House Peters Jr.

House Peters Jr.
Peters in Under California Stars (1948)
Born
Robert House Peters Jr.

(1916-01-12)January 12, 1916
DiedOctober 1, 2008(2008-10-01) (aged 92)
OccupationActor
Years active1935–1966
Spouse
Lucy Pickett
(m. 1946)
Children3

Robert House Peters Jr. (January 12, 1916 – October 1, 2008) was an American character actor most noted for his roles in 1950s B movies and westerns. He is perhaps best remembered as the face and body of Mr. Clean in the Procter and Gamble cleaning product commercials of the era.

Biography

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Peters was born in New Rochelle, New York to actors House Peters, a major leading man in the silent era, and Mae King. He grew up in Beverly Hills, California and graduated from Beverly Hills High School.

In a career that spanned 1935–1967, he appeared in many films, primarily as the "heavy," or villain. He appeared in television series including Perry Mason, Bat Masterson, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone and Lassie.

From the late 1950s into the 1960s, Peters Jr. played Mr. Clean in television commercials for the product.[1][2]

Peters served in the United States Army Air Forces' Air Sea Rescue section as a small-boat operator during World War II.[3][4][5][6] He was married to Lucy Pickett from 1946 until his death; they had three children. He died of pneumonia at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Los Angeles, California.[1][7]

Peters wrote a book, "Another Side of Hollywood" an autobiography by actor House Peters Jr. published by Empire Publishing of Madison, North Carolina in the year 2000. It is an entertaining, interesting look at the early days of Hollywood movie and television production with many black and white photos.

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1935 Hot Tip Racetrack Spectator Uncredited
1935 Three Kids and a Queen Reporter Uncredited
1936 The Adventures of Frank Merriwell House Peters Serial
1936 Flash Gordon Shark Man Serial, [Chs. 3-4]
1936 Yellowstone Ranger Uncredited
1936 Ace Drummond Pete - Second Pilot / Clipper Pilot Serial, [Ch. 1], [Ch. 8] Uncredited
1936 Four Days' Wonder Chauffeur Uncredited
1937 Windjammer Bob - Sailor Uncredited
1937 Public Cowboy No. 1 Jim Shannon
1937 Life Begins in College Reporter Uncredited
1937 All American Sweetheart Eddie Uncredited
1937 Wells Fargo Minor Role Uncredited
1938 Start Cheering Football Playing Student Uncredited
1939 Frontier Pony Express Lieutenant Trent Uncredited
1941 Sea Raiders Agent Burke Serial, [Ch. 4], Uncredited
1947 Danger Street Magazine Staffer Uncredited
1948 Oklahoma Badlands The Dude
1948 Dangers of the Canadian Mounted Ford - Henchman Uncredited
1948 Under California Stars Henchman Ed
1948 Desperadoes of Dodge City Henry
1948 Adventures of Frank and Jesse James Sheriff Towey Serial, [Chs. 1–2, 5–6, 11]
1948 The Plunderers Sentinel Uncredited
1948 Gunning for Justice Kirk Wheeler - Henchman
1948 Courtin' Trouble Burt Larsen
1948 Renegades of Sonora Courier
1949 Rose of the Yukon Uncredited
1949 Outlaw Country Cal Saunders
1949 Sheriff of Wichita Deputy Jack Thorpe
1949 Son of Billy the Kid Yantis Henchman Uncredited
1949 Batman and Robin Henchman Earl Serial, [Chs. 7-15]
1949 King of the Rocket Men Burt Winslow Serial
1949 The Gal Who Took the West Trooper Uncredited
1949 Love Happy Clergyman in Sadie Thompson Number Uncredited
1950 Over the Border Wade Shelton
1950 Cow Town Gill Saunders
1950 Twilight in the Sierras Jim Williams
1950 Hi-Jacked Hank
1950 Border Treasure Rod
1951 Three Desperate Men Dick Cable
1951 Gene Autry and the Mounties Henchman Hogan Uncredited
1951 Spoilers of the Plains Henchman Scheller
1951 Man from Sonora Ed Hooper
1951 Blazing Bullets Bill Grant
1951 Lorna Doone Patrol Leader Uncredited
1951 The Dakota Kid Sam Dawson
1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still MP captain Uncredited
1951 The Red Badge of Courage Passing Soldier - Veteran Uncredited
1952 The Old West Henchman Mike
1952 Waco Doctor
1952 Oklahoma Annie Jim Tullett
1952 Kansas Territory Ralph Carruthers
1952 Red Planet Mars Dr. Boulting Uncredited
1952 The Lion and the Horse 'Rocky' Steuber
1952 And Now Tomorrow
1952 Carson City Miner Uncredited
1952 Hellgate Witness Uncredited
1952 Fargo Bill Martin's Brother Uncredited
1952 Kansas City Confidential Policeman Uncredited
1952 Wyoming Roundup Kent Randolph
1953 Winning of the West Marshal Jim Hackett
1953 The Man Behind the Gun Sheldon's Henchman at Hideout Uncredited
1953 Port Sinister Jim Garry Alternative title: Beast of Paradise Isle
1954 Highway Dragnet Steve
1954 Overland Pacific Perkins Uncredited
1954 Target Earth Technician
1955 Strategic Air Command Captain Uncredited
1955 Rebel Without a Cause Officer at Police Station Uncredited
1956 The Women of Pitcairn Island Coggins
1957 Man Afraid Detective Uncredited
1957 Johnny Tremain Patriot Commander at Lexington Uncredited
1957 House of Numbers Patrolman Uncredited
1957 Black Patch Holman
1958 Man from God's Country Curt Warren
1959 Inside the Mafia Marty Raven Uncredited
1959 Ordeal at Dry Red
1960 The Big Night Robert Shaw
1962 Terror at Black Falls Sheriff Cal
1962 Who's Got the Action? Cop in Elevator Uncredited
1964 Rio Conchos Major Johnson
1965 The Great Sioux Massacre Reporter
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Gene Autry Show Various roles 3 episodes
1953 Death Valley Days Season 1, Episode 18 "Land of the Free"
1950–1957 The Lone Ranger Various roles 12 episodes
1951–1953 The Range Rider Various roles 6 episodes
1954–1956 Annie Oakley Various roles 4 episodes
1955 The Adventures of Champion Ote Bledsoe 1 episode
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Dave Bennett 4 episodes
You are There Bruce Greeves 1 episodes
1957 The Gray Ghost Hollingshead 1 episode
1958 Broken Arrow Captain Rowan 1 episode
1959 Bat Masterson Town Marshall "Shakedown at St. Joe"
1959 Buckskin Pat Devlin 1 episode
1959 Gunsmoke Nat Swan “The Coward” (S4E26)
1960 The Twilight Zone Policeman 1 episode
1961 Lawman Joe Poole 1 episode
1962 77 Sunset Strip Sheriff Goodson 1 episode
1956–1966 Lassie Sheriff Jim Billings 12 episodes, (final appearance)

References

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  1. ^ a b Dillon, Raquel Maria (October 1, 2008). "Mr. Clean actor House Peters Jr. dead at 92". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  2. ^ "House Peters Jr., the original Mr. Clean, dies". Hollywood Reporter. October 2, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  3. ^ Actor House Peters Jr. dies at 92 Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Actor House Peters Dies www.emmys.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  5. ^ House Peters Jr.; Actor Amazon.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  6. ^ House Peters Jr. at www.historyforsale.org. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Variety Staff (October 1, 2008). "Actor House Peters Jr. dies at 92". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
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