Richard Lewis Wesson (November 19, 1922 – April 25, 1996) was a prolific character actor, comedian, comedy writer, and producer.
Biography Dick Wesson was born on November 19, 1922, in Boston, Massachusetts. A comedian, impressionist and singer, Wesson appeared with his brother Gene in a comedy act titled "The Wesson Brothers". They had some hit records, such as "Oodles of Boodle" and "All Right Louie, Drop the Gun".
In 1949, Wesson became a television series regular with Jim Backus in Hollywood House. Making his film debut in Destination Moon (1950), Wesson signed a contract with Warner Bros., leaving the studio in 1953. His films there included Breakthrough, Calamity Jane (1953), and The Desert Song. Wesson played comic relief in all his films, frequently as an infantry soldier, as in Force of Arms (1951), and in the Old West with The Man Behind the Gun (1952) and The Charge at Feather River (1953). Wesson's best known role was as female impersonator Francis Fryer in Calamity Jane.
Wesson moved to television, appearing as Jackie Cooper's ex-United States Marine Corps sidekick Rollo, on The People's Choice and as Frank Crenshaw in The Bob Cummings Show. Wesson began writing for The Bob Cummings Show and later The Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared in The Beverly Hillbillies as a taxi driver and as a patient in the season 1 episode "The Clampetts Get Psychoanalyzed". He produced My Sister Eileen and many episodes of Petticoat Junction as well as directed several episodes of each series. He portrayed Jack Reardon on the 1974 CBS situation comedy Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. Death Wesson later died of an aneurysm on April 25, 1996, in Rancho Mirage, California.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1950 Destination Moon Joe Sweeney 1950 Breakthrough Pvt. Sammy Hansen 1951 Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison Tinker 1951 Force of Arms Kleiner 1951 Jim Thorpe – All-American Ed Guyac 1951 Sunny Side of the Street Dave Gibson 1951 Starlift Sgt. Mike Nolan 1952 About Face Dave Crouse 1953 The Man Behind the Gun Sgt. 'Monk' Walker 1953 The Desert Song Benjamin 'Benjy' Kidd 1953 The Charge at Feather River Pvt. Cullen 1953 Calamity Jane Francis Fryer 1955 Paris Follies of 1956 Chuck Russell 1961 The Errand Boy The A.D. 1977 Rollercoaster Tourist Father
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External links
Great character actors http://www.playbrass.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Dick&actor_last=Wesson Wesson with Sammy Davis Jr. on Hollywood House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbpcY0svdvU