Dabbs Greer

Biography for Dabbs Greer

Dabbs Greer was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as assorted villains. With his plain looking face, wavy hair and mellow, distinctive voice he was a solid supporting actor. He was born on April 2, 1917 in Fairview, Missouri but reared in Anderson, Missouri. He was the only child of a pharmacist father and a speech therapist mother. His first acting experience was on stage in a children's theatre production when he was 8 years old. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Mo. where he earned a BA and headed the drama department and Little Theatre in Mountain Grove, Missouri from 1940-43. He then moved on to the famed Pasadena Playhouse in California as actor, instructor and administrator from 1943-50. He made his film debut in Reign of Terror (1949) (aka "The Black Book") in an uncredited bit part and went onto appear in many parts during the next fifty years, full details can be found in his filmography. He is probably best remembered for his role as Reverend Alden on "Little House on the Prairie" (1974) but he was also a regular on the TV series "Gunsmoke" (1955) as merchant, Mr. Jones; "Hank" (1965) as Coach Ossie Weiss and "Picket Fences" (1992) as Rev. Henry Novotny. He also appeared in made for TV movies and guest-starred on such series as: "Adventures of Superman" (1952); "The Rifleman" (1958); "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958); "Trackdown" (1957); "Perry Mason" (1957); "Bonanza" (1959); "The Fugitive" (1963) and _"The Brady Bunch" (1969)_ .

The touching and moving Reverend Alden in the series was him. Born on April 2, 1917, this excellent actor made her weapons in the 1950s in the cinema and on television, after having made a lot of theater in his young years. He will have a recurring role in "Gunsmoke" in 1959, then more recently in 2002, a role of grandfather cake in a sitcom.

Dabbs Greer was an American actor known for playing in many television and films series during his career over fifty. He was born on April 2, 1917 in Fairview, Missouri, and died on April 28, 2007 at the age of 90. Greer began his acting career in 1943, and played in many movies and television programs in the following years. He was often cast in roles of pastors, teachers, police and authoritarian characters. Greer was a highly respected and appreciated actor of his colleagues and the public, and continued to work until the end of his life. Among his best known roles, we can cite Pastor Robert Alden in the television series "Little House on the Prairie", Professor Harold Hill in the musical "The Music Man", and the Gaffney judge in the series "Perry Mason ". Greer was also nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance in the television series "The Waltons". In addition, he was inducted at the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1987 in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the Western industry. Dabbs Greer was a talented and versatile actor, and his career was a source of inspiration for many actors through generations.

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• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by abdest
• Last update: 01/05/2007 by clucluc