Malcolm Atterbury

Early years

A native of Philadelphia, Atterbury was the son of General William Wallace Atterbury, president of Pennsylvania Railroad. He had a sister and two brothers. He graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

In the mid-1930s, Atterbury decided to pursue a career in drama. He enrolled at Hilda Spong's Dramatic School using an assumed name. Later, after revealing his true identity, he went on to "finance a summer theater for the Hilda Spong Players at Cape May, and they, in turn, asked him to be their managing director."

Radio

In 1928, Atterbury was the bass singer in a quartet that sang on WLIT in Philadelphia. In 1930, he became the program director of a radio station in Philadelphia. He went on to become business manager of WHAT.

Theatre

Atterbury was a devoted theatre actor. He owned and operated two theatres in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, the Tamarack Playhouse in Lake Pleasant, New York and the Albany Playhouse Co. in Albany. He also appeared on Broadway in the original cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as Scanlon.

Film

Atterbury is perhaps best known for his uncredited role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959), as the rural man who exclaims, "That plane's dustin' crops where there ain't no crops!" Four years later, Atterbury appeared as the Deputy in Hitchock's The Birds. He further appeared in such films as I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Crime of Passion, Blue Denim, Wild River, Advise and Consent, and Hawaii. His last film was Emperor of the North Pole (1973).

Television

Atterbury made frequent appearances on television. He was cast in five episodes of CBS's Perry Mason during the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing the role of murderer in three of the episodes such as Sam Burris in the 1957 episode, "The Case of the Angry Mourner". His guest-starring roles included appearances on Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Window on Main Street, The Asphalt Jungle, Straightaway, Bonanza, Hazel, The Odd Couple, Sheriff of Cochise, The Fugitive, State Trooper, Rescue 8, Fury, The Man from Blackhawk, Happy, The Tall Man, Kentucky Jones, The Invaders (episode: "The Trial"). and The Andy Griffith Show (episode: "The Cow Thief", 1962). He had a regular role as Grandfather Aldon in the 1974–75 CBS television family drama, Apple's Way.

Personal life

Atterbury was married to Ellen Hardies.