Background
Hutchins was born in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
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Will Hutchins
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He attended Pomona College in Claremont, where he majored in Greek drama. He also studied at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he enrolled in cinema classes.
Career
As a child he visited the location filming of Never Give a Sucker an Even Break and made his first appearance as an extra in a crowd. During the Korean War he served for two years in the United States Army as a cryptographer in Paris, France serving with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe.
Hutchins was discovered by a talent scout for Warner Brothers who changed his name from Marshall Lowell Hutchason to "Will Hutchins". The young actor"s easy going manner reminded one of Will Rogers, the Oklahoma humorist.
His contract led him to guest appearances in Warner Brothers
Television programs, such as Conflict, in which he appeared in three hour-long episodes, including his screen debut as Editor Masters in "The Magic Brew" on October 16, 1956. Hutchins was also cast as a guest star on Cheyenne, Bronco, and Maverick, as well as his own Sugarfoot series.
He was released from his contract with Warners in 1961 after co-starring with Jeff Chandler in Merrill"s Marauders, a picture filmed in the Philippine Islands and Chandler"s last acting role. While appearing in a play in Chicago in late 1963, he was flown to Los Angeles to shoot a television pilot for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bert I. Gordon"s Take Maine to Your Leader, in which Hutchins played a Martian salesman who came to Earth.
Though the pilot was not picked up, it led Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to sign him for Spinout, in which he co-starred as Lieutenant
Tracy Richards ("Dick Tracy" backwards) alongside Elvis Presley with whom he later appeared in Clambake. In 1965, Hutchins co-starred with Jack Nicholson and Warren Oates in Monte Hellman"s The Shooting. In 1966, he made a guest appearance on the Columbia Broadcasting System courtroom drama series Perry Mason as murderer Don Hobart in "The Case of the Scarlet Scandal."
In 1966-1967, he costarred with Sandy Baron in an National Broadcasting Company sitcom Hey, Landlord set in a New York City apartment building.
Following that he appeared as Patches the Clown in Ashton"s Circus in Australia.
Major appearances:
1965, The Shooting (film). Monte Hellman"s low-budget Western with Jack Nicholson and Warren Oates.
1966, Spinout (film). Hutchins co-starred as Lieutenant
Tracy Richards with Elvis Presley.
1967, Clambake (film). Hutchins co-stars with Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, and Bill Bixby. 1968-1969, starred as Dagwood Bumstead in a Columbia Broadcasting System television version of the comic strip Blondie.
1970, Shangani Patrol (film).
Company-starred as the American scout Frederick Burnham in a film based on the actual events of the Shangani Patrol, shot on location in Rhodesia. 1976, The Quest a short-lived National Broadcasting Company western starring Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson
1998, Gunfighter (film).
A modern Western directed by Christopher Coppola. Also stars: Robert Carradine, Clu Gulager, and Martin Sheen.
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Born
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Nationality
United States