Harry Cheshire

Career

With a raspy voice, Cheshire frequently played the parts of bankers and western townsmen but occasionally outlaws too. He was perhaps best known for his role as Judge "Fair and Square" Ben Wiley in the syndicated western television series, Buffalo Bill, Jr., in which he is the founder and leading citizen of the fictional town of Wileyville, Texas. While in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Wiley rescued two children, a brother and his sister who were orphaned in a massacre of their wagon train. He adopted and renamed the two children "Buffalo Bill, Jr." and "Calamity" after the western figures Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane. His co-stars were Dick Jones (1927-2014) as Buffalo Bill, Jr., and Nancy Gilbert as Calamity. Judge Wiley is also a businessman. The sign on his shop reads, "Wileyville General Store / Groceries - Hardware - Dry Goods / Judge Ben 'Fair 'n' Square' Wiley, Prop. / Justice of the Peace / Town Marshal / Physician & Surgeon / Blacksmith / Haircuts - Legal Advice / By Appointment Only".

Cheshire appeared as Judge Trager between 1958 and 1962 in fifteen episodes of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Lawman, with John Russell and Peter Brown.

Cheshire's film appearances include Barnyard Follies (1940), O, My Darling Clementine (1943), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Dangerous Mission (1954), and an uncredited role in Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952). He guest starred in other television programs, including the westerns, The Lone Ranger, The Range Rider, Annie Oakley, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Texan, and Maverick, and the situation comedies, I Love Lucy, My Little Margie, December Bride, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The People's Choice, The Donna Reed Show, The Real McCoys, Pete and Gladys, Dennis the Menace, and The Ann Sothern Show.