Edgar Buchanan

The Dentist Who Preferred the Spotlight

In 1939, William Edgar Buchanan decided he had pulled enough molars. He had a thriving dental clinic in Eugene, Oregon, and a comfortable life with his wife Mildred. But the move to Altadena, California, sparked a restlessness that dentistry couldn't soothe (though he kept his dental license until the end of his days).

He enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 36. It was a late age to start from scratch in an industry that devoured young talent, but his everyday-man look and gravelly voice quickly opened the doors of Columbia Pictures. In 1940 he made his film debut in My Son Is Guilty and Arizona.

And the risk paid off.

Buchanan didn't seek absolute leading roles because he understood better than anyone the value of the supporting part. His voice was his best working tool. It had a rough, almost crackling tone that let him play drunk judges, weary sheriffs, and lovable uncles with apparent ease. In 1941 he shot Nostalgic Serenade alongside Cary Grant and proved he could hold his own against the biggest stars in the system.

During the 1940s he accumulated more than fifty film credits. He worked under directors such as George Stevens in The Day of the Hunter (1942), where he played Sam Yates. His constant presence on studio lots made audiences feel he was part of the family.

The Face of the Western and Television

Westerns were his natural habitat for years. In 1953 he appeared in Deep Roots, one of the most respected films in American cinema. There he played Fred Lewis. His ability to look like a nineteenth-century man was remarkable, because he needed no makeup to convey the rural toughness producers were looking for.

He never needed a leading role to fill the screen.

But his real mass fame came through the small screen. In 1963, he accepted the role of Uncle Joe Carson in the series Petticoat Junction. Over seven seasons and 222 episodes, Buchanan became the comedic anchor of one of the most-watched sitcoms in the country. His character was a professional slacker who always had a scheme to get rich without working.

It was his most lucrative period.

The success of the series also let him appear in Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies, playing the same character. This crossover of storylines was unusual for television in the 1960s. Buchanan was comfortable in the format, and his chemistry with the show's dog, Higgins (who later starred in Benji), was evident in every shot.

A Retreat Between Animals and Operating Rooms

In 1974, he shot his last film, Benji. It was a reunion with his old TV canine friend and a full-circle finish to a career that never chased the red carpet spotlight. After filming, he chose to step away from the studios and enjoy his home in the desert, far from the Hollywood noise that never fully swallowed him.

Buchanan always considered himself an craftsman of entertainment. He didn't talk about method or dramatic theory. For him, acting was a trade much like dentistry, where precision and consistency were all that mattered at the end of the day.

He died on April 4, 1979 at Palm Springs Medical Center after complications from a stroke, at the age of 76 years old.