A young man by the name of Bernard Mattox from the small town of Wilson, North Carolina headed west in 1949 to pursue a dream of being in the movies, and character actor Gregory Walcott was born.
Prior to this trek, his life back home included a promising college football career which was derailed by his choice to serve his country during World War II. After the war, and with $100 in his pocket (and no connections whatsoever in Hollywood), he stuck out his thumb and hitchhiked all the way to California. “I arrived in Pasadena about six days later and stayed at the Y.M.C.A.,” remembers Greg. “My first morning there, I stepped out into the beautiful California sunshine and saw a horde of people milling about the courthouse. And lo and behold, on my first day in California, I got to see Hollywood’s biggest star — Clark Gable — filming a movie there.”
Inspired by what and whom he saw, Walcott settled in Hollywood and used his GI bill to help pay for acting classes. He immediately began working in plays, and to help make ends meet, worked a myriad of odd jobs including parking cars, waiting on tables, and even singing at weddings and funerals.
While struggling to make it in Hollywood, the legendary cowgirl Dale Evans……………………………………….