Billy Gray
Acting
Biography
Billy Gray (born January 13, 1938) is an American actor best known for his role as Bud Anderson on the classic television sitcom *Father Knows Best* (1954–1960). His career spans both film and television, and he became a prominent figure in 1950s and 1960s American entertainment. Billy Gray was born in Los Angeles, California. He began his acting career at a young age, appearing in commercials and small roles on television. His early experiences in the entertainment industry led to more significant roles in both film and television. Gray’s big break came when he was cast as Bud Anderson, the teenage son of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on *Father Knows Best*. The show, which ran for six seasons, was a family-oriented sitcom that became one of the most beloved TV shows of its time. As Bud, Gray portrayed the typical all-American teen of the 1950s, and his performance made him a household name. His portrayal of the character earned him recognition and a lasting place in the hearts of TV viewers. In addition to his work on *Father Knows Best*, Billy Gray appeared in a variety of other television series and films. His film career included roles in movies such as *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), *Kiss Me Deadly* (1955), and *The Lone Ranger* (1956). He also appeared in several TV dramas and variety shows, showcasing his versatility as an actor. Following the end of *Father Knows Best* in 1960, Gray’s acting career slowed down. While he appeared in occasional roles on TV shows and films, he transitioned into a variety of other professions, including running a successful business. Billy Gray's personal life was relatively low-key. He had a passion for motorcycles and racing, which he pursued after his acting career began to wind down. Gray also became involved in the antique business, eventually opening his own store specializing in rare and collectible items. As of now, Billy Gray is still alive and living a quiet life, away from the public eye. He occasionally makes appearances at fan conventions and has expressed gratitude for his time on *Father Knows Best* and his place in TV history.
Known For
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
Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.
Father Knows Best
That Girl is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster, New York to try to make it big in New York City. Ann has to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts. Ted Bessell played her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, a writer for Newsview Magazine; Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp played Lew Marie and Helen Marie, her concerned parents. Bernie Kopell, Ruth Buzzi and Reva Rose played Ann and Donald's friends. That Girl was developed by writers Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, who had served as head writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show earlier in the 1960s.
That Girl
A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a syndicated TV adaptation of the beloved DC Comics superhero! You know the drill: When he isn't fighting for truth, justice and the American way, the man in tights dons a suit and glasses for his secret identity as Daily Planet newspaper reporter Clark Kent, who works alongside friends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen for gruff boss Perry White.
Adventures of Superman
The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.
The Gene Autry Show
Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 p.m. Eastern.
Arrest and Trial
Stagecoach West is an American Western drama television series which ran for thirty-eight episodes on the ABC network from October 4, 1960, until June 27, 1961. Characters Luke Perry and Simon Kane operate the Timberland Stage Line from fictitious Outpost, Missouri to San Francisco, California. Simon's 15-year-old son, David "Davey" Kane, joins the two as they face stagecoach robbers, murderers, inclement weather, and human interest stories. Perry and Kane, who are both deputy U.S. marshals, had been on opposite sides of the American Civil War; Kane, a captain in the Union Army, while Perry had fought for the Confederate States of America. The one-hour black-and-white program was offered at 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesdays opposite NBC's Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff, and CBS's The Red Skelton Show. Rogers became well-known a dozen years later on M*A*S*H, and Bray later portrayed the forest ranger Corey Stuart on Lassie from 1964–1969, both on CBS. Child actor Richard Eyer had starred in a number of films in the 1950s, including Friendly Persuasion and Desperate Hours. Stagecoach West was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television. It is believed that the series was cancelled despite the high quality of its production because of the glut of westerns on television at the time that it aired. The same fate had fallen on CBS's Johnny Ringo, a 1959 one-season spin-off of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.
Stagecoach West
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. The show aired in syndication for a season before being picked up by CBS for three seasons. The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, hence there was a pack of the sponsor's brand on Braddock's desk at the beginning and end of the episode, as well as occasional scenes of him or other characters "lighting up".
Racket Squad
Johnny Slate successfully manages his circus as it moves from town to town.
The Greatest Show on Earth
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.
In a Lonely Place
Amateur plumber Cluny Brown gets sent off by her uncle to work as a servant at an English country estate.
Cluny Brown
Jackie Pruit is the girlfriend of notorious gangster Joe Bomposa. When it looks as if Bomposa's goons are threatening Jackie's life, the FBI moves in to protect her, hoping that she'll have incriminating evidence. Veteran agent Charlie Congers is assigned to watch over Jackie, and while it soon becomes apparent that she knows almost nothing about Bomposa that would be of any use to the FBI, he falls in love with her. Bomposa decides it would be more convenient to have Jackie out of the way, ordering her to be executed. Bomposa's henchmen slip through FBI security and murder her, but now they have to answer the angry and vengeful Congers.
Love and Bullets
In early 19th century New England, an unscrupulous woman uses her beauty and wits to seduce, deceive and control the men around her.
The Strange Woman
A man determined to track down the fabled Arizona gold mine known as The Lost Dutchman has an affair with a married treasure hunter, whose pursuit of the mine has lead her to double-cross her husband.
Lust for Gold
The Skipper is a charming old man loved by all his neighbors. What they don't know is that he is also Mr. 880, an amateurish counterfeiter who has amazingly managed to elude the Secret Service for 20 years.
Mister 880
In New York, Sheila Bennet and her spouse, Matt Krane, are trying to unload a trove of rare jewels they smuggled into America from Cuba, but the police are hot on the couple's trail. Meanwhile, government officials begin a desperate search for an unknown individual who is infecting the city with smallpox.
The Killer That Stalked New York
In a series of flashbacks, shows that attorney John Morland has given a lift to a hitchhiker who turns out to be a murderer. As a result, Morland himself is implicated in a killing. A pair of detectives discover that Morland has been having business problems and no end of difficulties with his wife Catherine. The trail of clues leads to a surprising revelation.
Backlash
A comprehensive story of Hollywood's horror and science fiction films of the 1950s, told by the people who made them.