# Rhys Williams (Welsh actor)

Rhys Williams (31 December 1897 – 28 May 1969) was a Welsh character actor. He appeared in 78 films over a span of 30 years and later appeared on several American television series.

## Career

He made his 1941 film debut in the role of Dai Bando in How Green Was My Valley, a drama about a working-class Welsh family that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Williams was the only Welsh actor in the cast. He is believed to have been the original narrator of the film, and was originally hired by director John Ford as a dialogue coach.
During television's early years in America, Williams was in scores of series episodes, including the Adventures of Superman as a sadistic character in the 1952 episode "The Evil Three". Williams played art collector Rufus Varner in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Purple Woman", and appeared on the religion anthology series, Crossroads. His other television work was on such programmes as The Rifleman, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Peter Gunn, Riverboat and The Lloyd Bridges Show. His later appearances were on Temple Houston, 77 Sunset Strip, The Wild Wild West, 12 O'Clock High, Bonanza, The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Mannix, The Donna Reed Show, Here Come the Brides and The Andy Griffith Show.

## Death

Williams died at the age of 71 in Santa Monica, California, on 28 May 1969. His remains are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

## Filmography
### Broadway theatre

| Title | Dates | Role | Theatre | Notes |
| Alice in Wonderland | 24 Dec 1930 – 4 Jan 1931 | Performer | Belmont Theatre | |
| King Richard II | 5 Feb 1937 – Jun 1937 | Second Herald Captain of a band of Welshmen Groom of the King's Stable | St. James Theatre | |
| King Richard II | 15 Sep 1937 – 16 Oct 1937 | Captain of a band of Welshmen Groom of the King's Stable | St. James Theatre | |
| Hamlet | 12 Oct 1938 – Jan 1939 | Player King Ambassador | St. James Theatre | Assistant stage manager |
| Henry IV, Part 1 | 30 Jan 1939 – 1 Apr 1939 | First Carrier Owen Glendower | St. James Theatre | Assistant stage manager |
| Hamlet | 4 Dec 1939 – 6 Jan 1940 | Player King First Gravedigger | 44th Street Theatre | |
| King Richard II | 1 Apr 1940 – 27 Apr 1940 | Captain of a band of Welshmen Lord Marshal Gardener | St. James Theatre | |
| The Corn Is Green | Nov 1940 – Sept 1941 | John Goronwy Jones | Nederlander Theatre | Assistant to the Director |
| The Corn Is Green | Sept 1941 – Jan 1942 | John Goronwy Jones | Royale Theatre | Assistant to the Director |
| The Morning Star | 14 Sep 1942 – 3 Oct 1942 | Brimbo Watkyn | Morosco Theatre | |
| Lifeline | 30 Nov 1942 – 5 Dec 1942 | Captain J. McGrath, Master | Belasco Theatre | |
| Harriet | 3 Mar 1943 – 1 Apr 1944 | Calvin Stowe | Henry Miller's Theatre | |
| Chicken Every Sunday | 5 Apr 1944 – 20 May 1944 | Jim Blachman | Henry Miller's Theatre | |
| Chicken Every Sunday | 20 May 1944 – 6 Jan 1945 | Jim Blachman | Plymouth Theatre | |
| Mr. Peebles and Mr. Hooker | 10 Oct 1946 – 12 Oct 1946 | Mr. Hooker | Music Box Theatre | |
| The Biggest Thief in Town | 30 Mar 1949 – 9 Apr 1949 | Sam Wilkins | Mansfield Theatre | |

### Film

| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| How Green Was My Valley | 1941 | Dai Bando | 20th Century Fox Also served as technical advisor Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive |
| Cairo | 1942 | Strange Man | MGM |
| Gentleman Jim | 1942 | Harry Watson | Warner Bros. |
| Random Harvest | 1942 | Sam | MGM |
| Remember Pearl Harbor | 1942 | Andy L Anderson | Republic Pictures |
| Underground Agent | 1942 | Henry Miller | Columbia Pictures |
| Mrs. Miniver | 1942 | Horace | MGM |
| This Above All | 1942 | Sergeant (uncredited) | 20th Century Fox |
| Eagle Squadron | 1942 | Sergeant Johns | Universal Pictures |
| No Time for Love | 1943 | Clancy (uncredited) | Paramount Pictures |
| Blood on the Sun | 1945 | Joseph Cassell | Cagney Productions, Inc. |
| You Came Along | 1945 | Colonel Stubbs | Paramount Pictures |
| The Bells of St. Mary's | 1945 | Dr. McKay | RKO Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive |
| Voice of the Whistler | 1945 | Ernie Sparrow | Columbia Pictures |
| The Corn Is Green | 1945 | Mr. Jones | Warner Bros. |
| The Spiral Staircase | 1946 | Mr. Oates | RKO |
| The Strange Woman | 1946 | Deacon Adams | Mars Film Corp. |
| So Goes My Love | 1946 | Magel | Skirball-Manning Productions |
| Cross My Heart | 1946 | Prosecutor | Paramount Pictures |
| The Trouble with Women | 1947 | Judge | Paramount Pictures |
| The Imperfect Lady | 1947 | Inspector Carston | Paramount Pictures |
| Moss Rose | 1947 | Deputy Inspector Evans | 20th Century Fox |
| The Farmer's Daughter | 1947 | Adolph Petree | RKO |
| Easy Come, Easy Go | 1947 | Priest | Paramount Pictures |
| If Winter Comes | 1947 | Mr. Bright | MGM |
| Tenth Avenue Angel | 1948 | Blind Mac | MGM |
| The Black Arrow | 1948 | Bennet Hatch | Columbia Pictures |
| Hills of Home | 1948 | Mr. Milton | MGM |
| Tokyo Joe | 1949 | Colonel Dahlgren | Santana Pictures, Inc. |
| Fighting Man of the Plains | 1948 | Chandler Leach | 20th Century Fox |
| The Inspector General | 1949 | Inspector General | Warner Bros. |
| Bad Boy | 1949 | Arnold Strawn | Allied Artists Pictures |
| The Crooked Way | 1949 | Lieutenant Joe Williams | United Artists |
| California Passage | 1950 | John Norris | Republic Pictures |
| Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | 1950 | Vic Mason | William Cagney Productions Preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive |
| Devil's Doorway | 1950 | Scotty MacDougall | MGM |
| Tyrant of the Sea | 1950 | Captain William Blake | Columbia Pictures |
| The Showdown | 1950 | Chokecherry | Republic Pictures |
| One Too Many | 1950 | Michael H. 'Sully' Sullivan | Filmed 1950, released 1951 Hallmark Productions |
| Lightning Strikes Twice | 1951 | Father Paul | Warner Bros. |
| The Law and the Lady | 1951 | Inspector McGraw | MGM |
| The Son of Dr. Jekyll | 1951 | Michaels, the Butler | Columbia Pictures |
| The Light Touch | 1951 | Mr. MacWade | MGM |
| The Sword of Monte Cristo | 1951 | Mayor of Varonne | 20th Century Fox |
| Million Dollar Pursuit | 1951 | Waxman 'Waxey' Wilk | Republic Pictures |
| Never Trust a Gambler | 1951 | Police Sergeant Quentin McCloy | Columbia Pictures |
| Les Misérables | 1952 | Brevet | 20th Century Fox |
| The World in His Arms | 1952 | Eben Cleggett | Universal Pictures |
| Carbine Williams | 1952 | Redwick Karson | MGM |
| Mutiny | 1952 | Redlegs | King Brothers Productions |
| Okinawa | 1952 | Robby Roberg | Columbia Pictures |
| Plymouth Adventure | 1952 | Mr. Weston (uncredited) | MGM |
| Meet Me at the Fair | 1953 | Pete McCoy | Universal Pictures |
| Julius Caesar | 1953 | Lucilius | MGM |
| Scandal at Scourie | 1953 | Bill Swazey | MGM |
| Man in the Attic | 1953 | William Harley | 20th Century Fox |
| Bad for Each Other | 1953 | Dr. Leslie M. Scobee | Columbia Pictures |
| Johnny Guitar | 1954 | Mr. Andrews | Republic Pictures |
| The Black Shield of Falworth | 1954 | Diccon Bowman | Universal Pictures |
| There's No Business Like Show Business | 1954 | Father Dineen | 20th Century Fox |
| The King's Thief | 1955 | Turnkey | MGM |
| Many Rivers to Cross | 1955 | Lige Blake | MGM |
| The Scarlet Coat | 1955 | Peter Andre | MGM |
| The Kentuckian | 1955 | Constable | United Artists |
| Battle Cry | 1955 | Enoch Rogers | Warner Bros. |
| How to Be Very, Very Popular | 1955 | Cedric Flagg | 20th Century Fox |
| Mohawk | 1956 | Clem Jones | 20th Century Fox |
| The Desperados Are in Town | 1956 | Jud Collins | 20th Century Fox |
| The Boss | 1956 | Stanley Millard | United Artists |
| The Fastest Gun Alive | 1956 | Brian Tibbs | MGM |
| Nightmare | 1956 | Torrence | United Artists |
| The Restless Breed | 1957 | Reverend Simmons | 20th Century Fox |
| Raintree County | 1957 | Ezra Gray | MGM |
| Merry Andrew | 1958 | Constable | MGM |
| Midnight Lace | 1960 | Victor Elliot | Universal Pictures |
| The Sons of Katie Elder | 1965 | Charlie Striker | Paramount Pictures |
| Our Man Flint | 1966 | Dr. Krupov | 20th Century Fox |
| Skullduggery | 1970 | Judge Draper | Universal Pictures |

### Television

| Program | Episode | Air date | Notes |
| Four Star Playhouse | "Backstage" | 6 November 1952 | Stage manager |
| Studio One | "The Incredible Mr. Glencannon" | 10 November 1952 | Guest Star |
| Four Star Playhouse | "Man on the Train" | 15 January 1953 | Raikes |
| Adventures of Superman | The Evil Three | 23 January 1953 | Macy Taylor |
| Your Jeweler's Showcase | "Monkey's Paw" | 7 April 1953 | |
| Four Star Playhouse | "Night Ride" | 7 May 1953 | Bum |
| General Electric Theater | "Test of Love" | 16 August 1953 | Mr. Smith |
| Four Star Playhouse | "The Wallet" | 21 October 1954 | Sidney |
| The Danny Thomas Show | "Sonnets from the Lebanese" | 8 November 1955 | |
| The Best of the Post | "Marriage That Couldn't Succeed" | c.1956 | |
| Crossroads | "Our First Christmas Tree" | 1956 | |
| The Loretta Young Show | "The Question" | 2 September 1956 | Professor Green |
| General Electric Theater | "Mischief at Bandyleg" | 3 November 1957 | Matthew Magee |
| Code 3 | "Ashes Will Whisper" | 1957 | |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Season 2 Episode 32: "The Hands of Mr Ottermole" | 1957 | Mr. Summers |
| Wagon Train | The Liam Fitzmorgan Story | 28 October 1958 | James Grady |
| The Donna Reed Show | "The Busy Body" | 17 December 1958 | Uncle Fred |
| Perry Mason | "The Case of the Purple Woman" | 6 December 1958 | Rufus Varner |
| The Rifleman | "Blood Brothers" | 26 May 1959 | |
| The Rifleman | "Bloodlines" | 10 October 1959 | |
| The Rifleman | "Letter of the Law" | 1 December 1959 | |
| Riverboat | "Strange Request" | 13 December 1959 | Josiah Cragg |
| The Rifleman | "A Case of Identity" | 19 January 1960 | |
| Bonanza | "Bitter Water" | 9 April 1960 | Andy McKaren |
| The Rifleman | "Sins of the Father" | 19 April 1960 | |
| The Rifleman | "The Prodigal" | 26 April 1960 | |
| Dr. Kate. Spitfire | TV pilot | 1960 | |
| Peter Gunn | "The Passenger" | 3 October 1960 | |
| The DuPont Show with June Allyson | "Play Acting" | 27 October 1960 | Russell |
| The Real McCoys | "The Law and Mr. McCoy" | 1 February 1962 | Judge Reuter |
| The Bob Cummings Show | "Fasten Your Money Belt" | 1 March 1962 | |
| The Lloyd Bridges Show | "The Ramp" | 8 May 1963 | |
| Temple Houston | "Billy Hart" | 28 November 1963 | Judge Curry |
| 77 Sunset Strip | "Not Such a Simple Knot" | 17 January 1964 | Uncle Molnar |
| 12 O'Clock High | "Interlude" | 27 November 1964 | Adam MacRae |
| The Wild Wild West | "The Night of the Druid's Blood" | 25 March 1966 | Dr. Tristam |
| The F. B. I. | "The Assassin" | 9 October 1966 | Dean Vincent Sutherland |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | "Brigadoon" | 15 October 1966 | |
| Mission Impossible | "The Train" | 8 March 1967 | Prime Minister Ferenc Larya |
| The Andy Griffith Show | " Aunt Bee, the Juror" | 23 October 1967 | Judge Cranston |
| Here Come the Brides | "A Kiss For Just So" | 29 January 1969 | Bishop Newkirk |
| Mannix | "Last Rites for Miss Emma" | 8 March 1969 | Doctor |