James Griffith(1916-1993)

American character actor, ubiquitous in the 1950s reliably appearing in pretty much all genres--westerns, sci-fi, drama, comedy, etc., playing everything from cold-blooded killer to jovial country bumpkin with ease. Had leads or "second leads" in a few "B" pictures, but settled down into small character parts in films and TV. Was once a musician with Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

I understood what many actors did not understand -- that playing bad guys afforded me more opportunities to work and thus be in different settings. Most westerns have only one hero, and he's pretty much restricted in what he can do ... whereas the heavies run around in gangs and do all kinds of colorful things.