Dayton Lummis
Encyclopedia
Dayton Lummis. Sr. was an American
actor
of film
and television
who specialized in the genre of anthology and western
series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal
Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman
western, with Michael Ansara
and Robert Harland
. In 1955, he portrayed General
Douglas MacArthur
in the film The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.
, New Jersey
, Lummis studied theatre arts in Los Angeles
at the Martha Oatman School. His first professional engagement, at the age of twenty-four, was with the Russell Stock Company in Redlands
, California. He remained a regional actor until his Broadway debut in 1943.
Lummis was cast in his first screen role, a minor appearance, at the age of forty-two in the Burt Lancaster
and Barbara Stanwyck
film Sorry, Wrong Number
. After a few other motion picture appearances, some uncredited, Lummis was cast as a police
superintendent in the television series Racket Squad
in the 1952 episode "The Strange Case of James Doyle" Hugh Beaumont, later the father, Ward Cleaver
, on the sitcom Leave It to Beaver
, narrated a third of the episodes of this series, which starred Reed Hadley
as Captain John Braddock. That same year, Lummis appeared as Paul Clarkson in the episode "Where There's a Will" in the detective
series, Mr. and Mrs. North
, starring Richard Denning
. In 1954, he appeared as police Sergeant
Jack Gotch in "The Bink Trunk" episode of Jack Webb
's Dragnet
. In 1958, he appeared as Jonas Warman in the episode "The Healer" of NBC's M Squad
crime drama, starring Lee Marvin
.
anthology series as a prison warden in "Vote of Confidence" and as Whit Lonigan in "A Championship Affair" (both in 1954). In 1955, he appeared twice on CBS's Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as a newspaper
editor named Cartwright in "The Last Pilot Schooner" and as Arthur Healy in "Ambitious Cop". Between 1954 and 1956 Lummis was cast in four separate roles, two as a physician
, on NBC's The Loretta Young Show. He appeared as the character Nigel in the 1956 episode "Temptation" on CBS's Lux Video Theatre
In 1955, he portrayed an executive officer in the episode "Sky Pilot" of the CBS military anthology series, Navy Log
. From 1953-1957, he was cast four times on the CBS anthology, General Electric Theater
, in the episodes "Best Seller", "My Wife, Poor Wretch", "Too Good with a Gun", and "I Will Not Die". He was cast as Colonel Duncan Smuthe in "The Tichborne Claimant" of the NBC series the Joseph Cotten Show
, also known as On Trial. In 1958, Lummis appeared on NBC's Shirley Temple's Storybook
in the episode "The Nightingale". From 1956-1958, he appeared three times on CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents
anthology, as Tom Ackley in "Crack of Doom", Charles Blanchard in "Mr. Blanchard's Secret", and as Police Sergeant Oliver in "Listen, Listen!" In 1958, he appeared twice – as Dr. Engle in "Before I Die" and as Colonel Brecker in "Bitter Heritage" – on CBS's Playhouse 90
. In 1958 and 1959, he appeared as a prosecutor in "The Lady Takes the Stand" and as Lord Meredith in "A London Affair" of NBC's Goodyear Theatre
series. Another western role followed in 1957 as General Rogers on the syndicated
series The Adventures of Jim Bowie
, loosely based on the life of the Alamo
defender Jim Bowie
. That same year, he appeared in the episode "The Fugitive" of another syndicated western, Man Without a Gun
, starring Rex Reason
and Mort Mills
. In 1958, Lummis was cast in an uncredited role as a padre
in Audie Murphy
's film, From Hell to Texas
. That same year, he appeared as Jabez Lord in the episode "Hunter's Moon" of the NBC series Buckskin
starring child actor
Tommy Nolan
. The nest year, he guest starred in "Excitement at Milltown" of Rod Cameron
's syndicated State Trooper
. He was cast as a Judge Randall in the 1959 episode "Gone But Not Forgotten" of the CBS series Yancy Derringer
, starring Jock Mahoney
. In 1960, he appeared as Gideon Templeton in the episode "Path of the Eagle" of NBC's Riverboat
, starring Darren McGavin
.
His Law of the Plainsman episodes include:
In 1960, he appeared twice on Chuck Connors
's ABC western The Rifleman
as Colonel Craig in "The Lariat" and as Jake Shaw in "The Illustrator". That same year, Lummis appeared twice on the syndicated Death Valley Days
, as (1) the historical figure, Lew Wallace
in "Shadows on the Window" , with Martin Braddock as Billy the Kid
, and (2) as De La Mar in "City of Widows". In 1961, he played a judge in "Killer Without Cause" of the NBC series, Laramie
. He appeared that same year in two Warner Brothers westerns on ABC: as Silas Rigsby in "Trouble at Sand Springs" of Will Hutchins
's Sugarfoot
and as Frank Collins, father of a wayward youth played by Richard Evans
, in the episode "The Young Fugitives" of Clint Walker
's Cheyenne
His next western role was as Dr. Burroughs in the 1962 episode "The Ross Bennett Story" of NBC's The Wide Country
, starring Earl Holliman
and Andrew Prine
.
In 1963, he was cast as Horatio Turner in "The Money Cage" of NBC's 90-minute western The Virginian
. Lummis starred as Jasom Simms in "Green, Green Hills" (1962) and Thomsa Fenton Giler in "Down There, the World" (1963) of NBC's modern western Empire
, starring Richard Egan
. In 1963, he was cast as Clayton Emory in episode "The Chooser of the Slain" of the short-lived Warner Brothers western series The Dakotas
, starring Larry Ward
and Chad Everett
. Still another 1963 role was as Colonel Bob Grainter in "Fracas at Kiowa Flats" of the NBC series, Temple Houston
, starring Jeffrey Hunter
.
Lummis appeared three times in the NBC and ABC western, Wagon Train
: as Major Barham in "the Martha Barham Story" (1959) with Ann Blyth
in the title role, as T.J. Gingle in "The John Turnbull Story" (1962), with Henry Silva, and as the Reverend Philip Marshall in "The Myra Marshall Story" (1963), starring Suzanne Pleshette
. He appeared four times on NBC's Bonanza
: as Colonel Metcalfe in "Escape to Ponderosa" (1960), as attorney Hiram Wood in "the Secret" (1961), as Colonel Abel Chapin in "The Legacy" (1963), and as Judge O'Hara in "The Dilemma" (1965). The 1965 Bonanza appearance was Lummis' last western role for a full decade
, when he appeared on February 3, 1975, as 71-year-old Mr. Holmby in the episode ""The Angry Land", one of the last episodes of CBS's longest-running western, Gunsmoke
, starring James Arness
. "the Angry Land" was the penultimate Gunsmoke appearance for Arness as well as Lummis's final screen role.
Lummis maintained a ranch
during his acting career. He was married to Dorothy L. Lummis (April 11, 1912—January 21, 1997), a Pennsylvania
native who resided in Bryn Mawr
in Delaware County
at the time of her death. Lummis himself died at the age of eighty-four in Santa Monica
in Los Angeles County
, California. His son, Dayton Lummis, Jr. (born ca. 1936), of Santa Fe
, New Mexico
, is a former museum
curator and author of numerous nonfiction works on the American West.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
who specialized in the genre of anthology and western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman
Law of the Plainsman
Law of The Plainsman is a Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on the NBC television network from October 1, 1959, until May 5, 1960. The character of Native American U.S...
western, with Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
and Robert Harland
Robert Harland
Robert "Bob" Harland is a retired American actor whose principal work was done on television in the late 1950s and 1960s...
. In 1955, he portrayed General
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
in the film The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.
Early years
A native of SummitSummit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Lummis studied theatre arts in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
at the Martha Oatman School. His first professional engagement, at the age of twenty-four, was with the Russell Stock Company in Redlands
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
, California. He remained a regional actor until his Broadway debut in 1943.
Lummis was cast in his first screen role, a minor appearance, at the age of forty-two in the Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
film Sorry, Wrong Number
Sorry, Wrong Number
Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad.The film was adapted by Lucille...
. After a few other motion picture appearances, some uncredited, Lummis was cast as a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
superintendent in the television series Racket Squad
Racket Squad
Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department....
in the 1952 episode "The Strange Case of James Doyle" Hugh Beaumont, later the father, Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the babyboomer 1950s. The couple are the parents of Wally, a thirteen-year-old in the eighth grade, and seven-year-old ...
, on the sitcom Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
, narrated a third of the episodes of this series, which starred Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley
Reed Hadley was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York...
as Captain John Braddock. That same year, Lummis appeared as Paul Clarkson in the episode "Where There's a Will" in the detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series, Mr. and Mrs. North
Mr. and Mrs. North
Mr. and Mrs. North are fictional American amateur detectives. Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple were featured in a series of 26 Mr. and Mrs. North novels, a Broadway play, a motion picture and several radio and television series....
, starring Richard Denning
Richard Denning
Richard Denning , was an American actor who starred in such movies as Creature from the Black Lagoon and An Affair to Remember , and on radio with Lucille Ball as her husband George Cooper in My Favorite Husband , the forerunner of television's I Love Lucy, for which Denning was replaced by Ball's...
. In 1954, he appeared as police Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Jack Gotch in "The Bink Trunk" episode of Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
's Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
. In 1958, he appeared as Jonas Warman in the episode "The Healer" of NBC's M Squad
M Squad
M Squad is an American police drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. Its format would later inspire the creation of spoof TV show Police Squad! Its sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during the...
crime drama, starring Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
.
Anthology series
Lummis appeared in numerous anthology series, including CBS's Four Star PlayhouseFour Star Playhouse
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953...
anthology series as a prison warden in "Vote of Confidence" and as Whit Lonigan in "A Championship Affair" (both in 1954). In 1955, he appeared twice on CBS's Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, is a weekly CBS anthology television series, was telecast on Friday nights from 1951 until 1959. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by Schlitz beer...
as a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor named Cartwright in "The Last Pilot Schooner" and as Arthur Healy in "Ambitious Cop". Between 1954 and 1956 Lummis was cast in four separate roles, two as a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, on NBC's The Loretta Young Show. He appeared as the character Nigel in the 1956 episode "Temptation" on CBS's Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
In 1955, he portrayed an executive officer in the episode "Sky Pilot" of the CBS military anthology series, Navy Log
Navy Log
Navy Log is an American anthology series that initially aired on CBS. The series featured over 70 regular guests and told about the greatest survival war stories in the history of the United States Navy. This series premiered on September 20, 1955. The following year, it was moved to ABC, where it...
. From 1953-1957, he was cast four times on the CBS anthology, General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
, in the episodes "Best Seller", "My Wife, Poor Wretch", "Too Good with a Gun", and "I Will Not Die". He was cast as Colonel Duncan Smuthe in "The Tichborne Claimant" of the NBC series the Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show is an American anthology series series hosted by and occasionally starring Joseph Cotten. The series, which first aired on NBC, aired 31 episodes from September 14, 1956, to September 13, 1957...
, also known as On Trial. In 1958, Lummis appeared on NBC's Shirley Temple's Storybook
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was...
in the episode "The Nightingale". From 1956-1958, he appeared three times on CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
anthology, as Tom Ackley in "Crack of Doom", Charles Blanchard in "Mr. Blanchard's Secret", and as Police Sergeant Oliver in "Listen, Listen!" In 1958, he appeared twice – as Dr. Engle in "Before I Die" and as Colonel Brecker in "Bitter Heritage" – on CBS's Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
. In 1958 and 1959, he appeared as a prosecutor in "The Lady Takes the Stand" and as Lord Meredith in "A London Affair" of NBC's Goodyear Theatre
Goodyear Theatre
Goodyear Theatre is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from 1957 to 1960 for a total of 55 episodes. The live show was derected by Don Taylor, Arthur Hiller and James Sheldon...
Western roles
Lummis was assigned his first western role as banker Jonathan Wilkins in the 1953 episode entitled "Trouble in Town" of The Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
series. Another western role followed in 1957 as General Rogers on the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series The Adventures of Jim Bowie
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
In September of 1956 a TV series named "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" was aired on ABC. The show was only on the air for two years from 1956 to 1958. The series' music was unique in that is was primarily vocal, provided by Ken Darby and The King's Men .-Synopsis:The series stars Scott Forbes as the...
, loosely based on the life of the Alamo
Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a battle fought during the Texas Revolution.Alamo may also refer to:-Places:*Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas*Alamo, California*Alamo, Georgia*Alamo Township, Michigan*Alamo, Nevada*Alamo, New Mexico...
defender Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie
James "Jim" Bowie , a 19th-century American pioneer, slave trader, land speculator, and soldier, played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo...
. That same year, he appeared in the episode "The Fugitive" of another syndicated western, Man Without a Gun
Man Without a Gun
Man Without a Gun is a western television series produced by 20th Century Fox television and presented in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959...
, starring Rex Reason
Rex Reason
Rex Reason is an American actor.He is the brother of actor Rhodes Reason, who is two years younger...
and Mort Mills
Mort Mills
Mort Mills was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 200 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. From 1957-1959 he had a recurring co-starring role as Marshal Frank Tallman in Man...
. In 1958, Lummis was cast in an uncredited role as a padre
Padre
Padre may refer to:* Partnership for Acid Drainage Remediation in Europe PADRE* An IDE for the Perl programming language, see Padre * A Military Chaplain* A member of the San Diego Padres baseball team...
in Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
's film, From Hell to Texas
From Hell to Texas
From Hell to Texas is a 1958 film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Don Murray and Diane Varsi.-Cast:*Don Murray as Tod Lohman*Diane Varsi as Juanita Bradley*Chill Wills as Amos Bradley*Dennis Hopper as Tom Boyd*R.G. Armstrong as Hunter Boyd...
. That same year, he appeared as Jabez Lord in the episode "Hunter's Moon" of the NBC series Buckskin
Buckskin (TV series)
Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
starring child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
Tommy Nolan
Tom Nolan (actor)
Tom Nolan is an actor whose career dates back to his work as a child star in the 1950s.Nolan was born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Canada, to parents of French and Irish descent. His family moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, where he immediately started dance classes...
. The nest year, he guest starred in "Excitement at Milltown" of Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
's syndicated State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
. He was cast as a Judge Randall in the 1959 episode "Gone But Not Forgotten" of the CBS series Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series that ran on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney in the title role. It was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Productions...
, starring Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
. In 1960, he appeared as Gideon Templeton in the episode "Path of the Eagle" of NBC's Riverboat
Riverboat (TV series)
Riverboat is a western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds that was broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961....
, starring Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
.
His Law of the Plainsman episodes include:
- "Prairie Incident" (1 October 1959)
- "A Matter of Life and Death" (15 October 1959)
- "The Hostiles" (22 October 1959)
- "Blood Trails" (5 November 1959)
- "Appointment in Santa Fe" (19 November 1959)
- "The Gibbet" (26 November 1959)
- "The Innocents" (10 December 1959)
- "Endurance" (14 January 1960)
- "Dangerous Barriers" (10 March 1960)
In 1960, he appeared twice on Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors
Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
's ABC western The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
as Colonel Craig in "The Lariat" and as Jake Shaw in "The Illustrator". That same year, Lummis appeared twice on the syndicated Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
, as (1) the historical figure, Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
in "Shadows on the Window" , with Martin Braddock as Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
, and (2) as De La Mar in "City of Widows". In 1961, he played a judge in "Killer Without Cause" of the NBC series, Laramie
Laramie (TV series)
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...
. He appeared that same year in two Warner Brothers westerns on ABC: as Silas Rigsby in "Trouble at Sand Springs" of Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
's Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
and as Frank Collins, father of a wayward youth played by Richard Evans
Richard Evans (actor)
Richard Evans is a retired American actor, best known for his work in television.Throughout his career, Evans has guest starred in TV series such as Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Sea Hunt, Cheyenne, The Rifleman, The Fugitive, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Men from Shiloh, Star Trek: The...
, in the episode "The Young Fugitives" of Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
's Cheyenne
Cheyenne (TV series)
Cheyenne is a western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season...
His next western role was as Dr. Burroughs in the 1962 episode "The Ross Bennett Story" of NBC's The Wide Country
The Wide Country
The Wide Country is an American Western television series which aired on NBC from September 20, 1962 to April 25, 1963.-Synopsis:The series stars Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine as brothers, Mitch and Andy Guthrie, respectively, who are traveling rodeo competitors...
, starring Earl Holliman
Earl Holliman
-Early life:Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana. Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth...
and Andrew Prine
Andrew Prine
Andrew Lewis Prine is an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life and career:Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Prine made his acting debut three years later in an episode of CBS U.S. Steel Hour...
.
In 1963, he was cast as Horatio Turner in "The Money Cage" of NBC's 90-minute western The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
. Lummis starred as Jasom Simms in "Green, Green Hills" (1962) and Thomsa Fenton Giler in "Down There, the World" (1963) of NBC's modern western Empire
Empire (1962 TV series)
Empire, an hour-long Western television series set on a 1960s ranch in New Mexico, starred Richard Egan , Terry Moore , and Ryan O'Neal . It ran on NBC for a season between September 25, 1962, and May 14, 1963...
, starring Richard Egan
Richard Egan (actor)
Richard Egan was an American actor. In some films he is credited as Richard Eagan.-Career:Born in San Francisco, California, Egan served in the United States Army as a judo instructor during World War II...
. In 1963, he was cast as Clayton Emory in episode "The Chooser of the Slain" of the short-lived Warner Brothers western series The Dakotas
The Dakotas (TV series)
The Dakotas is an American Western television series starring Larry Ward and featuring Jack Elam broadcast by ABC during 1963. The short-lived show is a spin-off of Cheyenne,...
, starring Larry Ward
Larry Ward (actor)
Larry Ward was an American actor who appeared in many films and television series. He was sometimes credited under the name Ward Gaynor....
and Chad Everett
Chad Everett
Chad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
. Still another 1963 role was as Colonel Bob Grainter in "Fracas at Kiowa Flats" of the NBC series, Temple Houston
Temple Houston (TV series)
Temple Houston is a 1963–64 NBC television series which has been called "the first attempt . . . to produce an hour-long Western series with the main character being an attorney in the formal sense." It was the only show Jack Webb sold to a network during his ten months as the head of production at...
, starring Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
.
Lummis appeared three times in the NBC and ABC western, Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
: as Major Barham in "the Martha Barham Story" (1959) with Ann Blyth
Ann Blyth
Ann Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
in the title role, as T.J. Gingle in "The John Turnbull Story" (1962), with Henry Silva, and as the Reverend Philip Marshall in "The Myra Marshall Story" (1963), starring Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
. He appeared four times on NBC's Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
: as Colonel Metcalfe in "Escape to Ponderosa" (1960), as attorney Hiram Wood in "the Secret" (1961), as Colonel Abel Chapin in "The Legacy" (1963), and as Judge O'Hara in "The Dilemma" (1965). The 1965 Bonanza appearance was Lummis' last western role for a full decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
, when he appeared on February 3, 1975, as 71-year-old Mr. Holmby in the episode ""The Angry Land", one of the last episodes of CBS's longest-running western, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, starring James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
. "the Angry Land" was the penultimate Gunsmoke appearance for Arness as well as Lummis's final screen role.
Other roles
Lummis appeared in other television series and films during his career, including:- I Love LucyI Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
as Bill Parker in "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined" (1953), as Mel Eaton in "Lucy Writes a Novel" (1954), and as Mr. Sherman in "Hollywood at Last" (1955) - LassieLassie (1954 TV series)Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
as Dr. Walter Stewart in three episodes, "Gramps" (1954) and "The Injury" and "The Snake" (CBS, both 1955) - The Glenn Miller StoryThe Glenn Miller StoryThe Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration.-Plot:...
as Colonel Spaulding (uncredited), 1954 - CrusaderCrusader (TV series)Crusader is a half-hour black-and-white American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS for two seasons from October 7, 1955 to December 28, 1956.-Synopsis:...
as Ray Talbot in "Nine Priceless Objects" (1956) - You Are ThereYou Are ThereYou Are There is the fourth studio album by the Japanese instrumental rock band Mono, a double album released on 15 March 2006. The album was recorded in 2005 at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois with recording engineer Steve Albini...
, Walter CronkiteWalter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
's "The Bank Holiday Crisis of March 6, 1933" (CBS, 1957) - Markham as Howard Fulton in "The Father" (CBS, 1959)
- AngelAngel (1960 TV series)Angel is an American sitcom that aired for one season on CBS during the 1960–1961 season. The series was created and executive produced by Jess Oppenheimer, and stars Annie Fargé as the title character.-Synopsis:...
as Mr. Mathews in "Angel's Temper" and "The Museum" (CBS, both 1960) - The Lawless YearsThe Lawless YearsThe Lawless Years is the first television crime drama set during the Roaring 20s, having predated ABC's far more successful The Untouchables with Robert Stack by six months. The 47-episode half-hour series aired nonconsecutively on NBC from April 16 to August 27, 1959, from October 1, 1959, to...
as a judge in "The Prantera Story" (NBC, 1960) - SpartacusSpartacus (film)Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...
as Symmachus, uncredited (1960) - Elmer GantryElmer Gantry (film)Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis and stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons.Lancaster won an Academy Award for...
as the newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
man Eddington (1960) - Adventures in ParadiseAdventures in ParadiseAdventures in Paradise is an American television series which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962. It starred Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. The show was created by James Michener...
as Charles Fouchet in "Please Believe Me" (ABC, 1962) - Thriller as Clarence in "The Cheaters" (1960) and as Millard Braystone in "Cousin Tundifer" (NBC, 1962)
- 77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
as Guy Winters in "Shadow on Your Shoulder" (ABC, 1962) - Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color as a commissioner in the two-part "The Mooncussers" (NBC, 1962)
- Arrest and TrialArrest and TrialArrest and Trial is a 90-minute American Police procedural/legal drama that ran during the 1963-64 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.The majority of episodes consisted of two segments...
as Dr. Murray in "Funny Man with a Monkey" (ABC, 1964) - Voyage to the Bottom of the SeaVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s American science fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the movie's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the...
as Gustave Reinhardt in "The Last Battle" (ABC, 1965) - The Time TunnelThe Time TunnelThe Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, his third science fiction television series. The show's main theme was Time Travel Adventure. The Time Tunnel was released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran...
' as Gladstone in "Night of the Long Knives" (ABC, 1966) - This Is the LifeThis is the Life (TV series)This Is the Life is an American Christian television dramatic series. This anthology series aired in syndication from the 1950s through 1980s. The series was originally produced by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and distributed by the International Lutheran Laymen's League.-Format:This Is...
as Judge Brandt in "Parents, Too, Can Be Delinquents" (Syndicated, 1967) - Moonfire as Fuentes in film about truckers battling a Nazi hiding out in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, with Richard Egan, Richard BullRichard Bull (actor)Richard Bull is an American film actor, stage actor and television actor.He is best known for his performance as Nels Oleson, the kindly proprietor of Oleson's Mercantile and the long suffering husband of his wife Harriet on the NBC TV series Little House on the Prairie which aired from 1974 to...
, Charles NapierCharles Napier (actor)Charles L. Napier was an American actor, known for his portrayals of square-jawed tough guys and military types.-Early life:...
, and boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Sonny ListonSonny ListonCharles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...
(1973)
Lummis maintained a ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
during his acting career. He was married to Dorothy L. Lummis (April 11, 1912—January 21, 1997), a Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
native who resided in Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
at the time of her death. Lummis himself died at the age of eighty-four in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, California. His son, Dayton Lummis, Jr. (born ca. 1936), of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, is a former museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
curator and author of numerous nonfiction works on the American West.