Tom Gilson

Tom Gilson was an American actor born in New York City on January 6, 1934. Tall and powerfully built, he worked across stage, television, and film during the 1950s and early 1960s before his death on October 6, 1962, in Van Nuys, California.

Gilson's stage career included a Broadway appearance in 1956 in Saint Joan. His work in theater ran alongside an active television career in which he became a recognizable presence in the western genre. Series credits included Maverick, Lawman, Tales of Wells Fargo, Bat Masterson, and Cheyenne. In a 1960 episode of Cheyenne titled "Alibi for the Scalped Man," he portrayed Deputy Sheriff Babe Riker. Outside the western genre, Gilson appeared in an episode of the sitcom The Phil Silvers Show, playing a character named "Elvin Pelvin," a figure modeled on Elvis Presley.

His film work included The Crowded Sky, in which he played a passenger. His future wife, Saundra Edwards, appeared in the same production as a flight attendant. The two married in 1961 and had a son, Tom Jr.

The marriage ended in violence. Edwards left Gilson and relocated with her children to her sister's home in Van Nuys, California. Following a period of threatening behavior, Gilson broke into the residence. Edwards shot and killed him, citing fear for her own safety, that of her infant son, and that of a child from a previous marriage. A coroner's jury subsequently ruled the killing justifiable homicide. Gilson was 28 years old at the time of his death.