Denver Pyle

Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush.

• Name — Denver Pyle • Birth Name — Denver Dell Pyle • Born — 11 May 1920 • Birthplace — Bethune, Colorado, U.S. • Died — 25 December 1997 • Place of death — Burbank, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Forreston Cemetery, Forreston, Texas • Known for — Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard • Occupation — * Actor • director • Years Active — 1947–1997 • Children — 2

Pyle was born in Bethune, Colorado on May 11, 1920, to farmer Ben H. Pyle and his wife Maude. His brother, Willis, was an animator known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios and UPA. After graduating from high school, Pyle briefly attended Colorado State University, but dropped out to pursue a career as a drummer. Later, he worked the oil fields in Oklahoma and Texas. In 1940, Pyle moved to Los Angeles, where his brother and sister were working. His sister helped him land a job as a page at NBC. When the United States entered World War II, he began working at Lockheed as a riveter. His military service is unclear, and he possibly enlisted in the U.S. Navy or Merchant Marines, or both. After the war, Pyle returned to work at Lockheed and married his first wife, Marilee.

Through the encouragement of actor friend Sidney Gordon, Pyle landed a part in a play. It did well, so he began to study acting and joined the American Repertory Theater. During this time, after being seen in Ring Around Elizabeth at the Glendale Center Theater, he was cast in the films The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947) and The Man from Colorado (1948). Other bit parts followed, until 1955 when he was cast as outlaw Ben Thompson on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, after which he became an established actor.

Pyle guest-starred 14 times between 1951 and 1953 on the syndicated television series The Range Rider with Jock Mahoney and Dick Jones, and appeared as an outlaw in a 1951 episode of the television series The Lone Ranger titled "Backtrail," then as a deputy in the episode "The Hooded Men" and returned in episode 71 "The Outcast", episode 166 "Woman in the White Mask" and episode 187 "Cross of Santo Domingo". He also appeared in "Frontier Range", a 1951 episode of The Gene Autry Show. In 1953, Pyle appeared on The Roy Rogers Show (season two, "Loaded Guns") as the wrongly accused killer, ranch hand Tom Larrabee. Also in 1953, Pyle played Emil Hatch in episode 46 of The Adventures of Superman entitled "Beware the Wrecker". He had a part in the 1955 Audie Murphy film To Hell and Back, and appeared twice on NBC's 1955–1956 Western anthology series Frontier (in "Mother of the Brave" and in "The Voyage of Captain Castle"). Pyle was twice cast on CBS's The Public Defender in the role of George Hansen, and three times on the religious anthology series, Crossroads on ABC. He acted the part of a police detective in the 1956 film noir Please Murder Me, starring Raymond Burr. Pyle was cast as Carter in the 1955 episode "Joey's Father" on Fury. Three years later, he played an arsonist in the episode "The Fire Watchers" of the same series. In 1956, Pyle appeared as Vance Kiley in the episode called "Quicksand" in the TV Western series The Lone Ranger. That same year, he played "Willie Calhoun", a lovestruck, and soon-to-be murderer, in season 2's "Poor Pearl" on Gunsmoke. He appeared as a professor in the syndicated Men into Space series' 1959 episode "Moonquake". In an episode of Ripcord, he played a suicidal parachutist. Also in 1959, he returned to Gunsmoke, playing the lead character Mike Blocker in the episode "The Bear". He was cast as Big Red in the 1959 episode "Woman in the River" of the detective series Bourbon Street Beat, starring Andrew Duggan and Richard Long. Pyle appeared twice each on the CBS Western series My Friend Flicka and NBC's The Restless Gun with John Payne. He guest-starred with Grant Withers in the 1959 episode "Tumbleweed Ranger" of Tris Coffin's syndicated Western series 26 Men, billed as true stories of the Arizona Rangers. He appeared seven times on Richard Boone's CBS Western Have Gun – Will Travel; his final appearance was on the show in 1960 as the character Croft in "The Puppeteer". He guest-starred in 1960 in several other Westerns, including Pony Express, The Man from Blackhawk, and Tombstone Territory. He made several appearances as Briscoe Darling, on The Andy Griffith Show. Pyle was cast in a number of Western movies by John Ford, including The Horse Soldiers with William Holden and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He played a Tennessee soldier (called Thimblerig) in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He portrayed Sam Houston in several episodes of CBS's The Adventures of Jim Bowie. He guest-starred as a law-enforcement officer in Jim Davis' other syndicated series, Rescue 8, and also appeared in an episode of the ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys with Walter Brennan. • Illustration — Pyle as Captain Lister in the 1962 Kraft Mystery Theatre episode "Cry Ruin" Pyle was cast in the 1960 episode "Three Wise Men" of ABC's Stagecoach West as an outlaw who promises to turn himself into the authorities if he can spend Christmas with his family. About this time, Pyle appeared in the segment "Lawyer in Petticoats" of William Bendix's 1960 NBC Western series Overland Trail with Doug McClure, and thereafter in 1961 in "Hand of Vengeance" in the syndicated Western series Two Faces West. Pyle was cast as Jed Corrigan in the 1961 episode "The Tramp" of the NBC family drama series National Velvet. In 1961, Pyle made the first of eight separate appearances on Bonanza, in the third season episode "Springtime". He also appeared in the fourth season episodes "A Hot Day for a Hanging" (1962), "The Boss" (1963), and "Little Man - Ten Feet Tall" (1963); the fifth season's "Bullet for a Bride" (1964), the tenth season's "The Passing of a King" (1968), the twelfth season's "The Wagon" (1970), and finally in "Riot" (1972) in the fourteenth season. Pyle guest-starred twice on the CBS series Route 66 with Martin Milner and George Maharis, first in 1961 in the episode "The Newborn" and again in 1962 in "A Long Piece of Mischief". He appeared as the father of the doomed family in the dystopian episode "Black Leather Jackets" of The Twilight Zone. In 1963, Pyle guest-starred on The Dick Van Dyke Show as Uncle George in the episode "Uncle George". He appeared twice in Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker. He played Sergeant Tripp in the episode "The Enemy" of the James Arness ABC series How the West Was Won. Pyle also had guest-starring roles on The Rifleman. He also is known for portraying both the suspect and the murder victim on the last original Perry Mason TV episode, "The Case of the Final Fadeout", in 1966. He was one of 11 actors to hit the Perry Mason trifecta, portraying a victim, a defendant, and the actual murderer (in previous episodes) on the series, which he did in five appearances. Among his other appearances, he played defendant Robert Crane in "The Case of the Deadly Double" in 1958, Tom Quincy in "The Case of the Ominous Outcast" in 1960, Tilden Stuart in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist", Emery Fillmore in "The Case of the Renegade Refugee" (both in 1961), and Frank Honer in "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox" in 1963. Pyle portrayed the vengeful Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. He also appeared in an episode of The High Chaparral as a general who had lost his son. In 1968, he appeared as Titus Purcell, patriarch of a family of homesteaders, in the episode "The Price of Tomatoes" in the sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Working for the first time with Jim Nabors playing Gomer Pyle, spun-off from The Andy Griffith Show, he used a screen persona similar to Briscoe Darling Jr. In 1968, he also directed "The Great Diamond Mines" on Death Valley Days. Pyle had a guest-starring role in 1973 on The Streets of San Francisco. In 1975, Walt Disney Productions released a film based on the novel Escape to Witch Mountain. In this film, Tony and Tia were played by Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards, Lucas Deranian by Donald Pleasence, and the children's Uncle Bené by Pyle. In 1976, he appeared on Barnaby Jones in an episode titled "Stalking Horse". He appeared as a mayor residing in the town of Purgatory in the first-season episode of Kung Fu, titled "Ancient Warrior". He also appeared in second-season episode "Crossties" as a doctor. In 1985 (season 9, episode 8), Pyle made a guest appearance on The Love Boat.

Pyle played the titular role in a theatrical film entitled Guardian of the Wilderness (1976) about Galen Clark, the true story of an explorer who persuaded Abraham Lincoln to have the Yosemite area set aside from commercial development, the original forerunner of the American national parks system. Clark was prompted by his decision to do all he could to preserve the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias from being destroyed by loggers, along with the surrounding land. Pyle was the top-billed lead in this theatrical motion picture shot on location. John Dehner portrayed legendary naturalist John Muir and Ford Rainey played President Lincoln. The movie is also known by its alternate title Mountain Man.

One of Pyle's more endearing roles was that of Briscoe Darling Jr., on The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1966). Pyle played the patriarch of the Darling family, a group of sons (all portrayed by The Dillards), and one daughter, Charlene, portrayed by Maggie Peterson. He appeared in seven episodes, six written by the comedy-writing team of Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. During the 1965–1966 television season he portrayed the recurring role of Grandpa Tarleton in Tammy. He played Buck Webb (Doris Day's television series father) during the first two seasons of CBS's The Doris Day Show (1968–1970). In real life, Pyle was only two years older than Day. Pyle said in 1968 that he based his acting in that role on his father's personality. Pyle played the role of Mad Jack in 36 episodes of the NBC series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1977–1978). His best-known and longest-running television role was that of Uncle Jesse Duke in the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) (146 episodes).

In his later life, Pyle played mostly cameo television roles and retired from full-time acting. His last film role was in the 1994 film Maverick. His final acting role was as Jesse Duke in the 1997 CBS made-for-television movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!

Pyle sponsored Uncle Jesse's Fishing Tournament in Lamar County, Texas. In ten years of operation, the tournament raised more than $160,000 to support children's programs there. First established in 1988, the tournament is still going strong and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017. It continues to support the children's charities of Lamar County.

Pyle has a star in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated on December 12, 1997. In 1991, the Texas Senate passed a resolution honoring Pyle and his wife for their work with Special Olympics and the Denver Pyle's Children's Charities.

Within a few years of his final episode on The Andy Griffith Show, "The Darling Fortune", Pyle began investing in oil, buying oil wells thought to be near the end of their working lifetimes cheaply at a time when the price of oil was $2.15 per barrel. By 1981, after new technologies allowed the remaining oil to be more economically recovered from the wells and the 1973 oil crisis triggered a rise in prices to over $46 a barrel, he was very wealthy, having made much more money from oil than his total earnings in over 30 years as an actor. He said that he continued to work as an actor because "I look at it this way, acting provides the cash flow I need for oil speculation, and besides that I like acting. It's fun."

In 1955, Pyle married Marilee Carpenter, a production assistant at 20th Century Fox. They had sons David and Tony. Marilee and Denver divorced in 1970. On November 5, 1983, Pyle married Tippie X. Johnston in Los Angeles County, California. The union lasted until his death.

Pyle died of lung cancer on Christmas Day 1997. Memorial services were held January 6, 1998, at First Baptist Church in Waxahachie, Texas. He is buried in an unmarked grave at the Forreston Cemetery in Forreston, Texas. His remains are interred beside those of his second wife's parents, James Thomas Johnston and Erin Maurine (née Birch) Johnston.

Denver Pyle television credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 1953 — Death Valley Days — Art Crowley — Episode: "Swamper Ike" (S1.E12) • 1954 — The Adventures of Superman — Hatch — Episode: "Beware the Wrecker" (S2.E20) • 1955–1958 — The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp — Ben Thompson — 7 episodes • 1956 — The Millionaire — Arthur Darner — Episode: "The Arthur Darner Story" (S2.E21) • Gunsmoke — Willie Calhoun — Episode: "Poor Pearl" (S2.E13) • 1957 — Gunsmoke — Hank Shinn — Episode: "Liar From Blackhawk" (S2.E38) • Have Gun – Will Travel — Clay Sommers — Episode: "The Colonel and the Lady" (S1.E11) • The Restless Gun — Sheriff Jay — Episode: "Rink" (S1.E4) • 1959 — The Restless Gun — Jeb — Episode: "The Pawn" (S2.E27) • Gunsmoke — Mike Blocker — Episode: "The Bear" (S4.E25) • Bat Masterson — Dan Morgan — Episode: "Marked Deck" (S1.E21) • The Rifleman — Henry Trumble — Episode: "Bloodlines" (S2.E2) • The Rifleman — Seth Mitchell — Episode: "The Legacy" (S2.E11) • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp — Rev. Oliver Tittle — Episode: "A Good Man" (S4.E17) • 1960 — The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp — Dobie Jenner — Episode: "A Murderer’s Return" (S5.E19) • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp — Hoss Mackey — Episode: "The Too Perfect Crime" (S6.E10) • The Rifleman — Harold Tenner — Episode: "The Hangman" (S2.E36) • Perry Mason — Tom Quincy — Episode: "The Case of the Ominous Outcast" (S3.E24) • The Tall Man — Marshal Dave Leggert — Episode: "Garrett and the Kid" (S1.E1) • Have Gun Will Travel — Colonel Celine — Episode: "Ransom" (S3.E37) • Have Gun Will Travel — Advent — Episode: "The Calf" (S4.E6) • Have Gun Will Travel — General George "Pawnee" Croft — Episode: "The Puppeteer" (S4.E15) • 1961 — Bonanza — Theodore 'Ted' Hackett — Episode: "Springtime" (S3.E2) • The Rifleman — George Tanner — Episode: "The Clarence Bibs Story" (S3.E28) • The Rifleman — Frank Hazlitt — Episode: "The Decision" (S4.E6) • 1962 — Bonanza — Sheriff Tom Stedman — Episode: "A Hot Day for a Hanging" (S4.E4) • Kraft Mystery Theatre — Captain Lister — Episode: "Cry Ruin" • 1963 — The Dick Van Dyke Show — Uncle George — Episode: "Uncle George" (S3.E8) • Bonanza — Sheriff Ed — 2 episodes • 1963–1966 — The Andy Griffith Show — Briscoe Darling — 6 episodes • 1964 — Bonanza — Marcus Caldwell — Episode: "Bullet for a Bride" (S5.E20) • 1964 — The Twilight Zone — Stuart Tillman — Episode: "Black Leather Jackets" (S5.E18) • 1965 — Gunsmoke — Cousin Claudius — Episode: "Deputy Festus" (S10.E17) • 1965–1966 — Tammy — Grandpa Mordecai Tarleton — Main role • 1966 — Gunsmoke — Caleb Nash — Episode: "The Goldtakers" (S12.E2) • 1967 — Gunsmoke — Dr. Henry S. Rand — Episode: "Mad Dog" (S12.E17) • 1968 — Bonanza — Claude Roman — Episode: "The Passing of a King" (S10.E5) • 1968–1970 — The Doris Day Show — Buck Webb — Regular role • 1970 — Bonanza — Price Buchanan — Episode: "The Wagon" (S12.E4) • 1970 — Here Come the Brides — Duncan Bolt — Episode: "Bolt of Kilmaren" (S2.E23) • 1972 — Bonanza — Warden — Episode: "Riot" (S14.E4) • 1977–1978 — The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams — Mad Jack — Main role • 1979–1985 — The Dukes of Hazzard — Uncle Jesse Duke — Main role • 1980 — Enos — Uncle Jesse Duke — 2 episodes • 1983 — The Dukes — Uncle Jesse Duke (voice) — Main role • 1986 — Return to Mayberry — Briscoe Darling — Television film • 1997 — The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! — Uncle Jesse Duke — Television film

Additionally, he directed ten episodes of Death Valley Days, ten episodes of The Doris Day Show, and twelve episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard.