Every Bowery Boy fan remembers him best as 'Whitey' one of the most beloved
of the gang, but he had a long and busy career as a character actor in films
and TV. He was short, slim and had platinum-white hair framing an always
smiling face. He was born in Haskell, Oklahoma on April 16, 1917 and raised
in the Tulsa area. He developed a yen for performing in his Tulsa high school
drama class. At age 17 he left Oklahoma for california hoping for a career
in dancing. Learning that dancers were commonplace in Hollywood, he opted
for acting jobs. With his whitish hair and mousy look he was a natural for
juvenile roles and in 1935 made his film debut in "$10 Raise."
In later years, after appearing in the 'Dead End Kids' series as Skinny
and the 'Bowery Boys' series as Whitey, he successfully made the transition
to character roles. He was sometimes billed as Bill Benedict or William
Benedict. Among his film credits are: "Way Down East" (1935) as
Amos; "The Farmer Takes a Wife" (1935) uncredited as Boy; "Doubting
Thomas" (1935) as Caddy; "Meet Nero Wolfe" (1936) as Johnny,
Barstow's Caddy; "The Country Doctor" (1936) with Jean Hersholt,
as the Gawker; "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) as a Caddy; "King
of the Newsboys" (1938) as Squimpy; "Adventures of Red Ryder"
(1940) as Ira Withers; "My Little Chickadee" (1940) with W.C.
Fields & Mae West, uncredited as Lem; "Tuxedo Junction" (1941)
as Piecrust; "Adventures of Captain Marvel" (1941) a serial, as
Whitey Murphy; "Junior G-men of the Air" (1942) a serial, as Whitey;
"Talk of the Town" (1942) with Cary Grant, uncredited as Western
Union Boy; "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943) uncredited as Greene;
"Million Dollar Kid" (1944) as Skinny; "Follow the Boys"
(1944) as Joe, a Soldier; "Bowery Buckaroos" (1947) as Whitey;
"Magnetic Monster" (1953) as Albert; "The Hallelujah Trail"
(1965) as Simpson; "The Sting" (1973) as Roulette Dealer; "Homebodies"
(1974) as Watchman and "Born Again" (1978) as Leon Jaworski, his
final theatrical film. On TV he was a regular on the series: "Petticoat
Junction" (1963) as Willie Trankis and guest starred on such series
as: "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok"; "Perry Mason";
"Twilight Zone"; "Gunsmoke"; "I Dream of Jeannie";
"The Monkees"; "All in the Family"; "Mission: Impossible";
"Little House on the Prairie" and "Hill Street Blues."
He died on November 25, 1999 of complications following heart surgery in
Los Angeles, California at age 82.
