Sam Edwards

 Sam Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004)

He first appeared on radio in the 1930's in the Adventures of Sonny and Buddy one of the first radio serials ever syndicated, and later in The Edwards Family, a series based on the life of Sam, brother Jack, sister Florida, and his parents, Edna Parks and Jack Edwards Sr. Sam was also an early cast member of one of the first radio soap operas, One Man's Family. He also co-starred in the comedy The First Hundred Years on ABC in 1949. He had recurring or cast member roles in radio on Crime Classics, Dr. Paul, Father Knows Best, Guiding Light, Fort Laramie, Gunsmoke, Dragnet, and Suspense, among others. During World War II, Sam was inducted into the Army and ended up serving as part of the morale-building entertainment corps, spending much of the time in the African, European and India/Burma theater, travelling for a time with Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton's regiments. Edwards appeared on many television series starting in the mid-1950s. He also appeared on over 60 different series, including The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Mannix, Mission: Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, and Adam-12, among others. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on Little House on the Prairie. From 1949 to 1981, he made several film appearances, with significant roles in Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Operation Pacific (1951), Gangbusters (1954), and supporting roles in The Beatniks (1960) and Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came (1969).

Edwards spent much of his retirement travelling the world with his wife of 35 years, Beverly, and attending many Old Time Radio conventions where he participated in recreations of original shows from the 1940s and 1950s, as well as newer scripts. He spent his last 24 years based in Durango, Colorado where he died. On July 28, 2004, Edwards died of a heart attack in Durango, Colorado at age 89.