R.G. Armstrong, Familiar Presence in Westerns
Armstrong appeared in numerous western classics — including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Maverick, The Rifleman and more — as well as dozens of other series and feature films.
R.G. Armstrong, an actor known for several television westerns and Hollywood action movies, died July 27, 2012, at his home in Studio City, California. He was 95.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Armstrong had guest spots on almost all of the popular Western television shows during the 1950s and 1960s, including Rawhide, Bonanza, Have Gun — Will Travel, The Rifleman, Zane Grey Theater, Maverick, Laramie, The High Chaparral, and Cheyenne.
According to The New York Times, Armstrong was also a frequent presence in the films of director Sam Peckinpah they met on the set of the 1960 series The Westerner. Their collaborations included Ride the High Country, Major Dundee and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
His other feature credits included films directed by Warren Beatty — Heaven Can Wait, Reds and Dick Tracy (as the villain Pruneface) — as well as El Dorado, Predator and Children of the Corn.
In addition, he appeared in many other TV series, including The Andy Griffith Show, Twilight Zone, The FBI, Hawaii Five-O, Cannon, Starsky and Hutch, Baretta, Charlie’s Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, Dynasty, Trapper John, M.D., Matlock, Silk Stalkings, Walker, Texas Ranger, L.A. Law, Cybill and Millennium.