Jay C. Flippen

Can be seen in his wheelchair, minus his right leg, in the party scene at Jim Backus' house in the movie Mooch (1974) , which was filmed shortly before his death. The great character actor is having a good time in his brief cameo, and obviously is beloved by the other guests.

" He also co-starred as an Chief Petty Officer in the one-season comedy series Ensign O'Toole (1962) starring Dean Jones. In later years Flippen was dogged by illness.

His also dominated in such westerns as The Lady from Texas (1951), Devil's Canyon (1953), Man Without a Star (1955), Oklahoma! (1955) (as Ike Skidmore), The Restless Breed (1957), Run of the Arrow (1957), The Deerslayer (1957), From Hell to Texas (1958) and The Plunderers (1960). Flippen supported many a top Hollywood male star during his four-decade film career.

His atmospheric characters notably supported James Stewart in several of his top-notch vehicles, including Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), The Far Country (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Restless Breed (1957), Night Passage (1957), and Firecreek (1968). The veteran was a regular player on 60's TV as well, including such popular programs as "Bonanza," "The Untouchables," "Route 66," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," 'Burke's Law," "Gunsmoke," "Rawhide," "That Girl," "The Name of the Game" and "Here Come the Brides.

A close friend of the director Nicholas Ray, he was the best man at Ray's wedding to Gloria Grahame in 1948.

After playing Hodges, a guard, in Brute Force (1947), he appeared in other crime yarns including Intrigue (1947), They Live by Night (1948), A Woman's Secret (1949), The Las Vegas Story (1952), The Wild One (1953), The Killing (1956), The Midnight Story (1957), Studs Lonigan (1960) and, The Seven Minutes (1971).

Flippen made his film debut in the short The Ham What Am (1928), which captured a vaudeville performance, followed by a few other early 1930's shorts. He didn't move strongly into feature films until post-World War II where he could be counted on to provide his patented gruff and bluster in primarily war stories, film noir and westerns whether playing a sheriff, farmer, cop, prison warden, military high-ranker or bartender.

" Between 1924 and 1929, Flippen recorded scores of songs for Pathé Columbia, Perfect and Brunswick Records. A veteran radio announcer for Yankee baseball games, Flippen was a lifelong baseball fan who forged friendships with several major league baseball stars.

He was discovered by African-American star comedian Bert Williams in the 1920s, and was Williams' Broadway black face understudy and tour replacement for the 1920 musical revue "Broadway Brevities.

He also appeared on Broadway throughout the mid-1920's (and on), including "June Days" (1925), "Hello, Lola" (1926), "The Great Temptation" (1926), "Padlocks of 1927" (1927), "Second Little Show" (1930), the musical "Hellzapoppin'" (1941) and "Take a Bow" (1944).

Jay C. Flippen could probably be characterized these days as one of those craggy, distinctive faces you know but whose name escapes you while viewing scores of old '50s and '60s movies and TV. Playing both sides of the law throughout his career, his distinctive bulldog mug, beetle brows, bulky features, and silver-white hair were ideally suited for roles as criminals and rugged adventurers, while his background as a standup comedian in burlesque, vaudeville and minstrel shows made him a natural to obtain roles in occasional fluffy slapstick and light musical comedy as well. Born John Constantine Flippen on March 6, 1899, in Little Rock, Arkansas, the boy lost his father, Jay Charles Flippen, a bookkeeper, at age 9 and his older sister, Era, a year later. His mother, Emma Pack Flippen, earned income as a dance and theatre instructor. Picking up on his mother's interest, Flippen joined the Al G. Field Minstrels at age 16.