Ford Rainey

 Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005)

He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. Rainey made his film debut in White Heat in 1949 and became a familiar face in motion pictures, appearing in Perfect Strangers (1950), Two Rode Together (1961), 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), Johnny Tiger (1966), and The Sand Pebbles (1966). His other film credits included The Gypsy Moths (1969), The Naked Zoo (1970), The Traveling Executioner (1970), My Old Man's Place (1971), Sixteen (1973), the horror films Halloween II (1981) and The Cellar (1989), Bed & Breakfast (1992), Inferno (1999). He also co-starred in the acclaimed television movie My Sweet Charlie (1970), and appeared in other TV movies such as A Howling in the Woods (1971) and The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974). Between 1962–65 Rainey made four guest appearances on the CBS courtroom series Perry Mason, beginning with the role of Russell Durham in "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle." In 1964 he played murder victim Harry Trilling in "The Case of the Ugly Duckling." Rainey portrayed the adoptive father of Lee Majors' Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man), and the foster father of Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman). Rainey played a general on CBS' M*A*S*H, and a judge on both The Waltons and Matlock. He played presidents on Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Later television appearances, in the 1990s and 2000s, include ER and recurring roles on Wiseguy, Ned and Stacey, and The King of Queens. He could also be seen in some commercials in the middle 1970s through the 1980s, such as REACH toothbrushes. Ford Rainey was a bachelor until the age of 46, when, in 1954, he married Sheila Hayden. They had three children together, and were married until his death. Rainey remained in Malibu with his wife while he acted and enjoyed hobbies such as beekeeping and bird breeding until his death on July 25, 2005, of a stroke, at the age of 96. He is buried at Westwood Memorial Park.