Raymond Bailey

Born and raised in San Francisco, Raymond Bailey left for Hollywood as a teen to pursue acting professionally. He began as a day laborer on movie sets, and later became a banker and stock broker, and even a deckhand across the Pacific Rim. By the end of the 1930s he tried to give Hollywood another shot, and soon was snagging small roles in dozens of films throughout the 1940s. In the 1950s he landed many bit parts in television on such popular shows as the anthology thriller series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and popular western drama "Gunsmoke," while sporadically appearing on Broadway. During the 1950s he also turned up in a number of notable films in minor roles, including in the Oscar-winning romance "Picnic," the Humphrey Bogart/Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy "Sabrina," and Hitchcock's mind-bending masterpiece, "Vertigo." It wasn't until 1962 that Bailey landed the role of a lifetime as Milburn Drysdale on the long running hit series "The Beverly Hillbillies," a part which he played from 1962 to 1971. The role essentially capped off his career, though he did appear in two features afterwards: the Disney family comedy "Herbie Rides Again" and the magic potion adventure "The Strongest Man in the World." He died at the age of 75 of a heart attack.