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Wil Hutchins, the kind, whimsical star of the hit western “Sugarfoot”, passed away on April 21, 1994, and his wife, Barbara, confirmed thr.
He died of respiratory failure at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York.
Born in Los Angeles on May 5, 1930, the blue-eyed blonde appeared early in 1941 in the WC Fields classic “Never A Sucker a Even Break,” where he served in the US military during the Korean War and studied acting at UCLA.
Discovered by Warner Bros talent scouts, he was acting on television by 1956. This includes three 1-hour dramatic episodes of “Conflict” (1956-1957).
He filmed the films Lafayette Escadrill (1958) and Sergeant’s Time (1958), but it was his “Sugarfoot” lead landing that made him a one-night star. He played Tom Brewster, a law school graduate who graduated from Buck East, traveling to Oklahoma to wager his point. The Brewster is very green and has earned the nickname “Sugar Foot,” a notch under the tender foot.
Famously, Sugarfoot doesn’t drink hard liquor in the saloon and prefers to “salparira along with the cherry dashes,” so prefers to emphasize what he was.
The show’s pilot was a remake of the 1954 film “The Boy of Oklahoma.” Hutchins, who happened to be starring Rogers Jr., was known for his friendly and easygoing personality, but was compared to Will Rogers Sr.
He once said that his character was wearing Humphrey Bogart’s pants from the studio wardrobe department.
The Peace of the Era was aired on a spin-revolving basis in the series “Cheyenne” and “Bronco,” which ran 69 episodes from 1957 to 1961. The Hutchins were the rare surviving series lead from 1950s television.
Hutchins was also a star of “Hey, the Landlord” (1966-1967) and played Dougwood in the short-lived series “Blondie” (1968-1969).
His feature films included two Elvis photos, “Spinout” (1966) and “Clanbake” (1967). The latter boasted a duet with the King’s King.
Other films he has featured: Claudelle Inglish (1961), Merrill’s Marauders (1962), The Shooting (1965), Magnum Force (1973), The Happy Hooker Goes To Washington (1977), Roar (1981), Gunfighter (1999), and The Romantics (2010).
He worked in the circus, mainly as a ringmaster and as part of the clown army since the 70s.
Hutchins married Carol Burnett’s younger sister Chris from 1965 to 1969 and had a daughter. He is survived by his daughter and his 37-year-old wife, Barbara.
