- published: 14 Jun 2014
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Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters.
A native of Gravelly, Arkansas, Hunnicutt attended Arkansas State Teachers College but dropped out during his junior year when he ran out of money. He moved to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where he joined up with a theatre company. Moving to New York, he quickly found himself landing roles in Broadway productions. While touring as the lead actor in Tobacco Road, he developed the country character he would later be typecast as throughout his career. Hunnicutt often found himself cast as a character much older than himself.
Hunnicutt appeared in a number of films in the early 1940s before returning to the stage. In 1949 he moved back to Hollywood and resumed his film career. He played a long string of supporting role characters—sympathetic, wise rural types, as in The Red Badge of Courage (1951), The Lusty Men (1952),The Kettles in the Ozarks (1955), The Last Command (1955, as Davy Crockett), The Tall T (1957), Cat Ballou (1965, as Butch Cassidy), El Dorado (1966) and The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967 film).