Billy Gray (actor)

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For the comedian, see Billy Gray (comedian).
Billy Gray
Billy Gray 1977.jpg
Billy Gray in 1977
Born
William Thomas Gray

(1938-01-13) January 13, 1938 (age 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, businessman

William Thomas Gray (born January 13, 1938) is an American actor, who is best known for playing James "Bud" Anderson Jr. in Father Knows Best (1954–1960). Gray was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1959 (but lost to Tom Poston).

Billy Gray started his film career in the late 1940s. He portrayed a young Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe – All-American and starred in the science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. He portrayed "Bullseye Tag", younger brother of Annie Oakley in the pilot episode of the TV series Annie Oakley. Gray continued his acting career into the 1980s, although later roles were not as successful as Father Knows Best. He is also a motorcycle collector and businessman.[1]

Personal life[]

Gray was born in Los Angeles, California, to William H. and Beatrice Gray, and began acting as a child. His mother was an actress, and both had appeared in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (in separate scenes), a 1949 horror comedy.[2] As of July 2020, Gray lives in a house in Topanga, California, which he bought in 1957 with the money earned from Father Knows Best.[3] He never attended an actual school, and was educated by teachers hired by the film studios; often having class in tents set up on studio lots.[4]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1948 Fighting Father Dunne Chip Supporting role
1950 Father Is a Bachelor Feb Chalotte Supporting role
1950 Mister 880 Mickey Uncredited role
1951 Jim Thorpe – All-American Jim Thorpe as a child Supporting role
1951 On Moonlight Bay (film) Wesley Winfield Supporting role
1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still Bobby Benson Co-starring role
1952 Talk About a Stranger Robert 'Bud' Fontaine Jr. Starring role
1953 All I Desire Ted Murdoch Supporting role
1953 By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film) Wesley Winfield Supporting role
1954 The Outlaw Stallion Danny Saunders Starring role
1955 The Seven Little Foys Bryan Lincoln Foy Supporting role
1961 The Explosive Generation Bobby Herman Jr. Supporting role
1966 The Navy vs. the Night Monsters CPO Fred Twining Co-starring role
1971 Dusty and Sweets McGee City Life Starring role
1980 Porklips Now Dullard Starring role

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1953 Adventures of Superman (TV series) Young Alan Harper Snapping photo of Clark Kent changing to Superman
1954-1960 Father Knows Best James "Bud" Anderson Jr. Main role
1957 The Thin Man (TV series) Mike Edwards Episode: "Come Back Darling Asta"
1960 Stagecoach West (TV series) Episode: "Dark Return"
1965 Rawhide (TV series) Lindsay McCullers Episode: "Moment in the Sun"
1977 The Father Knows Best Reunion James "Bud" Anderson Jr. TV film
1977 Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas James "Bud" Anderson Jr. TV film

References[]

  1. ^ "Ken Hall, "Billy Gray, Bud from Father Knows Best. Collects Racing Motorcycles"". go-star.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  2. ^ Edward Torchy Smith. "Billy Grey, better known as Bud from Father Knows Best" (Podcast). Baby Boomers Talk Radio. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Uhler, Steve (July 23, 2020). "My Visit With Bud From 'Father Knows Best'". nextavenue.org. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  4. ^ Tom Goldrup, Jim Goldrup (2015). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television. pp. 101–102.

Bibliography[]

  • Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 94–102. ISBN 1476613702.
  • Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 206-207.

External links[]

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