# Woodrow Chambliss

Woodrow Lewis Chambliss (October 14, 1914 – January 8, 1981) was an American character actor who appeared in both feature films and television. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as several characters in the TV hit Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop.

## Early life

Chambliss was born on October 14, 1914, in North Texas. He was the son of Lorenzo Dow “L.D.” and Lucinda Mae (Thornton) Chambliss, who had a farm outside Brownfield, Texas. He attended public schools in Brownsville and Baylor University, where his first contact with drama occurred as a prompter with the Baylor Little Theater. Intending to be a lawyer, Chambliss attended Baylor's law school, but a dramatics teacher at the university influenced him to change his major to theater arts.

## Career

After Chambliss left Baylor, he worked as a technician apprentice for a stock theater company in Milford Connecticut. Receiving a scholarship in the summer of 1937 enabled him to go to Bath, England, as a drama exchange student and study with Michael Chekhov. He became a member of the Checkov Theater company at Darlington Hall, Devonshire, and returned to the United States when the group moved because of the threat of war. A Bath newspaper described Chambliss's portrayal of a grandfather in a production of the 1937 Summer Drama School at Citizen House, Bath, as "a performance of outstanding merit, quite worthy of the professional stage".
He made his Broadway debut in a 1939 Chekhov production of The Possessed. The cast also included his wife, Erika Kapralik, and actor Ford Rainey, but the play only ran for fourteen performances on Broadway.
During World War II, he worked at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme naval base in Port Hueneme, California. After the war, he and others from the Chekhov company established a repertory troupe that for four years performed in the Happy Valley Theater in Ojai, California. Chambliss went on to become the manager of the Senior Canyon Mutual Water Company prior to resuming his theater career.
Chambliss made his first on-screen appearance in 1946, in an uncredited role in Jean Negulesco's Three Strangers, followed by several uncredited roles in films such as 3:10 to Yuma and Zero Hour!. In 1965, he received a supporting role in Wild Seed, directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Michael Parks. He appeared in the post-apocalyptic Sci-fi drama Glen and Randa in 1971, notable for its "X" rating from MPAA at the time of release. He continued appearing in film throughout the 1970s, with roles in Greaser's Palace, Cry for Me, Billy, The Devil's Rain and the jukebox musical comedy Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In addition to his work on Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop, he also had a recurring role as riverboat Captain Tom of the "Sultana" on the TV show Yancy Derringer.
He also appeared in two 1958 episodes of Perry Mason: as Phil Reese in "The Case of the Fugitive Nurse," and Fred Haley in "The Case of the Lucky Loser." In 1960 he appeared in Gene Barry's TV Western series Bat Masterson as town undertaker Mr. O’Malley (S2E20). In 1965, he appeared on The Andy Griffith Show in the episode, "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau", as their butter-and-egg-man. He and wife Erika also appeared together as grandparents in the 1978 TV movie Forever. He also played the role of Zadok Walton, cousin to grandpa Walton, on a Season 8 episode of "The Waltons."

## Personal life

He was married to Romanian actress Erika Kapralik (September 6, 1911 – May 14, 1992 in Ojai, California). They had two children. He died on January 8, 1981, in Ojai of colon cancer.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1946 | Three Strangers | Man in Pub | Uncredited |
| 1957 | 3:10 to Yuma | Blacksmith | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Zero Hour! | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Invitation to a Gunfighter | Townsman | Uncredited |
| 1965 | Wild Seed | Mr. Simms | |
| 1966 | The Chase | Salesman | Uncredited |
| 1970 | The Wild Country | Dakota | |
| 1971 | Glen and Randa | Sidney Miller | |
| 1972 | Greaser's Palace | Father | |
| 1972 | Cry for Me, Billy | Prospector | |
| 1973 | Scorpio | | Uncredited |
| 1975 | The Devil's Rain | John | |
| 1978 | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | Old Sgt. Pepper | |
| 1980 | Cloud Dancer | Curtis Pitts | |
| 1981 | Second-Hand Hearts | Deaf Attendant | Posthumous release |
| 1983 | Reckless (aka Reckless and in Love) | | Posthumous release |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | The Gale Storm Show | | Episode: "The Blarney Stone" |
| 1957–1975 | Gunsmoke | Various roles | 38 episodes |
| 1957–1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Hotel Clerk | Episode: The Colonel and the Lady" |
| 1957–1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | McCormack | Episode: "Blind Circle" |
| 1957 | Trackdown | Horsetrader | Episode: "End of an Outlaw" (uncredited) |
| 1957 | Sugarfoot | Boswell Newsom | Episode: "Misfire" |
| 1958 | Playhouse 90 | Pete | Episode: "The Last Man" |
| 1958 | Perry Mason | Philip Connors | Episode: "The Case of the Fugitive Nurse" |
| 1958 | Perry Mason | Fred Haley | Episode: "The Case of The Lucky Loser" |
| 1958–1959 | Yancy Derringer | Captain Tom | 9 episodes |
| 1960–1964 | Death Valley Days | Judge Bristol | Episode: "Shadows on the Window" |
| 1960–1964 | Death Valley Days | Stage Driver | Episode: "The Vintage Years" (uncredited) |
| 1960–1964 | Death Valley Days | Stage Driver | Episode: "The Last Stagecoach Robbery" |
| 1960 | Bat Masterson | O'Malley | Episode: "Six Feet of Gold" |
| 1961 | The Untouchables | Burt | Episode: "The Big Train: Part 2" |
| 1961 | Lassie | Hank Loomis | Episode: "The Trip" |
| 1961 | My Three Sons | Edgar Loos | Episode: "Deadline" |
| 1965 | The Andy Griffith Show | Orville Hendricks | Episode: "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau" |
| 1965 | The Andy Griffith Show | Harlan Robinson | Episode: "The Church Organ" |
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Bill Wingo | Episode: "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip | Oliver Wheelwright | Episode: "The Beast That Walks Like a Man" |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Abner Hotchman | Episode: "The Circle of Time" |
| 1970 | The Virginian | MacIntosh | Episode: "Experiment in New Life" |
| 1971 | Bearcats! | Mayor Evans | Episode: "The Feathered Serpent" |
| 1973 | Doc Elliot | Kelsey | Episode: "And All Ye Need to Know" |
| 1974 | Dirty Sally | Doc Carter | Episode: "I Never Saw the Pacific" |
| 1974–1976 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Pop | Episode: "The Midas Touch" |
| 1974–1976 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Mr. Savannah | Episode: "The Bionic Boy" |
| 1975 | Disneyland | Dakota | Episode: "Wild Country: Part 2" |
| 1975 | Three for the Road | | Episode: "The Trail of Bigfoot" |
| 1976 | Police Woman | Martin Shaw | Episode: "Night of the Full Moon" |
| 1977 | Logan's Run | Lab Tech One | Episode: "Man Out of Time" |
| 1978–1979 | How the West Was Won | Mr. McGreevy | Episode: "Buffalo Story" |
| 1978–1979 | How the West Was Won | Mr. McGreevy | Episode: "Cattle Drive" (uncredited) |
| 1978–1979 | How the West Was Won | Mr. McGreevy | Episode: "Brothers" |
| 1978–1979 | How the West Was Won | Citizen | Episode: "Hillary" |
| 1980 | The Waltons | Zadok Walton | Episode: "The Remembrance" |
Television film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | Cutter's Trail | Thompson | |
| 1972 | The Great Man's Whiskers | Paddleford | |
| 1972 | Footsteps | Minister | |
| 1972 | Gargoyles | Uncle Willie | |
| 1973 | Class of '63 | Dr. Pillard | |
| 1973 | The Red Pony | Orville Frye | |
| 1974 | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | Freedom Investigator | Uncredited |
| 1974 | The Stranger Who Looks Like Me | Paul | |
| 1975 | Huckleberry Finn | Auctioneer | |
| 1975 | Perilous Voyage | | Uncredited |
| 1977 | There's Always Room | McRaven | |
| 1978 | Forever | Grandfather | |
| 1978 | Lassie: The New Beginning | Victor Turkey | |
| 1979 | Better Late Than Never | Woody | |
| 1981 | Murder in Texas | Oilman | Posthumous broadcast |
| 1981 | Through the Magic Pyramid (aka The Time Crystal) | Stable Master | Posthumous broadcast |