TIP O' THE HAT SQUAD: FORD RAINEY

For me, Ford Rainey was a character actor who best epitomizes that Joni Mitchell lyric: You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

He was a solid, dependable actor; one who could fit into both contemporary stories and tales of the wild West (and even a few tales set in possible futures.) His sharp, patrician features served him well on both sides of the law in the nearly 170 guest appearances he made.

Like John Fiedler, Ford Rainey had so many characters in the Toobworld registry that after a while certain patterns emerged that could forge those hypothetical links I'm so fond of. I've collected most of them for a separate essay celebrating his Toobworld contributions.

My personal favorite of his guest appearances was his reclusive billionaire Prescott Wilson. Rainey played Wilson in the political intrigue arc on 'Wiseguy' back in 1989, which also featured Norman Lloyd as the manipulative General Masters.

Prescott Wilson was the type of role perfect for Toobworld machinations. As I've often done in essays about Doctor Miguelito Loveless, Wilson is the type of character that can be cited as an influence behind the scenes in many different TV series.

Ford Rainey was 96 years old and was active in Toobworld right up to about a year and a half ago. And I'd like to tip my Toob top hat to his memory in thanks for the many great roles he created to fill out the surplus population of Toobworld.

TV SERIES
"Days of Our Lives" (1965) TV Series .... Frank Evans #2 (1977-1978)
"The Bionic Woman" (1976) TV Series .... Jim Elgin (1976-1977)
"The Manhunter" (1974) TV Series .... James Barrett (1974-75)
"Search" (1972) TV Series .... Dr. Barnett #1 (1972)
"The Richard Boone Show" (1963) TV Series .... Regular
"Window on Main Street" (1961) TV Series .... Lloyd Ramsey

TV MINI-SERIES
"Amerika" (1987) (mini) TV Series .... Will Milford
"Backstairs at the White House" (1979) (mini) TV Series .... Navy Secretary
"Captains and the Kings" (1976) (mini) TV Series .... Abraham Lincoln

TV RECURRING ROLES
"The King of Queens" playing "Mickey" in episodes:
"American Idle" (episode # 6.10) 3 December 2003
"Bed Spread" (episode # 5.25) 19 May 2003
"Connect Four" (episode # 5.9) 18 November 2002
"Arthur, Spooner" (episode # 5.1) 23 September 2002
"Do Rico" (episode # 3.1) 2 October 2000
"Soft Touch" (episode # 2.22) 1 May 2000
"Art House" (episode # 1.24) 10 May 1999

"Ned and Stacey" playing "Nate" in episodes:
"Where My Third Nepal Is Sheriff" (episode # 2.11) 27 January 1997
"Fifteen A-Minutes" (episode # 2.8) 6 January 1997
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Eric" (episode # 2.7) 5 January 1997
"Scenes From a Muffin Shop" (episode # 2.13) 1997
"Loganberry's Run" (episode # 2.6) 29 December 1996
"Computer Dating" (episode # 2.4) 15 December 1996
"The Muffins Take Manhattan" (episode # 2.3) 1 December 1996
"Best of Luck on Future Projects" (episode # 2.22)
"The Skyward's the Limit" (episode # 2.14)
"Sex, Lies, and Commercials" (episode # 2.12)

"Wiseguy" playing "Prescott Wilson" in episodes:
"Day Nine" (episode # 3.12) 20 December 1989
"Day Seven" (episode # 3.11) 13 December 1989

"Matlock" playing "Judge Donald Powell" in episodes:
"The Mayor: Part 2" (episode # 3.9) 7 February 1989
"The Mayor: Part 1" (episode # 3.8) 31 January 1989

"Falcon Crest" playing "Paolo Bellini" in episodes:
"Unholy Alliance" (episode # 5.24) 4 April 1986
"Law and Ardor" (episode # 5.21) 28 February 1986

"Little House on the Prairie" playing "Dr. Burke" in episodes:
"I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away: Part 1" (episode # 4.21) 6 March 1978
"Four Eyes" (episode # 2.2) 17 September 1975

"Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Collins" in episodes:
"The Biggest Game in the West" (episode # 2.19) 3 February 1972
"The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap" (episode # 2.17) 20 January 1972

"The Long, Hot Summer" in episodes: "The Twisted Image: Parts 1 & 2" (episode # 1.4 & 1.5) 7 October & 14 October 1965

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" playing "President" in episodes:
"Doomsday" (episode # 1.19) 18 January 1965
"Hail to the Chief" (episode # 1.16) 28 December 1964
"Hot Line" (episode # 1.9) 9 November 1964

TV GUEST APPEARANCES
"ER" playing "Army Armstrong" in episode: "Power" (episode # 5.20) 6 May 1999
"Picket Fences" in episode: "Heart of Saturday Night" (episode # 4.6) 27 October 1995
"China Beach" playing "Owen" in episode: "Through and Through" (episode # 4.15) 16 July 1991
"Moonlighting" playing "Judge" in episode: "In 'N Outlaws" (episode # 5.11) 23 April 1989
"Newhart" playing "Mr. Hinton" in episode: "Tell a Lie, Get a Check" (episode # 3.1) 15 October 1984
"Remington Steele" playing "Adam" in episode: "Small Town Steele" (episode # 2.17) 28 February 1984
"St. Elsewhere" playing "Doc Bogert" in episode: "In Sickness and in Health" (episode # 2.13) 8 February 1984
"M*A*S*H" playing "Coogan" in episode: "Dreams" (episode # 8.22) 18 February 1980
"Charlie's Angels" playing "Mr. Harkins" in episode: "Angels on the Street" (episode # 4.8) 7 November 1979
"How the West Was Won" playing "Rancher Barrett" in episode: "The Rustler" (episode # 1.2) 22 January 1979
"The Waltons" playing "Judge" in episode: "The Moonshiner" (episode # 7.3) 12 October 1978
"Barnaby Jones" playing "Carmine Sandell" in episode: "Deadly Homecoming" (episode # 6.13) 22 December 1977
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" playing "General Muncie" in episode: "The War Biz Warrior" (episode # 1.12) 4 January 1977
"Sara" (episode # 1.9) 9 April 1976
"The Streets of San Francisco" playing "Haggard Mellon" in episode: "Trail of Terror" (episode # 4.8) 30 October 1975
"Petrocelli" in episode: "Shadow of Fear" (episode # 2.1) 10 September 1975
"The Rockford Files" playing "Manny Tolan" in episode: "Counter Gambit" (episode # 1.17) 24 January 1975
"Gunsmoke" playing "Storekeeper" in episode: "Thirty a Month and Found" (episode # 20.5) 7 October 1974
"Cannon" playing "Raymond Wheelock" in episode: "Voice From the Grave" (episode # 4.3) 25 September 1974
"Doc Elliot" in episode: "The Touch of God" (episode # 1.3) 23 January 1974
"Mannix" playing "Reverend Walker" in episode: "Desert Run" (episode # 7.6) 21 October 1973
"Barnaby Jones" playing "Andrew Mills" in episode: "The Day of the Viper" (episode # 2.4) 7 October 1973
"Cannon" playing "Mr. Taylor" in episode: "Hounds of Hell" (episode # 3.3) 26 September 1973
"The Rookies" playing "Warden Mason" in episode: "Deadly Cage" (episode # 2.3) 24 September 1973
"Kung Fu" playing "Jacob Sterne" in episode: "Superstition" (episode # 1.12) 5 April 1973
"The Rookies" playing "Ellis" in episode: "Point of Impact" (episode # 1.18) 5 February 1973
"Mannix" playing "Lachlan" in episode: "To Kill a Memory" (episode # 6.7) 29 October 1972
"Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Teshmacker" in episode: "Bushwack!" (episode # 3.5) 21 October 1972
"Bonanza" playing "Judge Taylor" in episode: "A Home for Jamie" (episode # 13.13) 19 December 1971
"Night Gallery" playing "Sheriff" in episode: "The Phantom Farmhouse" (episode # 2.16) 20 October 1971
"Cannon" playing "Farmer" in episode: "Country Blues" (episode # 1.4) 5 October 1971
"Bonanza" playing "Judge Simms" in episode: "Fallen Woman" (episode # 13.2) 26 September 1971
"Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Father" in episode: "Never Trust an Honest Man" (episode # 1.14) 15 April 1971
"Storefront Lawyers" playing "Judge Carp" in episode: "Yesterday Is But a Dream" (episode # 1.21) 31 March 1971
"Storefront Lawyers" in episode: "Hostage" (episode # 1.17) 24 February 1971
"Alias Smith and Jones" playing "Warren Epps" in episode: "Exit from Wickenburg" (episode # 1.3) 28 January 1971
"The Young Lawyers" playing "Judge Salke" in episode: "Legal Maneuver" (episode # 1.16) 20 January 1971
"The Immortal" playing "Sheriff Billy" in episode: "The Return" (episode # 1.12) 17 December 1970
"The Bold Ones: The Lawyers" playing "Milford" in episode: "The People Against Dr. Chapman" (episode # 2.4) 6 December 1970
"Mannix" playing "Dr. Linkram" in episode: "The World Between" (episode # 4.8) 7 November 1970
"The Young Lawyers" playing "Wycoff" in episode: "The Alienation Kick" (episode # 1.4) 12 October 1970
"The Bold Ones: The Lawyers" playing "District Attorney Douglass" in episode: "The Shattered Image" (episode # 1.8) 15 February 1970
"The Mod Squad" in episode: "A Town Called Sincere" (episode # 2.17) 27 January 1970
"Mary Tyler Moore" playing "Doctor" in episode: "Mary Midwife" (episode # 7.1) 1970
"Daniel Boone" playing "Jonas" in episode: "Hannah Comes Home" (episode # 6.12) 25 December 1969
"The F.B.I." playing "Burke" in episode: "The Swindler" (episode # 5.3) 28 September 1969
"Bonanza" playing "Capt. Arnholt" in episode: "The Deserter (II)" (episode # 10.24) 16 March 1969
"The Virginian" playing "Amos Wardlow" in episode: "The Land Dreamer" (episode # 7.20) 26 February 1969
"Judd for the Defense" playing "Ed Samuelen" in episode: "Between the Dark and the Daylight" (episode # 2.18) 7 February 1969
"The Guns of Will Sonnett" playing "Sheriff Chafee" in episode: "Meeting in a Small Town" (episode # 2.10) 6 December 1968
"Daniel Boone" playing "John Gist" in episode: "The Patriot" (episode # 5.10) 5 December 1968
"Mannix" playing "Roscoe Bell" in episode: "Edge of the Knife" (episode # 2.7) 9 November 1968
"The Wild Wild West" playing "Admiral Charles Hammond" in episode: "The Night of the Kraken" (episode # 4.6) 1 November 1968
"The Virginian" playing "Marcus Van Owen" in episode: "The Hell Wind" (episode # 6.21) 14 February 1968
"The F.B.I." playing "Greer" in episode: "The Legend of John Rim" (episode # 3.12) 31 December 1967
"Dundee and the Culhane" in episode: "The Catch a Thief Brief" (episode # 1.13) 13 December 1967
"The Wild Wild West" playing "Pa Garrison" in episode: "The Night of the Iron Fist" (episode # 3.14) 8 December 1967
"Bonanza" playing "Gabriel Bingham" in episode: "Check Rein" (episode # 9.12) 3 December 1967
"Mannix" playing "Sam Nash" in episode: "Huntdown" (episode # 1.9) 18 November 1967
"The Invaders" playing "General Jonathan Blaine/Invader" in episode: "Summit Meeting: Part 1" (episode # 2.9) 31 October 1967
"Run for Your Life" playing "General Andrew Douglas" in episode: "The Company of Scoundrels" (episode # 3.6) 18 October 1967
"The Guns of Will Sonnett" playing "Doc Sales" in episode: "A Bell for Jeff Sonnett" (episode # 1.2) 15 September 1967
"Cimarron Strip" playing "Marshall Tillman" in episode: "The Legend of Jud Starr" (episode # 1.2) 14 September 1967
"The Invaders" playing "George Grundy" in episode: "Panic" (episode # 1.13) 11 April 1967
"The Virginian" playing "Sheriff" in episode: "Requiem for a Country Doctor" (episode # 5.18) 25 January 1967
"Bonanza" playing "Judge Wyllitt" in episode: "Black Friday" (episode # 8.19) 22 January 1967
"The F.B.I." playing "Harry Fortier" in episode: "Passage into Fear" (episode # 2.16) 8 January 1967
"The Iron Horse" playing "Ross" in episode: "A Dozen Ways to Kill a Man" (episode # 1.15) 19 December 1966
"Insight" playing "Father Reisch" in episode: "Thunder Over Munich" 18 December 1966
"The Time Tunnel" playing "Lincoln" in episode: "The Death Trap" (episode # 1.12) 2 December 1966
"The Wild Wild West" playing "Hellfire Simon" in episode: "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" (episode # 2.6) 21 October 1966
"The Fugitive" playing "Oliver Corman" in episode: "Ten Thousand Pieces of Silver" (episode # 4.5) 11 October 1966
"The Fugitive" playing "Lieutenant Wynn" in episode: "Echo of a Nightmare" (episode # 3.19) 25 January 1966
"Get Smart" playing "Professor Sontag" in episode: "Weekend Vampire" (episode # 1.14) 18 December 1965
"Slattery's People" playing "Anson Holbrook" in episode: "The Hero" (episode # 2.7) 5 November 1965
"The Big Valley" playing "Murdoch" in episode: "Heritage" (episode # 1.6) 20 October 1965
"The Virginian" playing "Claypool" in episode: "The Awakening" (episode # 4.5) 13 October 1965
"The Wackiest Ship in the Army" in episode: "The Day the Crew Paced the Deck" (episode # 1.4) 10 October 1965
"Perry Mason" playing "Dr. Fisher" in episode: "The Case of the Fatal Fortune" (episode # 9.2) 19 September 1965
"Lost in Space" playing "The President" in episode: "The Reluctant Stowaway" (episode # 1.1) 15 September 1965
"Bonanza" playing "Sam Cane" in episode: "The Debt" (episode # 7.1) 12 September 1965
"Slattery's People" playing "Daniel Ralston" in episode: "Question: What Time Is the Next Bandwagon?" (episode # 1.25) 9 April 1965
"Rawhide" playing "Colonel Hart" in episode: "The Retreat" (episode # 7.23) 26 March 1965
"The Virginian" playing "Marshal Floyd Buckman" in episode: "Legend for a Lawman" (episode # 3.24) 3 March 1965
"Dr. Kildare" playing "Walter Untermeyer MD" in episode: "A Miracle for Margaret" (episode # 4.22) 25 February 1965
"Lassie" playing "Boone Sawyer" in episode: "The Old Man in the Forest" (episode # 11.22) 14 February 1965
"Gunsmoke" playing "Hode Embry" in episode: "Song for Dying" (episode # 10.21) 13 February 1965
"The Virginian" playing "County Prosecutor" in episode: "Two Men Named Laredo" (episode # 3.17) 6 January 1965
"Profiles in Courage" in episode: "Richard T. Ely" (episode # 1.4) 6 December 1964
"Mr. Novak" in episode: "Born of Kings and Angels" (episode # 2.9) 1 December 1964
"The Outer Limits" playing "D.A. Thomas Coyle" in episode: "I, Robot" (episode # 2.9) 14 November 1964
"Daniel Boone" playing "Matawa" in episode: "My Brother's Keeper" (episode # 1.3) 8 October 1964
"Perry Mason" playing "Randolph Cartwell" in episode: "The Case of the Paper Bullets" (episode # 8.2) 1 October 1964
"Perry Mason" playing "Harry Trilling" in episode: "The Case of the Ugly Duckling" (episode # 7.30) 21 May 1964
"The Nurses" playing "Walter Cooper" in episode: "Show Just Cause Why You Should Weep" (episode # 2.2) 3 October 1963
"The Untouchables" playing "Captain Roy Gunther" in episode: "Line of Fire" (episode # 4.29) 14 May 1963
"Bonanza" playing "Luke" in episode: "Mirror of a Man" (episode # 4.27) 31 March 1963
"The Virginian" playing "Sheriff Sam Roebuck" in episode: "The Small Parade" (episode # 1.21) 20 February 1963
"The Wide Country" playing "Mike Callahan" in episode: "The Bravest Man in the World" (episode # 1.11) 6 December 1962
"Empire" playing "Josh" in episode: "Pressure Lock" (episode # 1.10) 4 December 1962
"The Untouchables" playing "Julius Chavis" in episode: "Come and Kill Me" (episode # 4.9) 27 November 1962
"Rawhide" playing "Chief Broken Bow" in episode: "Incident of the Dogfaces" (episode # 5.7) 9 November 1962
"Perry Mason" playing "Russell Durham" in episode: "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle" (episode # 6.7) 8 November 1962
"Stoney Burke" playing "Frank Hughes" in episode: "The Mob Riders" (episode # 1.5) 29 October 1962
"Gunsmoke" playing "Tate Gifford" in episode: "The Search" (episode # 8.1) 15 September 1962
"Bonanza" playing "John Clarke" in episode: "Blessed Are They" (episode # 3.30) 22 April 1962
"Checkmate" playing "Paul O'Neill" in episode: "A Brooding Fixation" (episode # 2.22) 14 March 1962
"The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor" playing "John Lester" in episode: "Pandora's Box" (episode # 3.16) 2 February 1962
"Dr. Kildare" playing "Andy Meadows MD" in episode: "The Lonely Ones" (episode # 1.7) 9 November 1961
"The Brothers Brannagan" playing "Raymond McKeever" in episode: "The Hunter and the Hunted" (episode # 1.39) 15 July 1961
"Rawhide" playing "Sheriff" in episode: "Incident of the Wager on Payday" (episode # 3.30) 16 June 1961
"Bonanza" playing "Colonel Tyson" in episode: "Sam Hill" (episode # 2.34) 3 June 1961
"The Tall Man" playing "Sheriff Brady" in episodes:
"The Lonely Star" (episode # 1.5) 8 October 1960
"Forty-Dollar Boots" (episode # 1.2) 17 September 1960
"Frontiers of Faith" in episode: "Acres of Diamonds" 20 April 1958
"Goodyear Television Playhouse" playing "Walt" in episode: "The House" (episode # 6.17) 8 September 1957
"Robert Montgomery Presents" in episode: "Crisis at Sand Cave" (episode # 8.20) 21 January 1957
"Kraft Television Theatre" in episode: "Drop on the Devel" (episode # 8.39) 22 June 1955
"Danger" in episode: "The Piano" (episode # 5.34) 26 April 1955
"Studio One" playing "Sam Forrest" in episode: "The Broken Spur" (episode # 7.22) 14 February 1955
"Ramar of the Jungle" playing "Mailpouch" in episode: "Mark of the Bola" (episode # 1.14) 18 July 1953
"Cowboy G-Men" playing "Matt Sloan, Moss' Partner" in episode: "Bounty Jumpers" (episode # 1.10) 22 November 1952

TV MOVIES
Marshal Law (1996) (TV) .... Old Timer
There Was a Little Boy (1993) (TV) (uncredited) .... Father Ramirez
J. Edgar Hoover (1987) (TV) .... Harlan Fisk Stone
Who Is Julia? (1986) (TV) .... The Commentator
Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982) (TV) .... Beatrice's Father
Gideon's Trumpet (1980) (TV) .... 2nd Supreme Court Justice
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979) (TV) .... Mr. Meecham
Friendly Fire (1979) (TV) .... Hamilton
A Family Upside Down (1978) (TV) .... Mr. Case
The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1976) (TV) .... Ninnian
The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1976) (TV) .... The Judge
Babe (1975) (TV) .... Dr. Tatum
Medical Story (1975) (TV) .... Dr. Patterson
Strange New World (1975) (TV) .... Sirus
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd (1974) (TV) .... Mr. Suggs
The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974) (TV) .... Mr. Gilbert
Key West (1973) (TV) .... Prescott Webb
Linda (1973) (TV) .... Police Chief Vernon
A Howling in the Woods (1971) (TV) .... Bud Henshaw
The Andersonville Trial (1970) (TV) .... Court-martial board member
My Sweet Charlie (1970) (TV) .... Treadwell
D.A.: Murder One (1969) (TV) .... Dr. Ellis Anders
Our American Heritage: Shadow of a Soldier (1960) (TV) .... Abraham Lincoln

TV CLASSICS
Our Town (1977) (TV) .... Joe Stoddard
"Hallmark Hall of Fame" playing "Menteith" in episode: "Macbeth" 28 November 1954

BCnU.....
Tele-Toby