- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Edgar Buchanan
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Oregon. After studying at the University of Oregon, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a dentist, graduating from North Pacific Dental College. From 1929 to 1937, he practiced oral surgery in Eugene, Oregon. He then moved his practice to Altadena, CA. There he joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse, eventually giving up dentistry at the age of 36 to become an actor. He made his film debut in 1939. His chubby face and gravelly voice were featured in over 100 films, but he is perhaps best known for TV roles in Hopalong Cassidy (1952), Judge Roy Bean (1955), Petticoat Junction (1963), and Cade's County (1971).- IMDb Mini Biography By: James L. Mason
- SpouseMildred Marguerite Spence(April 14, 1928 - April 4, 1979) (his death, 1 child)
- ParentsWilliam Edgar Buchanan
- Gravelly Voice
- His friend of many years, Glenn Ford, once told a story of when Edgar was preparing to do some painful dental work on him. The anesthesia consisted of others passing by and allowing the patient, Glenn, to take swallows of whiskey to help ease the pain of the process. About every third drink Glenn took, Edgar took one as well.
- He appeared in13 movies with Glenn Ford: My Son Is Guilty (1939), Texas (1941), The Desperadoes (1943), Destroyer (1943), Framed (1947), The Man from Colorado (1948), Lust for Gold (1949), Human Desire (1954), The Sheepman (1958), It Started with a Kiss (1959), Cimarron (1960), The Rounders (1965) and The Marshal of Madrid (1971).
- Was originally a dentist with his own practice. At age 38, he turned the practice over to his wife and began his acting career.
- He provided his dentistry skills on the set numerous times. One such occasion, he pulled the tooth of his stand-in of 25 years, Jack Henderson.
- Was one of only three co-stars of Petticoat Junction (1963) who remained with the series for its entire seven-year run, the others being Linda Henning and Frank Cady.
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