Billy Hughes (actor)
Billy Hughes (November 28, 1948 – December 20, 2005) (Billy Eugene Hughes, Jr.) was an American actor best known for various television and film roles he played during the 1960s. His Hollywood lineage included both his father (Bill Hughes) and uncle (Whitey Hughes), who were both stuntmen and film producers. While in Alma, Arkansas, in 2005, he apparently died in his sleep.
Billy Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Billy Eugene Hughes, Jr. November 28, 1948 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | December 20, 2005 (aged 57) Alma, Arkansas, US |
| Other names | Billy Hughes, Jr., Billy E. Hughes, Billy E. Hughes, Jr. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–1978 |
| Notable work | Stakeout! (1962), My Six Loves (1963) |
| Television | Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Twilight Zone, Lassie, The Rifleman, among others. |
| Spouse | Aida (married 1969–2005) |
| Relatives | Bill Hughes (father), Whitey Hughes (uncle), Bill Hughes III (son) |
Television Roles
Between 1960 and 1964 Hughes appeared in over a dozen television programs, beginning with Robert Taylor's Detectives, where he played the role of Bobby Marx in the episode "The Little Witness". Other TV work included The Shirley Temple Show, Leave It to Beaver, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, Wagon Train, and Lassie.
Hughes appeared in three different episodes of Gunsmoke between 1961 and '62, playing the roles of Joey Glover (in "Millie"), Timmy (in "Us Haggens"), which introduced Ken Curtis in the role of Festus, and Tommy. From 1961 to 1964 he also had three appearances on Wagon Train (playing Adam Bancroft as a Boy, Mark Basham, and Matt). Two of his three appearances on Lassie were in the role of Billy Joe (in the 1961 episodes "Cracker Jack" and "Yochim's Christmas"), while in 1964 he played Ricky Sutton in the episode "Climb the Mountain Slowly".
Hughes also appeared in three episodes of The Rifleman: "Long Gun From Tucson", "Day of Reckoning", and "Sidewinder". In "Sidewinder", he had a lead role playing 13-year-old Gridley Maule Jr., a young gunman seeking vengeance for his father's death. Filmed while he was still only thirteen years old, Hughes displayed remarkable talent at handling a Colt revolver. According to a close friend of Hughes, this was one of his favorite roles.
Television appearances
| Program | Season | Episode # | Series # | Air Date | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detectives | 2 | 7 | 40 | 11/11/1960 | "The Little Witness" | Bobby Marx | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Law and Mr. Jones | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11/18/1960 | "The Promise of Life" | Paul Rice | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Shirley Temple's Storybook | 2 | 20 | 36 | 02/12/1961 | "Onawandah" | Daniel Winters | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Lassie | 7 | 24 | 243 | 02/26/1961 | "Cracker Jack" | Billy Joe | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Law and Mr. Jones | 1 | 22 | 22 | 03/17/1961 | "Everybody Versus Timmy Drayton" | Timmy Drayton | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| 87th Precinct | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10/09/1961 | "Lady Killer" | Frankie Annuci | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Wagon Train | 5 | 4 | 156 | 10/18/1961 | "The Selena Hartnell Story" | Matt | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Gunsmoke | 7 | 9 | 242 | 11/25/1961 | "Milly" | Joey Glover | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| The Rifleman | 4 | 11 | 121 | 12/18/1961 | "Long Gun from Tucson" | Jeffrey Waller | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Lassie | 8 | 15 | 270 | 12/24/1961 | "Yochim's Christmas" | Billy Joe Yochim | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| New Breed | 1 | 16 | 16 | 01/16/1962 | "To Sell a Human Being" | unnamed | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| General Electric Theater | 10 | 20 | 289 | 02/11/1962 | "Badge of Honor" | unnamed | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Gunsmoke | 7 | 23 | 256 | 03/10/1962 | "Reprisal" | Tommy | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| The Rifleman | 4 | 28 | 138 | 04/09/1962 | "Day of Reckoning" | Aaron Jamison | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| General Electric Theater | 10 | 30 | 299 | 04/29/1962 | "Mister Doc" | Grover Darrow | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Dennis the Menace | 3 | 36 | 106 | 06/17/1962 | "The Club Initiation" | Walter Hooper | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Wide Country | 1 | 8 | 8 | 11/08/1962 | "A Devil in the Chute" | Jay (as a boy) | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Leave It To Beaver | 6 | 11 | 206 | 12/06/1962 | "Beaver, the Sheep Dog" | Chuck | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Gunsmoke | 8 | 13 | 280 | 12/08/1962 | "Us Haggens" | Timmy | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| The Rifleman | 5 | 16 | 158 | 01/21/1963 | "The Sidewinder" | Gridley Maule, Jr. | Credit: Billy Hughes, Jr. | |
| Laramie | 4 | 19 | 111 | 02/12/1963 | "The Fugitives" | Adam Tolliver | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Dr. Kildare | 2 | 20 | 53 | 02/21/1963 | "A Trip to Niagara" | David Jonah | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Twilight Zone | 4 | 15 | 117 | 04/18/1963 | "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" | Kid | Credit: (uncredited) | |
| Our Man Higgins | 1 | 30 | 30 | 04/24/1963 | "Delinquent for a Day" | Eddie | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Wagon Train | 7 | 9 | 235 | 11/11/1963 | "The Eli Bancroft Story" | Matt | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| 77 Sunset Strip | 6 | 9 | 195 | 11/15/1963 | "By His Own Verdict" | Terry Nilson | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Arrest and Trial | 1 | 6 | 6 | 10/20/1963 | "A Flame in the Dark" | Steve Hockinger | Credit: Billy E. Hughes | |
| Wagon Train | 7 | 22 | 248 | 02/17/1964 | "The Melanie Craig Story" | Mark Basham | Credit: Billy Hughes | |
| Lassie | 11 | 5 | 357 | 10/04/1964 | "Climb the Mountain Slowly" | Ricky Sutton | Credit: Billy Hughes |
Filmography
- Ole Rex (1961) - The runaway boy
- Posse from Hell (1961) - Jackie Hutchins (uncredited role)
- Stakeout! (1962) - Joey Dasco, Jr.
- My Six Loves (1963) - Leo
- Smoke in the Wind (1975) - Till Mondier (as Billy Hughes, Jr.)
Billy Hughes also had an uncredited stunt role in the 1969 film The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes mistakenly credited with a role in Gone with the West (1975) but this was likely a token appearance by his father Billy Hughes Sr.
References
Bibliography
- Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 121–129. ISBN 1476613702.