Whit Bissell
Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life. Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-Stevenson School and the Dalton School in New York City. He was related to Daniel Bissell, who was awarded the Badge of Military Merit, the predecessor of the Purple Heart, by George Washington. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in drama  and English. Career. Bissell had a number of roles in Broadway theatre, including the Air Force show "Winged Victory", when he was an airman serving in the United States Army Air Forces. In a film career that began with "Holy Matrimony" (1943), Bissell appeared in hundreds of films and television episodes as a prominent character actor. Regularly cast in low-budget science fiction and horror films, his roles include a mad scientist in the film "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957) and Professor Frankenstein in "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" (also 1957). He played the attending psychiatrist who treats the  protagonist, Dr. Miles Bennell, played by Kevin McCarthy, in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) and appeared in "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954). Bissell appeared as a guest star in many television drama series between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s, with more sporadic appearances after that. He guest-starred in a couple of episodes of "The Lone Ranger". He appeared on other syndicated series, including "Sheriff of Cochise", "Whirlybirds", "Peyton Place" and "The Brothers Brannagan". He was cast in the religion series "Crossroads" and "Going My Way", and in the NBC education drama series "Mr. Novak". Bissell played  murderer Larry Sands on CBS's "Perry Mason" ("The Case of the Crooked Candle", 1957), along with Max Pompey in "The Case of the Lavender Lipstick" (1960), Laurence Barlow in "The Case of the Nautical Knot" (1964) and Dennison Groody in "The Case of the Carefree Coronary" (1965). He appeared in an episode of "Mr. Adams and Eve" in 1957 and of "Peter Gunn" in 1958. He played different roles in multiple episodes of the ABC series "The Rifleman". Bissell portrayed the undertaker (who sees every man, no matter his race, as "just another future customer") in the film "The  Magnificent Seven" (1960). In 1960, Bissell had appeared in George Pal's production of "The Time Machine", as Walter Kemp, one of the Time Traveller's dining friends. He also appeared in a 1978 TV movie adapting the H. G. Wells novel for a more modern setting. Bissell's "Time Tunnel" co-star John Zaremba also appeared in the telemovie. Thirty-three years later, in 1993 the documentary film "" (which featured Bissell, Rod Taylor and Alan Young), Bissell recreated his 1960 role as Walter in the opening sequence. It was Bissell's last acting performance. From 1959 to 1961, Bissell  was a regular for the third and fourth seasons of the television series "Bachelor Father", costarring John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. He appeared in an episode of "Straightaway" in 1961. He was cast three times on the long-running NBC western series "The Virginian". Bissell played General Heywood Kirk in 30 episodes in the 1966–1967 season of the science-fiction television series "The Time Tunnel". He often played silver-haired figures of authority, here as in many other roles (as described by AllMovie), "instantly establishing his standard screen characterization of fussy officiousness", leavened in many instances with a  military bearing. Other examples of such authoritative roles as military or police officials, include appearances in "The Caine Mutiny", "The Manchurian Candidate", "The Outer Limits" (1963), "Hogan's Heroes" (1966), and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1966). Bissell also appeared in Barnaby Jones; episode titled "Murder in the Doll's House" (March 25, 1973). Bissell appeared in the classic episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" of "", footage of which was re-used in ""s "Trials and Tribble-ations". In 1978 and 1980, Bissell appeared in two episodes of "The Incredible Hulk", first in the second-season episode "Kindred Spirits" as Professor Williams , and next (and lastly) as Professor John Zeiderman in the second part of the fourth season two-parter "Prometheus". He played a different professor in both episodes. Bissell was a guest of honor at New York City's "Tele-Fantasy Con 1975" on August 1 - 3, along with celebrities Noel Neill, Jim Danforth and Joseph Stefano, and spent the weekend meeting his fans and signing hundreds of autographs free of charge. He also received a life career award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 1994. He also served for many years on the board of  directors of the Screen Actors Guild, and represented the actors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board of governors. Personal life. Bissell was married three times and had three daughters (Kathy Marden, Victoria Brown and Amanda Whiteley) and a stepson, Brian Forster. Forster was the second actor to play the role of Chris Partridge on "The Partridge Family" TV series. Wives: Death. Bissell died on March 5, 1996 (aged 86) at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease. He was interred in  the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.