Denver Pyle

Acted in hundreds of TV shows and Movies, but best known as Uncle Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard and Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show.

Denver Pyle was an American film and television actor best known for his roles as Uncle Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard and Briscoe Darling on The Andy Griffith Show. Born on May 11, 1920, in Bethune, Colorado, to farmers Ben H. Pyle and Maude Pyle, he grew up during the Great Depression and briefly attended Colorado State University before dropping out. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he pursued a career in entertainment after various jobs,

including working in an oil field and as a drummer. Pyle served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, though some reports suggest he may have served in the Merchant Marine. His acting career began in the late 1940s with small uncredited film roles, gradually transitioning to more prominent parts in the 1950s and 1960s, often in Westerns such as The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza. A familiar face on television, Pyle also appeared in

The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, and The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and he played Frank Hamer in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). In addition to acting, he occasionally directed episodes of television and invested in oil drilling, becoming financially successful outside of Hollywood.

Movies

  • Maverick (1994)
  • Delta Fever (1987)
  • Legend of the Wild (1981)
  • Those Were the Days (1980)
  • Legend of the Northwest (1978)
  • Return from Witch Mountain (1978)
  • Guardian of the Wilderness (1976)
  • Welcome to L.A. (1976)
  • Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976)
  • Hawmps! (1976)
  • Winterhawk (1975)
  • The Adventures of Frontier Fremont (1975)
  • Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
  • Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
  • The Legend of Hillbilly John (1972)
  • Something Big (1971)
  • 5 Card Stud (1968)
  • Bandolero! (1968)
  • Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
  • Tammy and the Millionaire (1967)
  • Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
  • Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)
  • The Great Race (1965)
  • Shenandoah (1965)
  • Mara of the Wilderness (1965)
  • The Rounders (1965)
  • Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
  • Black Like Me (1964)
  • Mail Order Bride (1964)
  • Geronimo (1962)
  • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
  • The Alamo (1960)
  • Home from the Hill (1960)
  • Cast a Long Shadow (1959)
  • The Horse Soldiers (1959)
  • King of the Wild Stallions (1959)
  • Good Day for a Hanging (1959)
  • The Party Crashers (1958)
  • China Doll (1958)
  • Fort Massacre (1958)
  • The Left Handed Gun (1958)
  • Jet Pilot (1957)
  • The Lonely Man (1957)
  • Destination 60, 000 (1957)
  • Gun Duel in Durango (1957)
  • 7th Cavalry (1956)
  • Yaqui Drums (1956)
  • The Naked Hills (1956)
  • I Killed Wild Bill Hickok (1956)
  • Please Murder Me! (1956)
  • The Millionaire (1955)
  • Top Gun (1955)
  • To Hell and Back (1955)
  • Run for Cover (1955)
  • Rage at Dawn (1955)
  • Ten Wanted Men (1955)
  • The Yellow Mountain (1954)
  • Drum Beat (1954)
  • Johnny Guitar (1954)
  • The Boy from Oklahoma (1954)
  • Ride Clear of Diablo (1954)
  • The Command (1954)
  • Texas Bad Man (1953)
  • Vigilante Terror (1953)
  • Topeka (1953)
  • Goldtown Ghost Riders (1953)
  • Column South (1953)
  • Rebel City (1953)
  • A Perilous Journey (1953)
  • Fort Vengeance (1953)
  • The Lone Hand (1953)
  • Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (1953)
  • Gunsmoke (1953)
  • The Maverick (1952)
  • Canyon Ambush (1952)
  • Fargo (1952)
  • Desert Passage (1952)
  • Man from the Black Hills (1952)
  • Oklahoma Annie (1952)
  • Mutiny (1952)
  • Drums in the Deep South (1951)
  • The Hills of Utah (1951)
  • Million Dollar Pursuit (1951)
  • Rough Riders of Durango (1951)
  • The Old Frontier (1950)
  • Dynamite Pass (1950)
  • Federal Agent at Large (1950)
  • Singing Guns (1950)
  • Captain China (1950)
  • The Flying Saucer (1950)
  • The Big Wheel (1949)
  • Flame of Youth (1949)
  • Too Late for Tears (1949)
  • Rim of the Canyon (1949)
  • Hellfire (1949)
  • Streets of San Francisco (1949)
  • Red Canyon (1949)
  • El Paso (1949)
  • The Man from Colorado (1948)
  • Marshal of Amarillo (1948)
  • Train to Alcatraz (1948)
  • Where the North Begins (1947)
  • Devil Ship (1947)
  • The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947)

TV

  • Podunk Possum (1997)
  • The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997)
  • Cybill (1996)
  • What a Cartoon! (1996)
  • Father and Scout (1994)
  • L.A. Law (1994)
  • Wind in the Wire (1993)
  • Dallas (1990) (2 episodes)
  • Murder, She Wrote (1988)
  • Return to Mayberry (1986)
  • The Love Boat (1986)
  • The Dukes of Hazzard (1979–1985) (146 episodes)
  • The Dukes (1983) (20 episodes)
  • Enos (1980) (2 episodes)
  • How the West Was Won (1979)
  • The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1977–1978) (37 episodes)
  • Dan Haggerty in Once Upon a Starry Night (1978)
  • How Bugs Bunny Won the West (1978)
  • Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1959–1978) (7 episodes)
  • The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (1976)
  • Barnaby Jones (1976)
  • Petrocelli (1976)
  • The Family Holvak (1975)
  • The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975)
  • Death Among Friends (1975)
  • Karen (1975)
  • The Manhunter (1974)
  • Murder or Mercy (1974)
  • Sidekicks (1974)
  • Kung Fu (1973–1974) (2 episodes)
  • Dirty Sally (1974)
  • The New Perry Mason (1974)
  • Hog Wild (1974)
  • William Conrad in Cannon (1974)
  • The Streets of San Francisco (1973)
  • Gunsmoke (1956–1973) (14 episodes)
  • The Waltons (1972)
  • Bonanza (1961–1972) (8 episodes)
  • Hitched (1971)
  • The Doris Day Show (1968–1970) (53 episodes)
  • Here Come the Brides (1970)
  • Walter Brennan and Dack Rambo in The Guns of Will Sonnett (1968)
  • Gomer Pyle: USMC (1968)
  • Cimarron Strip (1967)
  • Hondo (1967)
  • The High Chaparral (1967)
  • Death Valley Days (1953–1967) (8 episodes)
  • The Andy Griffith Show (1963–1966) (6 episodes)
  • Perry Mason (1958–1966) (6 episodes)
  • Gunpoint (1966)
  • Tammy (1965–1966) (26 episodes)
  • John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957–1965) (2 episodes)
  • Slattery’s People (1965)
  • James Franciscus in Mr. Novak (1964)
  • Gary Lockwood in The Lieutenant (1964)
  • The Great Adventure (1964)
  • Temple Houston (1964)
  • The Twilight Zone (1964)
  • Dr. Kildare (1964)
  • Ripcord (1961–1963) (2 episodes)
  • Arrest and Trial (1963)
  • Rawhide (1963)
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1963)
  • Channing (1963)
  • Empire (1962–1963) (2 episodes)
  • The Virginian (1963)
  • Laramie (1959–1963) (5 episodes)
  • Terrified (1962)
  • Cheyenne (1961–1962) (3 episodes)
  • Lassie (1962)
  • Kraft Mystery Theater (1962)
  • Lawman (1959-1962) (2 episodes)
  • Ben Casey (1962)
  • Peter Mark Richman in Cain’s Hundred (1962)
  • Thriller (1962)
  • Route 66 (1961-1962) (2 episodes)
  • The Detectives (1961)
  • The Rifleman (1959-1961) (5 episodes)
  • Bronco (1961) (4 episodes)
  • National Velvet (1961)
  • Two Faces West (1960)
  • Checkmate (1960)
  • Zane Grey Theatre (1956) (7 episodes)
  • The Deputy (1959) (2 episodes)
  • Bat Masterson (1958) (2 episodes)
  • Maverick (1957)
  • Shotgun Slade (1959)
  • Have Gun – Will Travel (1957) (7 episodes)
  • Stagecoach West (1960)
  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955) (10 episodes)
  • Riverboat (1959)
  • Mr. Garlund (1960)
  • Real McCoys (1957)
  • The Aquanauts (1960)
  • The Tall Man (1960)
  • Wrangler (1960)
  • Tombstone Territory (1957)
  • The Man from Blackhawk (1959)
  • Overland Trail (1960) (2 episodes)
  • Hotel de Paree (1959)
  • Pony Express (1959)
  • Wichita Town (1959)
  • The Texan (1958) (4 episodes)
  • Law of the Plainsman (1959)
  • Wildcatters (1959)
  • Bold Venture (1959) (2 episodes)
  • The Alaskans (1959)
  • Men Into Space (1959)
  • Bourbon Street Beat (1959)
  • Tales of Wells Fargo (1957) (2 episodes)
  • 26 Men (1957) (2 episodes)
  • The Restless Gun (1957) (2 episodes)
  • Rescue 8 (1958)
  • Jefferson Drum (1958)
  • Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955)
  • Fury (1955) (3 episodes)
  • Behind Closed Doors (1958)
  • Playhouse 90 (1956)
  • Bitter Heritage (1958)
  • Mike Hammer (1958)
  • Broken Arrow (1956)
  • Man Without a Gun (1957)
  • The Gray Ghost (1957)
  • Casey Jones (1957)
  • The Californians (1957)
  • Climax! (1954)
  • Domino Kid (1957)
  • The Court of Last Resort (1957)
  • The O. Henry Playhouse (1957) (2 episodes)
  • Code 3 (1957) (2 episodes)
  • The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955) (2 episodes)
  • Rod Cameron in State Trooper (1956)
  • The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956) (3 episodes)
  • Sheriffs of the USA (1956)
  • Crossroads (1955) (4 episodes)
  • The Lone Ranger (1949) (7 episodes)
  • My Friend Flicka (1955) (2 episodes)
  • The Loretta Young Show (1953)
  • You Are There (1953) (10 episodes)
  • Frontier (1955) (2 episodes)
  • Steve Donovan, Western Marshal (1955) (2 episodes)
  • The Lineup (1954)
  • Medic (1954) (2 episodes)
  • Public Defender (1954) (2 episodes)
  • Buffalo Bill, Jr. (1955) (2 episodes)
  • Adventures of the Falcon (1954)
  • Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson (1952)
  • The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951) (8 episodes)
  • Louis Hayward in The Lone Wolf (1954)
  • The Gene Autry Show (1950) (10 episodes)
  • Annie Oakley (1954) (2 episodes)
  • Ramar of the Jungle (1952)
  • Stories of the Century (1954)
  • Adventures of Superman (1952)
  • Hopalong Cassidy (1952) (2 episodes)
  • The Range Rider (1951-1953) (14 episodes)
  • I’m the Law (1953)
  • The Roy Rogers Show (1951) (4 episodes)
  • Cowboy G-Men (1952)
  • Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951)
  • The Cisco Kid (1950) (2 episodes)

In his personal life, Pyle was married twice: first to Marilee Carpenter, with whom he had two sons, and later to Tippie Johnston, whom he married in 1983 and remained with until his death. Known for his philanthropic work later in life, particularly with children’s charities in Texas,

Pyle received little formal recognition in terms of major entertainment awards, but he was beloved by fans for his consistent and memorable character work. Denver Pyle died of lung cancer on December 25, 1997, in Burbank, California, at the age of 77, and was buried in Forreston Cemetery in Ellis County, Texas. He was survived by his wife Tippie and his two sons from his first marriage.

Further Reading
Sources

Author: Doyle

I was born in Atlanta, moved to Alpharetta at 4, lived there for 53 years and moved to Decatur in 2016. I've worked at such places as Richway, North Fulton Medical Center, Management Science America (Computer Tech/Project Manager) and Stacy's Compounding Pharmacy (Pharmacy Tech).

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Doyle's Space

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading