Wally Cox
Known for: Acting
Wally Cox was a beloved character actor who made his mark in television and ranks as one of the medium's most memorable performers. His ability to show his range likely was limited by his short stature, slight frame, and high-pitched voice, which along with his talent for being very funny, made him ideal for comedy parts such as his memorable turn as Professor P. Caspar Biddle in "The Bird-Watchers" episode of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) in 1966. His television persona was that of a shy, timid man in horn-rimed glasses who spoke in a tentative, though distinctly enunciated, voice. It was a persona that his long-time friend Marlon Brando said was completely at odds with the real man. Cox always will be remembered as the eponymous "Mr. Peepers" and the voice of "Underdog," but he was an actor of wider talents seldom used by the industry, as can be seen in his turns as the sonar operator in The Bedford Incident (1965) and as the potential suicide Wally Haverstraw in The Bill Cosby Show (1969) episode "Goodbye, Cruel World" in 1970. Dying unexpectedly on February 15, 1973, from what some newspapers described as an accidental overdose of sedatives but which Marlon Brando in his autobiography said was a heart attack, Wally Cox's cremated remains were kept hidden in a closet by his old friend for three decades. According to Brando's son Miko, both his father's and Cox's ashes were scattered at the same time in Death Valley, California, in a ceremony following Brando's death, thus reuniting the lifetime friends.
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Matinee Theater
1955
Series
Wagon Train
Vincent Eaglewood
1957
Series
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Series
The Twilight Zone
James Elwood
1959
Series
Love, American Style
Peter
1969
Series
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Series
Get Smart
TV Repairman (uncredited)
1965
Series
The Lucy Show
Harold Tuttle
1962
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Series
Mission: Impossible
Terry Targo
1966
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
The Beverly Hillbillies
Professor P. Caspar Biddle
1962
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self
1957
Series
Lost in Space
Tiabo
1965
Series
Burke's Law
Count Carlo Szipesti
1963
Series
Burke's Law
Dr. Heresford Handy
1963
Series
The Steve Allen Show
Self
1956
Series
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
1950
Series
Here's Lucy
Rock Barnett
1968
Series
Here's Lucy
Wally Manley
1968
Series
Here's Lucy
Gustav Vandemeer
1968
Series
Here's Lucy
Tommy Tucker
1968
Series
Night Gallery
1970
Series
Suspense
1949
Series
Suspense
Ace McCoy
1949
Series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
1968
Series
The Odd Couple
Mr. Fegivney
1970
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
McMillan & Wife
1971
Series
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
1956
Series
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Series
It Takes a Thief
Tourist
1968
Series
Underdog
1964
Danger
1950
Series
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
Little John Doe
1966
Series
I Spy
Herbie
1965
Series
The Bill Cosby Show
Wally Haverstraw
1969
Series
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Self
1969
Series
The Hollywood Palace
Self
1964
Series
DuPont Show of the Month
Messenger 7013
1957
Series
Your Show of Shows
1950
Series
Search
1972
Series
Hollywood Squares
Self
1966
Vacation Playhouse
Alfred
1963
Series
Mister Roberts
1965
The Lux Show
Self
1957
Television: The First Fifty Years
Robinson J. Peepers (archive footage)
1999
Series
Letter to Loretta
Leslie Nettleton
1953
Film
Morituri
Dr. Ambach
1965
Film
The Bedford Incident
Seaman Merlin Queffle
1965
Series
Underdog
Underdog (Voice)
1964
Max Liebman Presents
1954
Series
Mister Peepers
Robinson Peepers
1952
Film
A Guide for the Married Man
Technical Adviser
1967
Film
Spencer's Mountain
Preacher Goodman
1963
Film
The Night Strangler
Mr. Berry
1973
Film
The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band
Mr. Wampler
1968
Series
General Electric Theater
Monroe Winkler
1953
Film
The Yellow Rolls-Royce
Ferguson
1964
Film
State Fair
Hipplewaite
1962
Film
The Barefoot Executive
Mertons
1971
Film
The Boatniks
Jason
1970
Film
Babes in Toyland
Grumio, the Toymaker
1955
Film
Ironside
Scoutmaster
1967
Film
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City
Becker
1970
Film
Fate Is the Hunter
Ralph Bundy
1964
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
1976
Film
Babes in Toyland
Grumio, the Toymaker
1954
Film
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
Mr. Bester
1970
Film
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
(archive footage)
1990
Film
Quarantined
Wilbur Mott
1970
Series
The Adventures of Hiram Holliday
Hiram Holliday
1956
Film
Reel Horror
Clyde (archive footage)
1985
Film
The Young Country
Aaron Grimes / Ira Greebe
1970
Film
Once Upon a Mattress
The Jester
1972
Murder at N.B.C.
1966
Film
Up Your Teddy Bear
Clyde King
1970
Film
Heidi
Peter
1955
Film
Magic Carpet
Harold Kane
1972