Billy Gray
Biography
Billy Gray is an American actor who started acting as a child and is best known for playing Bud Anderson, the son on the television series Father Knows Best, a part he held from 1954 to 1960 and which brought him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Born in Los Angeles, he was taught by teachers the studios hired, sometimes in tents on the lots. He appeared in more than 200 films and took a leading part in the science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and he is the last surviving member of its cast. He also played Tagg Oakley, called Bull's Eye, in the pilot of Annie Oakley, and Alan in a 1953 episode of Adventures of Superman. In 1977 he returned to Bud Anderson for a pair of reunion films. From 1970 to 1995 he raced and promoted Class A motorcycle speedway events, and he later invented the F-1 guitar pick.
88years old
Turns 89 on January 13in 92 days
- Born Los Angeles
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
- Also credited as William Thomas Gray
Movie Career
- Films
- 12
- Career span
- 33 years1946 to 1979
First and latest
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A role that slipped away
Gray got the part of Plato in Rebel Without a Cause, but a delay in shooting meant he had to leave the role because it conflicted with his commitment to Father Knows Best.
A change of course
From 1970 to 1995, Gray raced Class A motorcycle speedway and promoted races. He later moved into inventing and entrepreneurship, and invented the F-1 guitar pick.
Early training
Gray did not go to school. Instead, teachers hired by the film studios taught him, and his classes often took place in tents set up on studio lots.
A first
Gray portrayed a young Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe - All-American. He also starred in the science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, and he is the last surviving cast member of that film.
Billy Gray movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- By the Light of the Silvery Moon1953 Comedy, Family, Music, Romanceas Wesley Winfield
IMDb rating 7.02.8K votes
Most often with
Robert Wise directed two of these films. Five actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Leon Ames's page
Doris Day's page
Mary Wickes's page
Rosemary DeCamp's page
Gordon MacRae's page
All films by Robert Wise
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.