Sam Edwards
Encyclopedia
Sam Edwards was an American
actor
. His most famous role on TV was as the banker in the TV series Little House on the Prairie
.
. His first major screen role was as Chuck Ramsey in the movie serial version of Captain Midnight
(1942).
During World War II
, Sam was inducted into the Army and ended up serving as part of the morale-building entertainment corps, spending much of the time in the African, European and India/Burma theater, travelling for a time with Dwight D. Eisenhower
and George S. Patton
's regiments.
After the war, he kept very busy on a variety of radio programs, and landed a starring role opposite Janet Waldo
in the long-running Meet Corliss Archer
series. He also had recurring or cast member roles in radio on Father Knows Best
, Fort Laramie
, Gunsmoke
, Dragnet, Suspense
, Escape
, This Is Your FBI
, The Six Shooter
, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
, and Crime Classics
.
From 1949 to 1981, Mr. Edwards made several film appearances, with significant roles in Twelve O'Clock High
(1949), Operation Pacific
(1951), Gangbusters (1954), and supporting roles in The Beatniks
(1960) and Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came
(1969). He was also seen in The Absent-Minded Professor
(1961), Hello, Dolly! (1969) and The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1981).
Sam also appeared on many television series starting in the mid 1950s. Most notable of these include many episodes of Dragnet and Gunsmoke
throughout their long runs. He also appeared on over 60 different series, including The Burns and Allen Show, The Andy Griffith Show
, Petticoat Junction
, Green Acres
, Mannix
, Mission: Impossible
, The Streets of San Francisco
, Adam-12
, The Red Skelton Variety Show, Happy Days
, The Dukes of Hazzard
, and even Days of our Lives
.
As a voice actor and radio veteran, Sam was also often heard behind animated characters both on film and records. In 1942, he voiced the adult Thumper
in the animated classic Bambi
. Later work for Disney
was largely on LP Records, including the voices of the Cowardly Lion
and Tin Woodman
on their Oz
series, and as the bouncy Tigger
, Rabbit
and Owl
on the Winnie the Pooh records. He voiced the title character of Rod Rocket
in an early 1960s educational series, and did some episodes of the cult classic Jonny Quest
. His last work for Disney was as Mr. Owl opposite singer Burl Ives
as Sam the Eagle on their long-running America Sings
attraction at Disneyland. There were numerous TV and radio commercials as well, both in front of and behind the camera.
Mr. Edwards spent much of his retirement travelling the world with his wife of 35 years, Beverly, and attending many Old Time Radio conventions where he participated in recreations of original shows from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as newer scripts. He spent his last 24 years based in Durango, Colorado
where he died. He is survived by Beverly, stepchildren William, Deborah and Linda Edwards, and several grandchildren.
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...
. His most famous role on TV was as the banker in the TV series Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
.
Biography
Born into a showbusiness family, his first role was as a baby in his mother's arms. He appeared on radio in the 1930s in the Adventures of Sonny and Buddy one of the first radio serials ever syndicated, and later in The Edwards Family, a series based on the life of Sam, brother Jack, sister Florida, and his parents, Edna Parks and Jack Edwards Sr. Sam was also an early cast member of one of the first radio soap operas, One Man's FamilyOne Man's Family
One Man's Family, is a long-running American radio soap opera. It was heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. Created by Carlton E. Morse, it was the longest-running uninterrupted serial in the history of American radio...
. His first major screen role was as Chuck Ramsey in the movie serial version of Captain Midnight
Captain Midnight (serial)
Captain Midnight was the 17th serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based upon the radio adventure serial of the same name broadcast from 1938 to 1949.-Plot:...
(1942).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Sam was inducted into the Army and ended up serving as part of the morale-building entertainment corps, spending much of the time in the African, European and India/Burma theater, travelling for a time with Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
's regiments.
After the war, he kept very busy on a variety of radio programs, and landed a starring role opposite Janet Waldo
Janet Waldo
Janet Waldo is an American actress and voice artist with a career encompassing radio, television, animation and live-action films. She is best known in animation for voicing Judy Jetson, Penelope Pitstop and Josie McCoy in Josie and the Pussycats...
in the long-running Meet Corliss Archer
Meet Corliss Archer
Meet Corliss Archer, a program from radio's Golden Age, ran from January 7, 1943 to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS's answer to NBC's popular A Date with Judy, it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show. From October 3, 1952 to June 26, 1953, it aired...
series. He also had recurring or cast member roles in radio on Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
, Fort Laramie
Fort Laramie (radio)
Fort Laramie was a radio Western series that aired Sunday afternoons at 5:30pm on CBS from January 22 to October 28, 1956.Produced and directed by Norman Macdonnell, this Western drama depicted life at old Fort Laramie during the 19th Century. The 41 episodes starred Raymond Burr as Lee Quince,...
, 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....
, Dragnet, Suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
, Escape
Escape (radio program)
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed...
, This Is Your FBI
This is Your FBI
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953 for a total of 409 shows. FBI chief J...
, The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter was a weekly old-time radio program in the United States. It was created by Frank Burt, who also wrote many of the episodes, and lasted only one season of 39 episodes on NBC . Through March 21, 1954 it was broadcast Sundays at 8 p.m...
, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama of "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account — America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." The show aired on CBS Radio from January 14, 1949 to September 30, 1962...
, and Crime Classics
Crime Classics
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired as a sustaining series over CBS from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954.Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was a historical true crime series, examining crimes and murders from the past...
.
From 1949 to 1981, Mr. Edwards made several film appearances, with significant roles in Twelve O'Clock High
Twelve O'Clock High
Twelve O'Clock High is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II. The film was adapted by Sy Bartlett, Henry King ...
(1949), Operation Pacific
Operation Pacific
Operation Pacific is a 1951 World War II submarine film starring John Wayne and directed by George Waggner. The technical advisor for this film was Admiral Charles A...
(1951), Gangbusters (1954), and supporting roles in The Beatniks
The Beatniks
The Beatniks are a duo formed by Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer/singer Yukihiro Takahashi and Keiichi Suzuki. The duo's debut album featured vocals mostly in English, with the rest in French.-Albums:* Exitentialism Vap...
(1960) and Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came
Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came was a 1970 feature film.The plot is a mixture of comic and dramatic elements and concerns the reactions of a number of World War II veterans to the then contemporary US army.Directed by Hy Averback and produced by Fred Engles, the film includes Brian Keith,...
(1969). He was also seen in The Absent-Minded Professor
The Absent-Minded Professor
The Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 black-and-white Walt Disney Productions film based on the short story A Situation of Gravity, by Samuel W. Taylor....
(1961), Hello, Dolly! (1969) and The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981 film)
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1981 film adaptation of the 1934 novel by the same name by James M. Cain. The film was produced by Lorimar and originally released theatrically in North America by Paramount Pictures. This version, based on a screenplay by David Mamet and directed by Bob...
(1981).
Sam also appeared on many television series starting in the mid 1950s. Most notable of these include many episodes of Dragnet and 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....
throughout their long runs. He also appeared on over 60 different series, including The Burns and Allen Show, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction
Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
, Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
, The Red Skelton Variety Show, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
, and even Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
.
As a voice actor and radio veteran, Sam was also often heard behind animated characters both on film and records. In 1942, he voiced the adult Thumper
Thumper
Thumper may refer to:* Thumper , a four-stroke single cylinder motorcycle* Project Thumper, an air defense system developed in the 1940s in competition with Project Nike* Bible thumper, a derisive term used to describe Christian fundamentalists...
in the animated classic Bambi
Bambi
Bambi is a 1942 American animated film directed by David Hand , produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten...
. Later work for Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
was largely on LP Records, including the voices of the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
and Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
on their Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
series, and as the bouncy Tigger
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
, Rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
and Owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
on the Winnie the Pooh records. He voiced the title character of Rod Rocket
Rod Rocket
Rod Rocket is the first animated cartoon to be produced by Filmation, debuting in syndication in 1963.-History:Rod Rocket was originally produced by True Line, a small Los Angeles animation studio formed by Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland in the early 1960s...
in an early 1960s educational series, and did some episodes of the cult classic Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest (TV series)
Jonny Quest – often casually referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest – is an American science fiction/adventure animated television series about a boy who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures...
. His last work for Disney was as Mr. Owl opposite singer Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
as Sam the Eagle on their long-running America Sings
America Sings
America Sings was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1974 to 1988. It featured a cast of Audio-Animatronic animals that entertained the audience by singing songs from various periods in America's musical history, often in a humorous fashion....
attraction at Disneyland. There were numerous TV and radio commercials as well, both in front of and behind the camera.
Mr. Edwards spent much of his retirement travelling the world with his wife of 35 years, Beverly, and attending many Old Time Radio conventions where he participated in recreations of original shows from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as newer scripts. He spent his last 24 years based in Durango, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
where he died. He is survived by Beverly, stepchildren William, Deborah and Linda Edwards, and several grandchildren.