Walter Coy

Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American actor whose career spanned stage, radio, film, and television. Born in Great Falls, Montana, he was the son of Theodore Coy, a furniture store owner. Around 1923, the family relocated to Seattle, Washington, where Coy later attended the University of Washington, playing varsity football and majoring in dramatics. Before pursuing acting professionally, he worked at salmon canneries in Alaska. In 1929 he moved to New York, and the following year began what would become an eighteen-year Broadway career.

Coy's stage work ran from 1930 to 1948 and included productions such as Fledgling, O'Daniel, Hamlet, Land's End, and The House of Connelly. He appeared in several early Group Theatre productions during this period. His Broadway career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the United States Army.

In radio, Coy became the first actor to portray Lone Wolf in the radio series of the same name. He later transitioned extensively into television, where he became a recognizable presence across numerous genres. He is perhaps most widely remembered for his role as the brother of John Wayne's character in the 1956 film The Searchers. On the syndicated science fiction series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger in 1954, he played King Zorvac, and that same year he appeared in the Stories of the Century episode "Tom Horn," portraying Sam Clayton in an account of the lawman-turned-outlaw Tom Horn. He portrayed Jason Farrel in the ABC soap opera Flame in the Wind in 1965 and played Jason in the ABC serial A Time for Us.

Coy narrated 16 of the 31 episodes of the television series Frontier and accumulated an extensive list of credits in western programming, appearing on Wagon Train five times and on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp as Ben Thompson, among many other westerns including Bonanza, Rawhide, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Maverick, Laramie, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Tales of Wells Fargo, Bat Masterson, Laredo, and The Wild Wild West, as well as numerous additional programs in the genre. Outside of westerns, his dramatic television appearances included The Defenders, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., East Side/West Side, Ironside, I Spy, and M Squad, among others. He also appeared in the comedy series McKeever and the Colonel and Hazel. His final television role was the part of Chief Blackfish in the 1970 NBC Daniel Boone episode "How to Become a Goddess." Coy died on December 11, 1974.