Dan White (actor)

American actor (1908–1980)

Dan White (March 25, 1908 – July 7, 1980) was an American actor, well known for appearing in Western films and TV shows.

White acted in a show with Frances Langford in Tampa's Rialto Theatre. He still longed for a career in entertainment and resigned from the CCC in 1935 and started his journey to Hollywood with his small family. In January 1936, he stopped at Texarkana, Arkansas, where Tilda awaited the birth of their second child. Her sister, Mary, who was in Texarkana, invited the Whites to stay there for a few months. The baby, June Larue White, was finally born, and the Whites continued toward California.

Upon return in 1938, he got work with the Republic Pictures Corporation, making 6 films in his first year. The first film was, Prairie Moon, with Gene Autry. White made $55 a week during that picture. He'd claimed to have made about 300 films and 150 television cameos during his years in Hollywood. Around 70 percent were Westerns. Among some of his well known films were, The Yearling, Distant Drums, Red River, To Kill a Mockingbird, Giant, Duel in the Sun, Four Faces West, Jailhouse Rock and Touch of Evil. During this time, White and his wife had a third child, Donald Curtis White, born on November 9, 1941. The films that made White most famous were his numerous appearances in B Westerns, where he portrayed the antagonist. During the 1950s and 1960s, he started turning to television. He was offered the role of, "Sam the Bartender," in, Gunsmoke, but he didn't commit to the idea. He asked his best friend Glenn Strange to apply for the job instead.

White loved California for the almost 40 years he was there, but his true love was his old town in Florida. Upon retirement, he returned to Tampa and made appearances in Western Film Round Ups and talk shows. He was often visited by his family until his death on July 7, 1980, in Tampa. White was honored with a star on the Walk of Western Stars (Santa Clarita, California) on April 11, 2019.