Byron Foulger


Byron Foulger

Biography

Character actor Byron Foulger's familiar face was seen in over 450 feature films and TV series across his lengthy and fruitful screen career, most notably in the 1940s as part of acclaimed director Preston Sturges' core acting troupe. After cutting his teeth on Broadway and in radio appearances, Foulger began acting on screen in the late 1930s. With a knack for characterizations of whiny...

Biography

Character actor Byron Foulger's familiar face was seen in over 450 feature films and TV series across his lengthy and fruitful screen career, most notably in the 1940s as part of acclaimed director Preston Sturges' core acting troupe. After cutting his teeth on Broadway and in radio appearances, Foulger began acting on screen in the late 1930s. With a knack for characterizations of whiny, shifty, mealy-mouthed supporting characters, he landed parts in many features before finding himself in Sturges' gang of stock character actors. Throughout the 1940s he appeared in five of the director's features, including the instant-classic Hollywood satire "Sullivan's Travels." Though he was a minor player in these bigger-budget Hollywood productions, he found meatier roles in lesser pictures like the B horror flick "The Man They Could Not Hang." In the 1950s he began to appear on television, with small character arcs and one-off appearances on dozens of series. Shopkeepers, businessmen, bank tellers--these sorts of mild-mannered, minor-but-necessary parts were his forte. In 1957 director William Beaudine playfully cast him against type as the Devil himself in the Bowery Boys comedy "Up in Smoke." As television grew in popularity, so did Foulger, who worked on the small screen with recurring parts on "Dennis the Menace," "Lassie," and, in one of his last performances, the role of train engineer Wendell Gibbs on long-running sitcom "Petticoat Junction." Foulger died of heart problems at the age of 70.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970)
Reverend Marshall
There Was a Crooked Man ... (1970)
The Gnome-Mobile (1967)
Hotel clerk
Guns of Diablo (1964)
Son of Flubber (1963)
Proprietor
The Devil's Partner (1961)
Papers
Twelve Hours to Kill (1960)
Shelby Gardner
Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960)
Dr. Guelffe
High School Big Shot (1959)
Mr. [Walt] Mathews
King of the Wild Stallions (1959)
A. B. Orcutt
The Rebel Set (1959)
Going Steady (1958)
Mr. Potter
Man from God's Country (1958)
Will Potter
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Harris
Gun Battle at Monterey (1957)
Carson
The Phantom Stagecoach (1957)
Mr. Fenshaw
Sierra Stranger (1957)
Kelso
The Iron Sheriff (1957)
Court clerk
The Buckskin Lady (1957)
Latham
Curfew Breakers (1957)
Principal
The Young Stranger (1957)
Mr. Doyle
Up In Smoke (1957)
Satan
Dino (1957)
Gas station man
The River's Edge (1957)
Barry
The Spoilers (1956)
Montrose
The Desperados Are in Town (1956)
Jim Day
You Can't Run Away From It (1956)
Billings
Thunder over Arizona (1956)
Undertaker
The Scarlet Coat (1955)
At Gunpoint (1955)
Larry, teller
Silver Lode (1954)
Prescott
Cattle Queen of Montana (1954)
Land office clerk
Confidentially Connie (1953)
Rosenberg
Paris Model (1953)
Ernest Boggs
Bandits of the West (1953)
Eric Strickler
Cruisin' Down the River (1953)
Ben Fisher
Run for the Hills (1953)
Mr. Simpson
The Magnetic Monster (1953)
Simon
A Perilous Journey (1953)
Desk clerk
The Flaming Urge (1953)
[Horace] Pender
We're Not Married! (1952)
License Bureau clerk
The Star (1952)
Pharmacist
Rose of Cimarron (1952)
Coroner
The Sniper (1952)
Pete Eureka
My Six Convicts (1952)
Dr. Brint
Cripple Creek (1952)
Hawkins
Apache Country (1952)
Bartlett
Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
Tearoom manager
Hold That Line (1952)
Professor Grog
The Steel Fist (1952)
Prof. Kardin
Disc Jockey (1951)
Clerk
Best of the Badmen (1951)
Judge
Footlight Varieties (1951)
Dr. Twitcham
A Millionaire for Christy (1951)
Sam
Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)
Hotel clerk
Home Town Story (1951)
Berny Miles
The Sea Hornet (1951)
Clerk
Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
Jeff Reagan
F.B.I. Girl (1951)
Morgue attendant
Gasoline Alley (1951)
Charles D. Haven
Key to the City (1950)
Custodian
Riding High (1950)
Maitre d'
To Please a Lady (1950)
Shoe fitter
Experiment Alcatraz (1950)
Jim Carlton, realtor
The Return of Jesse James (1950)
Bakin
Champagne for Caesar (1950)
Gerald
Salt Lake Raiders (1950)
John Sutton
Dark City (1950)
Motel manager
The Girl from San Lorenzo (1950)
Cal
Dancing in the Dark (1950)
Stephan, makeup man
Samson and Delilah (1950)
Union Station (1950)
Horace
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Mr. Jones
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Room clerk
Arson--Inc. (1949)
Thomas Peyson
Red Desert (1949)
Sparky Jackson, also known as Lefty Jordan
The Dalton Gang (1949)
Amos Boling
The Inspector General (1949)
Burbis
Satan's Cradle (1949)
Henry Lane
They Live by Night (1949)
Lambert
Tucson (1949)
Elkins
Streets of Laredo (1949)
Artist
The Kissing Bandit (1949)
Grandee
Let's Live a Little (1948)
Mr. Hopkins
He Walked by Night (1948)
Avery
A Southern Yankee (1948)
Mr. Duncan
Out of the Storm (1948)
Al Weinstock
I Surrender Dear (1948)
George Rogers
The Return of October (1948)
Jonathan
The Three Musketeers (1948)
Bonacieux
Trouble Preferred (1948)
O'Rourke
Borrowed Trouble (1948)
The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
Max
Arch of Triumph (1948)
Policeman
Relentless (1948)
Assayer
Unconquered (1947)
Townsman
Love and Learn (1947)
Dead Reckoning (1947)
Night attendant
Too Many Winners (1947)
Ben Edwards, previously known as Claude Bates
Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947)
Prof. Quizard
Michigan Kid (1947)
Mr. Porter
The Adventures of Don Coyote (1947)
Henry Felton
The Chinese Ring (1947)
Armstrong
Linda, Be Good (1947)
Book shop owner
Bells of San Fernando (1947)
Francisco Garcia
They Won't Believe Me (1947)
Mortician
Second Chance (1947)
Emery
Easy Come, Easy Go (1947)
Sporting goods shop proprietor
Song of Love (1947)
Bailiff
The Trouble with Women (1947)
Little thin man
Fun on a Weekend (1947)
Man at lunch counter
Till the Clouds Roll By (1947)
Frohman's secretary
San Quentin (1946)
Littleton
Adventure (1946)
Littleton
Plainsman and the Lady (1946)
Simmons
House of Horrors (1946)
Mr. Samuels
Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)
Simon Little
The French Key (1946)
Mr. Peabody
Suspense (1946)
Cab driver
Blonde Alibi (1946)
Wilson
Just Before Dawn (1946)
Makeup man
Sentimental Journey (1946)
Mr. Tweedy, toy shop clerk
The Secret of the Whistler (1946)
Jorgensen
Courage of Lassie (1946)
Dr. Coleman
Magnificent Doll (1946)
Servant
The Show-Off (1946)
Jenkins
The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
J. Cornwall Travers
Two Sisters from Boston (1946)
Lab assistant
Music for Millions (1945)
Mr. Perkins
Nob Hill (1945)
Usher
Wonder Man (1945)
Customer
Scarlet Street (1945)
Jones
Don Juan Quilligan (1945)
Doctor
Brewster's Millions (1945)
Attorney
Grissly's Millions (1945)
Fred Palmor
Let's Go Steady (1945)
J. Waldemar Oates
Blonde from Brooklyn (1945)
Harvey Branson
Sensation Hunters (1945)
Mark Rogers
Adventures of Kitty O'Day (1945)
Roberts
Arson Squad (1945)
Amos Baxter
The Hidden Eye (1945)
Burton Lorrison
Snafu (1945)
Phil Ford
Circumstantial Evidence (1945)
Bolger
It's in the Bag! (1945)
Techler, assistant theater manager
The Cheaters (1945)
Process server
Cornered (1945)
Night clerk
Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
Barber
The Great Moment (1944)
Receptionist
Since You Went Away (1944)
Principal
And Now Tomorrow (1944)
Clerk
Barbary Coast Gent (1944)
Assayer H. E. Holcomb
A Night of Adventure (1944)
Battersby
Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
Dr. Cummings
Music in Manhattan (1944)
Ticket agent
Girl Rush (1944)
Oscar
The Whistler (1944)
Flophouse clerk
Enemy of Women (1944)
Krause
Dark Mountain (1944)
Harvey Bates
Swing in the Saddle (1944)
Mort Tucker
Beautiful But Broke (1944)
Maxwell McKay
Ministry of Fear (1944)
Mr. Newby
Stars on Parade (1944)
Mr. Barker
Summer Storm (1944)
Clerk in newspaper office
Henry Aldrich's Little Secret (1944)
Bill collector
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944)
Ned Bolton
Gambler's Choice (1944)
Phony robbery victim
Casanova Brown (1944)
Fletcher
Three Men in White (1944)
Technician
Mrs. Parkington (1944)
Norman Vance
Ever Since Venus (1944)
Henley
Ladies of Washington (1944)
Clerk
An American Romance (1944)
School principal
Once Upon a Time (1944)
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
"McGinty's" secretary
Roger Touhy, Gangster (1944)
Court clerk
Appointment in Berlin (1943)
Herr Van Leyden
Coney Island (1943)
First Comes Courage (1943)
Norwegian shopkeeper
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943)
Father
The Human Comedy (1943)
Blenton
Shantytown (1943)
In Old Oklahoma (1943)
Wilkins
Silver Spurs (1943)
Justice of the peace
Quiet Please Murder (1943)
Edmund Walpole
Hoppy Serves a Writ (1943)
Danvers
The Black Raven (1943)
Horace Weatherby
Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943)
Rimplemayer
The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)
Hotel clerk
Stand by for Action (1943)
Pharmacist's Mate "Doc" Miller
The Adventures of a Rookie (1943)
Mr. Frank Linden
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
Bartos
Margin for Error (1943)
Drugstore clerk
Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
Watson
Henry Aldrich Swings It (1943)
Proprietor of drugstore
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
Mr. Larson
Dixie Dugan (1943)
Secretary
What a Woman! (1943)
Desk clerk
The Kansan (1943)
Landowner defendant in court
The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942)
Bank director
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Jewelry salesman
The Man in the Trunk (1942)
Fingers at the Window (1942)
"Bird" man
Remember the Day (1942)
Photographer
The Forest Rangers (1942)
Collector
The Power of God (1942)
Sullivan's Travels (1942)
Mr. Valdelle
Wrecking Crew (1942)
Mission worker
The Panther's Claw (1942)
Everett P. Digberry
Man from Headquarters (1942)
Hotel manager
Who Is Hope Schuyler? (1942)
Passenger in elevator
The Magnificent Dope (1942)
The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942)
Mr. Smither
Apache Trail (1942)
Clerk
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Devereaux courier
Pacific Rendezvous (1942)
Drum man
She Knew All the Answers (1941)
The Stork Pays Off (1941)
Teacher
The Deadly Game (1941)
Motel manager
The Gay Vagabond (1941)
Peter Vogel
Dude Cowboy (1941)
Frank Adams
Mystery Ship (1941)
Wasserman
Road to Happiness (1941)
Jackson
Sweetheart of the Campus (1941)
Dr. Bailey
Harvard, Here I Come (1941)
Professor Nickajack Alvin
Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941)
Matt Evans
Man Made Monster (1941)
2nd alienist
I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island (1941)
Presidente Judge
Sis Hopkins (1941)
Office worker
Blonde Inspiration (1941)
Assistant to Mr. Hutchins
H. M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
Curtis Cole
Under Age (1941)
Downey
You Belong to Me (1941)
Delaney
The Penalty (1941)
Bank manager
Bedtime Story (1941)
Hotel clerk
Meet Boston Blackie (1941)
Blind man
Night of January 16th (1941)
Jeweler
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
The Great McGinty (1940)
Governor's secretary
Opened by Mistake (1940)
Roger Weatherby
Sky Murder (1940)
Kuse
Edison, the Man (1940)
Edwin Hall
Arizona (1940)
Pete Kitchen
The Man with Nine Lives (1940)
Dr. Bassett
Heroes of the Saddle (1940)
Melloney
Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)
Amos
I Want a Divorce (1940)
Secretary
Untamed (1940)
Nels
Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940)
Orderly
Parole Fixer (1940)
Florist
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Hopper's secretary
Union Pacific (1939)
Andrew Whipple
Television Spy (1939)
William Sheldon
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Lang
Mutiny on the Blackhawk (1939)
Coombs
Exile Express (1939)
Serge
Let Us Live (1939)
Defense attorney
Girl from Rio (1939)
William Wilson
Beware, Spooks! (1939)
Cashier
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
Mark Hansen
Missing Daughters (1939)
Bert Ford
Bad Little Angel (1939)
Editor
A Woman Is the Judge (1939)
Ballistic expert
Hawaiian Nights (1939)
Evans
The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)
Attendant
Million Dollar Legs (1939)
Mr. Day
At the Circus (1939)
Meek defendant
In Name Only (1939)
Owen
Tarnished Angel (1938)
A cripple
Born to Be Wild (1938)
Husband
I Am a Criminal (1938)
Editor Harper
It's All in Your Mind (1938)
Wilbur Crane
Delinquent Parents (1938)
Mr. Ellis
Test Pilot (1938)
Designer
The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
Assistant news editor
Smashing the Spy Ring (1938)
Schuster also known as Quirk
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Kirby's assistant
Say It in French (1938)
Swedish janitor
A Man to Remember (1938)
Westport 1st National Bank teller
Tenth Avenue Kid (1938)
Belknap
True Confession (1937)
Ballistic expert
A Day at the Races (1937)
The Devil Diamond (1937)
Larceny on the Air (1937)
Pete Andorca
The Luck of Roaring Camp (1937)
Kentuck
The Duke Comes Back (1937)
Peters
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
Master Johann
The Awful Truth (1937)
Secretary
It Happened in Hollywood (1937)
Chet
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Mr. Dale
The Devil Is Driving (1937)
Mr. Muller

Cast (Short)

Purity Squad (1945)
Keep 'Em Sailing (1942)
Come Back, Miss Pipps (1941)
Helping Hands (1941)
Fancy Answers (1941)
Good Bad Boys (1940)
Strange Glory (1938)
Soak the Poor (1937)

Life Events

Bibliography