Lewis Woodrow Chambliss (October 14, 1914 â January 8, 1981) was an American character actor who appeared in both feature films and television. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as several characters in the TV hit Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop.
Chambliss was born on October 14, 1914, in Bowie, Texas. He was the son of Lorenzo Dow âÂÂL.D.â and Lucinda âÂÂLula Maeâ Mae (Thornton) Chambliss, who had a farm outside Brownfield, Texas. He attended public schools in Brownfield and Baylor University, where his first contact with drama occurred as a prompter with the Baylor Little Theater. Intending to be a lawyer, Chambliss attended Baylor's law school, but a dramatics teacher at the university influenced him to change his major to theater arts.
After Chambliss left Baylor, he worked as a technician apprentice for a stock theater company in Milford Connecticut. Receiving a scholarship in the summer of 1937 enabled him to go to Bath, England, as a drama exchange student and study with Michael Chekhov. He became a member of the Checkov Theater company at Darlington Hall, Devonshire, and returned to the United States when the group moved because of the threat of war. A Bath newspaper described Chambliss's portrayal of a grandfather in a production of the 1937 Summer Drama School at Citizen House, Bath, as "a performance of outstanding merit, quite worthy of the professional stage".
He made his Broadway debut in a 1939 Chekhov production of The Possessed. The cast also included his wife, Erika Kapralik, and actor Ford Rainey, but the play only ran for fourteen performances on Broadway.
During World War II, he worked at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme naval base in Port Hueneme, California. After the war, he and others from the Chekhov company established a repertory troupe that for four years performed in the Happy Valley Theater in Ojai, California. Chambliss went on to become the manager of the Senior Canyon Mutual Water Company prior to resuming his theater career.
Chambliss made his first on-screen appearance in 1946, in an uncredited role in Jean Negulesco's Three Strangers, followed by several uncredited roles in films such as ' and Zero Hour!. In 1965, he received a supporting role in Wild Seed, directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Michael Parks. He appeared in the post-apocalyptic Sci-fi drama Glen and Randa in 1971, notable for its "X" rating from MPAA at the time of release. He continued appearing in film throughout the 1970s, with roles in Greaser's Palace, Cry for Me, Billy, The Devil's Rain and the jukebox musical comedy Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In addition to his work on Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop, he also had a recurring role as riverboat Captain Tom of the "Sultana" on the TV show Yancy Derringer.
He also appeared in two 1958 episodes of Perry Mason: as Phil Reese in "The Case of the Fugitive Nurse," and Fred Haley in "The Case of the Lucky Loser." In 1960, he appeared in Gene Barry's TV Western series Bat Masterson as town undertaker Mr. OâÂÂMalley (S2E20). In 1965, he appeared on The Andy Griffith Show in the episode, "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau", as their butter-and-egg-man. He and wife Erika also appeared together as grandparents in the 1978 TV movie Forever. He also played the role of Zadok Walton, cousin to Grandpa Walton, on a Season 8 episode of The Waltons.
He was married to Romanian actress Erika Kapralik (September 6, 1911 â May 14, 1992 in Ojai, California). They had three children. He died on January 8, 1981, in Ojai of colon cancer.