Image: Wikimedia CommonsDabbs Greer
American actor (1917−2007)
- Born April 2, 1917
- 6 movies
Dabbs Greer (2 April 1917 to 28 April 2007) was an American character actor whose career ran for more than 60 years, with nearly 100 film roles and close to 600 television episodes. Born in Fairview, Missouri, he became one of television's most familiar faces, often as a storekeeper, sheriff or minister. He played Mr. Jonas on Gunsmoke and Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie. His last film role was the elderly Paul Edgecomb in The Green Mile, the older self of Tom Hanks's character.
Dabbs Greer appears in 6 films in The Rerun, from 1951 to 1965. Most of that work is in drama, horror and comedy. Frequent collaborators in The Rerun: James Stewart (2), Virginia Christine (2), Robert Cornthwaite (2), Richard Deacon (2), Carolyn Jones (2).
Known for
- Little House on the Prairie, Reverend Robert Alden. One of his best-known television roles.
- Gunsmoke, Mr. Jonas. His role on the long-running western series.
- The Green Mile (1999), Paul Edgecomb. His final film role, as the older Edgecomb.
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). One of his nearly 100 film credits.
Career
Greer made his screen debut as an extra in Jesse James (1939) and later taught and administered at the Pasadena Playhouse. Television made him a fixture from the 1950s: the first person Superman saves in Adventures of Superman, 42 episodes as storekeeper Mr. Jonas on Gunsmoke, and guest spots across the decade’s Westerns, two episodes of The Twilight Zone and six of The Fugitive.
He married Rob and Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mike and Carol Brady in the pilot of The Brady Bunch, and played Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983. In the 1990s he was Reverend Novotny on Picket Fences. His final feature, The Green Mile (1999), gave him a prominent closing role as the 108-year-old narrator.
Where to start
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): a small-town supporting part in the paranoid sci-fi classic.
- The Green Mile (1999): his poignant last film role.
- Little House on the Prairie (1974): Reverend Alden at his most characteristic.
Movies
Quick answers
- What movies and TV shows has Dabbs Greer been in?
- Dabbs Greer appears in Shenandoah (1965), The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), House of Wax (1953), Monkey Business (1952) and Father’s Little Dividend (1951) on The Remote.
- When was Dabbs Greer born?
- Dabbs Greer was born on 2 April 1917.
Before you go