as Cookie Sugarfoot (1958-1960) (3 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 14: "A Wreath for Charity Lloyd") (1958) as Doc Abercrombie (Season 2 Episode 20: "Wolf") (1959) as Juf Wilkes (Season 4 Episode 2: "A Noose for Nora") (1960) as John Buck Wagon Train (1958-1964) (7 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Bill Tawnee Story") (1958) as Tucker (Season 3 Episode 35: "The Charlene Brenton Story") (1960) as Shotgun Rider