death_date years_active birth_place nationality name birth_date article_title birth_name
26 july 2013 1955 -- 1977 holdenville , oklahoma , usa american don wilbanks october 4 , 1926 don wilbanks
 thomas donald wilbanks
don wilbanks

don wilbanks -lrb- born thomas donald wilbanks on october 4 , 1926 ; died july 26 , 2013 -rrb- was an american actor who appeared in such television series as `` rawhide '' , `` tate '' , `` twilight zone '' , `` tales of wells fargo '' , `` laramie '' , `` bat masterson '' , '' the life and legend of wyatt earp '' , `` bonanza '' , `` cheyenne '' , `` convoy '' , `` mayberry r.f.d. '' , `` the guns of will sonnett '' , `` 77 sunset strip '' , `` ironside '' , `` mod squad '' , `` lancer '' , `` the virginian '' , `` charlie 's angels '' and `` lawman '' , among others .
wilbanks was born in holdenville , oklahoma , and moved to california to live with his mother when his father was called to active duty at the outbreak of world war ii -lrb- 1939 -rrb- .
after the war , he attended montana state university , where he was a star on the football field .
after being invited to join an amateur theater group in san diego -lrb- drury lane theater -rrb- , he decided to leave his successful service station business , and moved to north hollywood in 1955 with his young family to start his professional acting career .
wilbanks was first cast as an extra in several movies and television shows .
his first credited role came in the 1958 episode of `` tales of wells fargo '' titled `` the sooners '' .
additional roles came in mostly other western tv shows throughout the 1960s .
wilbanks died on july 26 , 2013 .
