Jacques Aubuchon

Jacques Aubuchon was already a World War II veteran and well-known Broadway actor by the time he made his television debut in 1953 as a friendly candy store clerk on the sitcom "Mister Peepers." Aubuchon, who served as a French interpreter while in the Army, soon became a regular performer on live television series like "Studio One in Hollywood" and "Producers' Showcase." He appeared opposite Robert Mitchum in "Thunder Road," playing a wealthy gangster intent on taking over Mitchum's moonshine business, and he portrayed a scheming butler in "The Shaggy Dog," which starred Tommy Kirk as a young inventor who transforms into the title sheepdog. Aubuchon worked steadily through the '60s on shows like the western adventure series "Have Gun - Will Travel" and the courtroom drama "Perry Mason," often playing vaguely foreign or ethnic characters. One of his most famous roles came as crooked Polynesian chief Pali Urulu on the military comedy "McHale's Navy," about a strait-laced Navy commander (Ernest Borgnine) and his rowdy but surprisingly competent torpedo boat crew. After appearing in the 1965 feature film spin-off "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force," Aubuchon settled into a successful run of guest appearances on shows like the fantasy comedy "Bewitched" and the gentle family drama "The Waltons." In one of his last major roles, Aubchon portrayed a small-minded judge in the TV adaptation of the critically-acclaimed World War II-era play "The Lady's Not for Burning."