Rhodes Reason

Rhodes Reason (April 19, 1930 – December 26, 2014) was an American actor born in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, the son of Rex G. Reason and the former Jean Robinson. The younger brother of actor Rex Reason, he began his acting career at age 18 in a production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Charles Laughton. Over the course of his career, Reason accumulated more than 200 roles across television, film, and stage.

Television work formed a substantial part of Reason's career. He starred in 39 episodes of the British series White Hunter and played Sheriff Will Mayberry in the ABC drama Bus Stop. His guest appearances spanned numerous series of the 1950s through the 1970s, including Sky King, The Rifleman, Sugarfoot, Colt .45, Frontier Doctor, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Maverick, Tombstone Territory, 77 Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street Beat, Perry Mason, The Time Tunnel, The Big Valley, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and The Bob Newhart Show. He appeared twice on Death Valley Days, first as Peter Jeffries in the 1955 episode "California's First Ice Man" and later as Wild Bill Hickok in a 1966 episode titled "A Calamity Called Jane." In 1967, he joined the cast of Star Trek as the gladiator Flavius Maximus in the episode "Bread and Circuses."

On the feature film side, Reason had a starring role in King Kong Escapes (1967) and appeared in Yellowstone Kelly (1959) alongside Clint Walker, as well as A Fever in the Blood (1961).

Reason's Broadway career ran from 1977 to 1979, during which he appeared in Annie, playing the role of Daddy Warbucks for nearly three years. He died on December 26, 2014, in Palm Springs at the age of 84 from lymphoma.