Creator / Ben Wright

Wright in The Sound of Music.

"I rather imagine they wanted my British voice to contrast the American voices of the Earth people, to more clearly and easily differentiate them. I was originally to play the part, as well, but when they tried to fit me into the alien mask, they found my head was too big. Like most actors, I suppose."

—Ben Wright explaining how he came to voice (but not physically play) the Luminoid Authority in The Outer Limits (1963) episode "A Feasibility Study" (from David J. Schow's The Outer Limits Companion)

Benjamin Huntington Wright (May 5, 1915 - July 2, 1989) was an English actor best known for The Sound of Music, 101 Dalmatians, and The Little Mermaid (1989).

Born in London to an American father and an English mother, Wright was appearing in West End theatrical production by the mid-1940s. During World War II, he served in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. In 1946, he made a life-changing trip to America to attend a cousin's wedding, which inspired him to move to Los Angeles and join the American entertainment industry. He started out in radio, where he played roles ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Hey Boy the Chinese bellhop in Have Gun – Will Travel. As his filmography shows, he worked extensively in both television and films for several decades.

He was married to director/actress Joan Kemp Welch and Muriel Louise Roberts and had two children with Roberts.

Wright died in 1989 at the age of 74 from heart failure.

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Filmography

Film Roles

• The Avenging Hand as Lift Boy (Uncredited Role)
• The Exile as Mibanke
• Kiss The Blood Off My Hands as Cockney tout (uncredited)
• The Fighting O Flynn as Lieutenant (uncredited)
• Sword In The Desert as Radio Man (uncredited)
• Botany Bay as Deck Officer Green
• The Desert Rats as Mick
• Man in the Attic as Det. in Theatre Box (uncredited)
• Prince Valiant as Seneschal (uncredited)
• Prince Of Players as Horatio in 'Hamlet' (uncredited)
• The Racers as Dr. Seger (uncredited)
• A Man Called Peter as Mr. Findlay (uncredited)
• Jump Into Hell as Capt. Pluen (uncredited)
• Moonfleet as Officer (uncredited)
• Desert Sands as Commandant Captain (uncredited)
• Johnny Concho as Benson
• The Power And The Prize as Mr. Chutwell
• Pharaohs Curse as Walter Andrews
• Villa as Francisco Madero
• The Wreck Of The Mary Deare as Mike
• Journey to the Center of the Earth as Paisley (uncredited)
• The Lost World as BBC Field Reporter Ted Bottomley (uncredited)
• 101 Dalmatians as Roger
• Operation Bottleneck as Mander
• Judgment at Nuremberg as Halbestadt
• Cleopatra as Narrator (uncredited)
• A Gathering Of The Eagles as Leighton S.A.C. Observer
• The Prize as British Reporter (uncredited)
• My Fair Lady as Footman at Ball (uncredited)
• The Sound of Music as Herr Zeller
• My Blood Runs Cold as Lansbury
• Munster Go Home as Hennsey
• The Fortune Cookie as Specialist #4
• The Sand Pebbles as Englishman
• The Jungle Book as Wolf
• Wake Me When The War Is Over as Police Officer
• Topaz as French Officer (uncredited)
• The Intruders as Doctor (uncredited)
• Raid On Rommel as Admiral
• Probe as Kurt van Niestat
• All My Darling Daughters as Carter
  • My Darling Daughters Anniversary as Carter
• Chandar The Black Legend OF Ceylon as Narrator
• Voyage Of The Yes as Philip Blemsley
• The Stranger as Doctor
• Terror In The Wax Museum as 1st Constable
• Arnold as Jonesy
• The Little Mermaid (1989) as Grimsby (his final role, released posthumously)

Television Roles

• China Smith as Morley (1 episode)
• Terry And The Pirates as Quate (1 episode)
• Dangerous Assignment as Duval (1 episode)
• Treasury Men In Action as Jean Brielle (1 episode)
• Crusader as Sabota/Bratesque (2 episodes)
• The Millionaire as Henry Clemente (1 episode)
• You Are There as Dr. Bauer/William Brown (2 episodes)
• Climax as Dr. Billings (1 episode)
• The Adventures Of Jim Bowie as Termayne (1 episode)
• Mr Adams And Eve as Roderick (1 episode)
• The Walter Winchell File as Paul (1 episode)
• Whirlybirds as Prof. Winters (1 episode)
• The Third Man as Inspector Dutrec (1 episode)
• Gunsmoke as various (11 episodes)
• Richard Diamond Private Detective as Maxwell (1 episode)
• Peter Gunn as Dr. Snyder (1 episode)
• The Texan as Powder Price (1 episode)
• Tate as The Doctor (1 episode)
• Riverboat as Mr. Shaftoe (1 episode)
• Hong Kong as Cronin (1 episode)
• The Law And Mr Jones as McAllister from the Antiques Shop (1 episode)
• Zane Grey Theatre as various (2 episodes)
• The Rebel 1959 as various (3 episodes)
• The Tab Hunter Show as Judge/Stockbridge (2 episodes)
• The Untouchables as various (3 episodes)
• Perry Mason as various (3 episodes)
• Follow The Sun as Bank Manager (1 episode)
• The Twilight Zone (1959) as Chips/Doctor/Captain Wilbur (3 episodes)
• The New Breed as Frank Andrews (1 episode)
• The Gertrude Berg Show as Amy's Father (1 episode)
• Checkmate as The Attendant/Dietz (2 episodes)
• Mr Smith Goes To Washington 1962 as Headwaiter (1 episode)
• Death Valley Days as various (6 episodes)
• GE True as Clayton Hutton (2 episodes)
• Stoney Burke as Manolo (1 episode)
• Combat! (1962) as Boulange/Count De Gontran (2 episodes)
• The Outer Limits (1963) as various (4 episodes)
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as various (3 episodes)
• The Virginian as various (4 episodes)
• 77 Sunset Strip as various (3 episodes)
• Arrest And Trial as various (2 episodes)
• Ben Casey as various (2 episodes)
• McHale's Navy as various (2 episodes)
• The Rogues as Constable Huggins (1 episode)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as Brewster (1 episode)
• My Living Doll as Dealer (1 episode)
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Dr. Nicole Baurel/Stamp Expert (2 episodes)
• Burke's Law as Alan Rycroft (1 episode)
• Get Smart as Hillary (1 episode)
• My Favorite Martian as Vladimir (1 episode)
• Bonanza as Spiers (1 episode)
• The Addams Family as Mr. Rudolpho (1 episode)
• My Three Sons as Sir Walter Marsden (1 episode)
• Jericho (1966) as Mallory (1 episode)
• The Monkees as Grandfather (1 episode)
• The Fugitive as Dr. Ferguson (1 episode)
• The Time Tunnel as Cabinet Minister (1 episode)
• That Girl as Manager (1 episode)
• The Invaders (1967) as Emissary (1 episode)
• The Rat Patrol as various (2 episodes)
• Mission: Impossible as Dr. Irving Berman/Kleister (2 episodes)
• Tarzan 1966 as Commissioner/Arthur Steuer/Constable McFee/Hatcher (4 episodes)
• Hogan's Heroes as various (5 episodes)
• The Outsider as Agent (1 episode)
• Judd For The Defense as Judge (1 episode)
• The Wild Wild West as various (2 episodes)
• The Guns Of Will Sonnett as Doctor (1 episode)
• Marcus Welby, M.D. as Prof. Randolph (1 episode)
• Dragnet as Paul Overbeck (1 episode)
• The Young Lawyers as Judge (1 episode)
• The F.B.I. as Captain Tillman (2 episodes)
• The Young Rebels as Col. Daniels (1 episode)
• The Name Of The Game as Dr. Justin Bard (1 episode)
• The Good Life as Chauffeur (1 episode)
• Ironside (1967) as various (3 episodes)
• Owen Marshall Counselor At Law as David Fulton (1 episode)
• The Doris Day Show as Inspector Medoc (1 episode)
• O Hara US Treasury as Uncle Hans (1 episode)
• Cannon as various (3 episodes)
• The Six Million Dollar Man as Benno Reichert/Ives (2 episodes)
• Barnaby Jones as Gordon McLean/Mr. Jason (2 episodes)
• S.W.A.T. (1975) as Mr. Jarvis (1 episode)
• Ellery Queen as Anton Lucheck (1 episode)
• Rich Man Poor Man Book II as Dr. Baluda (1 episode)
• The Bionic Woman as Fournier (1 episode)
• Emergency! as Oscar Hubbs (1 episode)
• The Rockford Files as Derek Halsted (1 episode)
• Little Women as Doctor
• The Misadventures Of Sheriff Lobo as Officer (1 episode)
• Quincy, M.E. as Dr. Harris (1 episode)
• Tales of the Gold Monkey as Singing Frenchman (1 episode)
• Mathnet as Hives Bottomly (1 episode)

Tropes associated with Ben Wright:

• Cool Old Guy: In interviews such as the one quoted above, he came across as witty and self-deprecating.
• Evil Brit: He played his share over the years, His character in The Wild Wild West episode "The Night the Dragon Screamed", a murderous colonel who wants to rule China as an Evil Chancellor, is a good example.
• Fake Nationality: invoked Although he was British, he played characters from various countries. He played Nazis several times, most famously in The Sound of Music, as well as in other works such as Hogan's Heroes and The Rat Patrol. He also played a post-war German doctor in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "Death's-Head Revisited".
• Yellowface: An audio version. As noted above, he played a Chinese character on the radio version of Have Gun – Will Travel.

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