Despicable Them

There is a long list of villains in Western films. They represented the timeless battle between evil and good. The mainstream popularity of television beginning in the mid-fifties offered a daily or weekly dose of characters deserving of a house slipper thrown in their direction. Several women were cast as rotten individuals, of course, but my focus centers on bull-headed male characters and the actors who portrayed them.

These villains "owned" the townsfolk by intimidation. They were self-centered, devious, narrow-minded, and filled with hate. They ignored truth and refused to acknowledge facts: selective deafness. They could rouse a bunch of spineless citizens--likely after an extended saloon visit--to immediately try to hang an innocent man.

I have chosen six of the most widely recognized television Western "bad guys" who worked the small screen about the same era. Their careers are indelibly etched as villains though each had their turn in modern dramas and as decent men. 

Beginning clockwise from the upper left:

Robert J. Wilke  (1914-1989) was considered the best golfer in Hollywood during the 1950s. His demeanor on the links changed completely, however, when given a script, and was likely television's most hated Western villain. His grizzled voice, rustic dental grille, and curling lip made him the villain's poster child. Wilke could be a disgruntled rancher, a leader of outlaws, or just looking to start trouble.

John Anderson (1922-1992) portrayed President Abraham Lincoln three times due to his overall facial resemblance. The versatile actor was quite repetitive when it came to the Western, however. Anderson might play a widowed patriarch who takes Bible passages out of context to justify his actions. One of his errant sons may be accidentally killed in a shoot-out and he is dead-set on getting his own justice, refusing to listen to reason.

Harry Lauter (1914-1990) devoted much of his later life to his own painting and the operation of an art gallery. He knew how to perform routine stunt work, learning from a master, stuntman/actor, Jock Mahoney. Lauter sort of set the groundwork for Myron Healey who advanced the belligerent, smirking trouble-maker for the Western genre. He might come off initially as a sweetheart but his ulterior motive soon reveals his true persona.

R. G. Armstrong  (1917-2012) was a frustrated writer and playwright but found the better-paying job of acting much easier. Armstrong might portray a land owner, often with limited education, with a singular purpose: keep strangers off his land. Whether a crooked sheriff or a Bible-toting townsman, he refuses to hear another point of view. His mind is made up. 

Leo Gordon (1922-2000) was a screenwriter when he was not acting. He was typically a hired gun or essentially the same as a ranch foreman. The towering Gordon, with his furrowed brow, slit eyes, no lips, and an angry baritone delivery, was a force to be reckoned with. Especially in black.

Myron Healey (1923-2005) continued his WW2 airman duties to retire as a captain in the United States Air Force Reserve in the early 1960s. But that discipline of cooperating with his fellow airmen disappeared when playing rotten characters behind studio cameras. Healey could be despicable as the town bully, double-crosser, or stirring up trouble with an easily swayed crowd. His condescending attitude was his trademark.