Woodrow Chambliss

Lewis Woodrow Chambliss was born on October 14, 1914, in Bowie, Texas, to Lorenzo Dow and Lucinda Mae Chambliss, who operated a farm outside Brownfield, Texas. He attended public schools in Brownfield before enrolling at Baylor University, where his introduction to theater came through work as a prompter with the Baylor Little Theater. Although he initially pursued law at Baylor's law school, a university dramatics teacher persuaded him to shift his focus to theater arts.

Following his departure from Baylor, Chambliss took a position as a technician apprentice at a stock theater company in Milford, Connecticut. A scholarship in the summer of 1937 brought him to Bath, England, where he studied as a drama exchange student under Michael Chekhov. He subsequently joined the Chekhov Theater company at Darlington Hall in Devonshire. During his time in Bath, a local newspaper cited his portrayal of a grandfather in a 1937 Summer Drama School production at Citizen House as a performance of outstanding merit. When the threat of war prompted the company to relocate, Chambliss returned to the United States.

His Broadway debut came in 1939 with a Chekhov production of The Possessed, in which his wife, Romanian actress Erika Kapralik, and actor Ford Rainey also appeared. The production ran for fourteen performances. During World War II, Chambliss worked at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme in Port Hueneme, California. After the war, he joined former members of the Chekhov company in establishing a repertory troupe that performed for four years at the Happy Valley Theater in Ojai, California. He also served as manager of the Senior Canyon Mutual Water Company before returning to his performing career.

Chambliss made his first on-screen appearance in 1946 in an uncredited role in Jean Negulesco's Three Strangers. Additional uncredited film work followed, including appearances in 3:10 to Yuma and Zero Hour!. In 1965, he received a supporting role in Wild Seed, directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Michael Parks. He appeared in the post-apocalyptic science fiction film Glen and Randa in 1971, which carried an X rating from the MPAA at the time of its release. His film work continued through the 1970s with roles in Greaser's Palace, Cry for Me Billy, The Devil's Rain, and the musical comedy Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

On television, Chambliss appeared in multiple roles on Gunsmoke before settling into the recurring part of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop. He also held a recurring role as riverboat Captain Tom of the Sultana on Yancy Derringer. In 1958, he appeared in two episodes of Perry Mason, playing Phil Reese in The Case of the Fugitive Nurse and Fred Haley in The Case of the Lucky Loser. In 1960, he portrayed town undertaker Mr. O'Malley in a second-season episode of Bat Masterson. He appeared on The Andy Griffith Show in 1965 in the episode Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau as a butter-and-egg-man, and played Zadok Walton, a cousin to Grandpa Walton, in a Season 8 episode of The Waltons. He and Kapralik appeared together as grandparents in the 1978 television movie Forever.

Chambliss and Erika Kapralik, born September 6, 1911, had three children together. He died on January 8, 1981, in Ojai, California, of colon cancer. Kapralik survived him, dying on May 14, 1992, also in Ojai.