Sheb Wooley

Acting

Sheb Wooley

Born — Died

1921-04-10 — 2003-09-16

Place of birth

Erick, Oklahoma, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

59 titles

Shelby Fredrick "Sheb" Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs including the 1958 hit rock and roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater"[1] and under the name Ben Colder the country hit "Almost Persuaded No. 2". As an actor, he portrayed Cletus Summers, the principal of Hickory High School and assistant coach in the 1986 film Hoosiers; Ben Miller, brother of Frank Miller in the film High Noon; Travis Cobb in The Outlaw Josey Wales, and scout Pete Nolan in the television series Rawhide.

Known for

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Maverick poster
7.0

The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than messing up their fine clothing with actual work. Sly and clever, none of the Mavericks are much for acts of derring do, but they can be courageous when the situation calls for it. Most often, however, they live by their wits and considerable charm.

Maverick

1957

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

Cheyenne poster
6.2

Cheyenne Bodie was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero. CHEYENNE is an American 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. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.

Cheyenne

1955

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp poster
6.8

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

Rawhide poster
7.3

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.

Rawhide

1959

Film credits

2000s · 3 titles

1980s · 7 titles

The Big Brawl poster
5.9

A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.

The Big Brawl

1980

Hoosiers poster
7.0

Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.

Hoosiers

1986

Silverado poster
6.9

Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.

Silverado

1985

History of the World: Part I poster
6.7

An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.

History of the World: Part I

1981

Uphill All the Way poster
5.6

Two unemployed good ol' boys are mistaken for a pair of notorious bank robbers.

Uphill All the Way

1986

Purple People Eater poster
5.1

A kid plays the old novelty song "Purple People Eater" and the creature actually appears. The two then proceed to help an elderly couple who are being evicted by their greedy landlord.

Purple People Eater

1988

The Dollmaker poster
7.7

During World War II, hard-luck farmer Colvis Nevels leaves his rural Kentucky home to take a factory job in bustling Detroit. Reluctantly accompanying Colvis is his long-suffering wife, Gertie, a talented woodcarver set in her traditional ways. When the perils of city life and Colvis' reckless squandering of money send the Nevels into precarious financial straits, Gertie starts a business making hand-carved dolls in order to provide for her family.

The Dollmaker

1984

1960s · 5 titles

1950s · 25 titles

Giant poster
7.6

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

Giant

1956

High Noon poster
7.7

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

High Noon

1952

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers poster
7.1

In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

1954

Johnny Guitar poster
7.4

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.

Johnny Guitar

1954

Man Without a Star poster
6.4

A wandering cowboy gets caught up in a range war.

Man Without a Star

1955

Distant Drums poster
6.3

After destroying a Seminole fort, American soldiers and their rescued companions must face the dangerous Everglades and hostile Indians in order to reach safety

Distant Drums

1951

The Boy from Oklahoma poster
5.7

A town despot makes a guileless patsy the sheriff, lives to regret it.

The Boy from Oklahoma

1954

Arrow In The Dust poster
6.2

A cavalry deserter poses as a major and leads a wagon train with a hidden cargo of repeating rifles.

Arrow In The Dust

1954

The Charge at Feather River poster
5.9

A frontier scout leads prisoners on a death mission to save a railroad and rescue two women.

The Charge at Feather River

1953

Apache Drums poster
6.3

A gambler is thrown out of a western town, but returns when the town is suddenly threatened by a band of marauding Apaches.

Apache Drums

1951

Terror in a Texas Town poster
6.7

Armed with a harpoon, a Swedish whaler is out for revenge after the death of his father. A greedy oil man trying to buy up the Swede's land might be the guilty party.

Terror in a Texas Town

1958

Hellgate poster
6.7

A man is framed and sent to the toughest prison in the territory.

Hellgate

1952

Fort Worth poster
7.1

Ex-gunfighter Ned Britt returns to Fort Worth after the civil war to help run a newspaper which is against ambitious men and their schemes for control.

Fort Worth

1951

The Lusty Men poster
6.7

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

The Lusty Men

1952

The Black Whip poster
10.0

A gang of renegade Civil War soldiers terrorize four women and the owners of an inn as they plot to kidnap the new governor of the state. If all goes according to plan, the outlaws will murder their hostage after collecting a hefty ransom.

The Black Whip

1956

Rose Marie poster
4.5

Rose Marie Lemaitre, an orphan living in the Canadian wilderness, falls in love with her guardian, Mike Malone, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The feeling is mutual. But, when she leaves to learn proper etiquette, Rose Marie meets a trapper named James Duval, who also falls for her. Further complications arise when Native American Chief Black Eagle -- a rival of Duval's -- is murdered.

Rose Marie

1954

Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison poster
6.6

A warden and his assistant clash over prison reform, triggering a violent riot.

Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison

1951

Trooper Hook poster
6.7

When Apache chief Nanchez is captured by the cavalry, his white squaw and infant son are returned to civilization by Sergeant Hook, but Nanchez escapes custody and attempts to re-claim his son.

Trooper Hook

1957

Toughest Man in Arizona poster
7.0

Marshal Landry captures outlaw Girard and bringing him in finds a woman and two children, the only survivors of an Indian attack. Later, transferring the prisoner his brothers free him. Then a stage is robbed of a silver shipment by Girard and his brothers. Examining telegrams gets Landry a confession from Girard's girlfriend. The telegraph line has been tapped and the telegrapher is the supposedly dead husband of the woman he brough in. Now knowing Girard's location he sets out after him.

Toughest Man in Arizona

1952

Rocky Mountain poster
5.8

A Confederate troop, led by Captain Lafe Barstow, is prowling the far ranges of California and Nevada in a last desperate attempt to build up an army in the West for the faltering Confederacy. Because the patrol saves a stagecoach, with Johanna Carterr as one of the passengers, from an Indian attack, and is marooned on a rocky mountain, it fails in its mission but the honor of the Old South is upheld.

Rocky Mountain

1950

Cattle Town poster
7.6

The governor of Texas sends a cowboy to keep the peace between ranchers and a land baron.

Cattle Town

1952

Ride a Violent Mile poster
5.3

A cowboy stampedes a Rebel plot with a Union spy posing as a dance-hall girl.

Ride a Violent Mile

1957

Texas Bad Man poster
8.0

Wayne Morris' B-western series was the last of its kind to be produced in Hollywood. Texas Bad Man casts Morris as a sheriff who happens to be the son of inveterate thief Frank Ferguson. Knowing full well that Ferguson's gang intends to steal a shipment of gold, Morris must stay up nights trying to second-guess his crafty dad. While there's no shortage of action, the resolution to the story relies more on brawn than brain. Western "regulars" Sheb Wooley, Myron Healey and Denver Pyle do their usual in secondary roles, as does Elaine Riley as the requisite (but hardly crucial) heroine.

Texas Bad Man

1953

Little Big Horn poster
6.1

Two cavalry officers (Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland) lead a patrol to warn Gen. Custer about an ambush.

Little Big Horn

1951

Without Incident poster
NR

The captain of a U.S. Cavalry unit rescues two wives of slain traders who were being held hostage by hostile Native Americans but then is faced with a mutiny among his own men.

Without Incident

1957

Series credits

Murder, She Wrote poster
7.5

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.

Murder, She Wrote

1984

Maverick poster
7.0

The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than messing up their fine clothing with actual work. Sly and clever, none of the Mavericks are much for acts of derring do, but they can be courageous when the situation calls for it. Most often, however, they live by their wits and considerable charm.

Maverick

1957

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre poster
6.2

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

1956

Cheyenne poster
6.2

Cheyenne Bodie was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero. CHEYENNE is an American 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. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.

Cheyenne

1955

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp poster
6.8

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp poster
6.8

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

Rawhide poster
7.3

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.

Rawhide

1959

The Ed Sullivan Show poster
6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

The Lone Ranger poster
6.7

The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".

The Lone Ranger

1949

The Lone Ranger poster
6.7

The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".

The Lone Ranger

1949

The Lone Ranger poster
6.7

The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".

The Lone Ranger

1949

Sugarfoot poster
5.1

Sugarfoot is an American western television series that aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961. The series stars Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster, an Easterner who comes to the Oklahoma Territory to become a lawyer. Jack Elam is cast in occasional episodes as sidekick Toothy Thompson. Brewster was a correspondence-school student whose apparent lack of cowboy skills earned him the nickname "Sugarfoot", a designation even below that of a tenderfoot.

Sugarfoot

1957

The Mod Squad poster
6.1

The Mod Squad was the enormously successful groundbreaking "hippie" undercover cop show that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Pete Cochren, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes, and Tige Andrews as Captain Adam Greer. The executive producers of the series were Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas. The iconic counter-culture police series earned six Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations plus one win for Peggy Lipton, one Directors Guild of America award, and four Logies. In 1997 the episode "Mother of Sorrow" was ranked #95 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

The Mod Squad

1968

Trackdown poster
6.9

Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. More than seventy episodes of this series were produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off of Powell's anthology series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.

Trackdown

1957

The Adventures of Kit Carson poster
6.0

The Adventures of Kit Carson is an American Western series that aired in syndication from August 1951 to November 1955, originally sponsored by Coca-Cola. It stars Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout Christopher "Kit" Carson. Don Diamond co-starred as "El Toro", Carson's Mexican companion.

The Adventures of Kit Carson

1951

My Friend Flicka poster
6.2

My Friend Flicka is a 39-episode western television series set at the fictitious Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming at the turn of the 20th century. The program was filmed in color but initially aired in black and white on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from February 10, 1956, to February 1, 1957. It was a mid-season replacement for Gene Autry's The Adventures of Champion. Both series, however failed in the ratings against ABC's The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. After the initial Friday airing, viewers could still find the series on CBS Saturdays at 7 p.m. Eastern during March 1957, on Sundays at 6 p.m. from April to May 1957, and on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. from June to August 1957. NBC carried the program in color at 6:30 p.m. Sunday from September to December 1957 and at 7 p.m. Sunday from January to May 1958. In subsequent years, the series aired mostly on Saturday mornings on all networks. The Disney Channel ran it on Monday evenings in the mid-1980s. Over the years many viewers were unaware that the series produced episodes for only a single season. My Friend Flicka starred native Canadian Johnny Washbrook as Ken McLaughlin, a boy devoted to his horse Flicka, Swedish for "little girl", but actually an Arabian sorrel named Wahana. Gene Evans played the authoritarian father Rob McLaughlin, a former U.S. Army cavalry officer. Anita Louise was cast as the gentle-spirited mother, Nell. Frank Ferguson portrayed Gus Broeberg, the loyal ranch hand. Flicka is based on a novel by Mary O'Hara, written at the Remount Ranch, located between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Some Internet sites say that the series is set in Montana, where some of the filming was done. The majority of the filming, however, was at Fox Movie Ranch. My Friend Flicka holds the distinction of having been the first television series filmed by 20th Century Fox. A 1943 film, My Friend Flicka, starred Roddy McDowall as Ken.

My Friend Flicka

1955

The Young Rebels poster
5.7

Idealistic Revolutionary War rebels harass the Redcoats in British-held Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia in this adventure series which drew parallels with 1960s political activism.

The Young Rebels

1970