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Frank Sutton
Frank Sutton
	Sutton in a 1969 publicity photo
Born	Frank Spencer Sutton; October 23, 1923; Clarksville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	June 28, 1974 (aged 50); Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee, U.S.; 36°30′24.8″N 87°20′31.9″W / 36.506889°N 87.342194°W
Alma mater	Columbia University (BS)
Television	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Spouse(s)	Toby M. Igler; (m.1946–his death)
Children	2
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Sergeant
Battles / wars	World War II Asiatic-Pacific Theater;

Frank Spencer Sutton (October 23, 1923 – June 28, 1974) was an American actor best remembered for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..

Early life

Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, Sutton developed an interest in acting, playing his first role at age nine and also starring in the drama club at East Nashville High School, where he graduated in 1941. He later said, "The first time I walked out on a stage, I had a warm feeling. I knew then I wanted to be an actor."^[1]

After high school, Sutton returned to Clarksville to become a radio announcer. During World War II, he volunteered for service in the U.S. Marine Corps, but he was medically rejected due to his color blindness.^[2]^[3] He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the South Pacific, taking part in 14 assault landings.^[3] Sutton was a sergeant who served from 1943 to 1946 in the 293rd Joint Assault Signal Company.

Acting career

Honorably discharged after the war as a sergeant, he began acting on stage.^[4] He attended the Columbia University School of General Studies, graduating cum laude with a bachelor's degree in drama in 1952.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Sutton played small roles in television shows such as Decoy, Route 66, Naked City, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Fugitive, The Goldbergs, 87th Precinct, Gunsmoke, Target: The Corruptors, Empire, The Twilight Zone, and The Untouchables. He had a continuing role as Cadet Eric Rattison, the great rival of the Polaris Unit manned by the series' heroes, in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet from 1950 to 1955. In 1955, he received his big break in the Academy Award-winning movie Marty, in which he played the title character's friend, Ralph. He also had a role in The Satan Bug, a 1965 spy thriller. He returned to the stage in The Andersonville Trial in the early 1960s.

Having primarily acted in dramas,^[5] Sutton's breakthrough role was on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a 1964 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, in which he played the cynical and easily exasperated Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter opposite Jim Nabors' character Gomer Pyle. This episode was the pilot for a spin-off TV comedy, Gomer Pyle, USMC, where Sutton continued the role for five seasons, until the show ended its run in 1969. He also appeared in public service announcements in the role of Gunnery Sergeant Carter. After Gomer Pyle ceased production, Sutton appeared regularly on Nabors' variety show The Jim Nabors Hour with Gomer Pyle co-star Ronnie Schell. Sutton played the brother-in-law of Nabors' character in comedy sketches.^[6]^[7] Sutton performed in dinner theater, playing, among other roles, the father in Norman, Is That You? and made guest appearances on other television programs.^[8]

Personal life and death

In 1946, Sutton married soap-opera writer Toby M. Igler, with whom he had two children, Joe Sutton and Amanda.^[1]

On June 28, 1974, while preparing for a performance in the comedy play Luv at the Beverly Barn Dinner Playhouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, Sutton died of a heart attack.^[1] He is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Goldbergs	Dutch
1955	Marty	Ralph	Uncredited
1957	Four Boys and a Gun	Ollie Denker
1961	Town Without Pity	Sgt. Chuck Snyder
1965	The Satan Bug	Donald
1974	Hurricane	Bert Pearson	Television movie released posthumously (final film role)
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950-1955	Tom Corbett, Space Cadet	Cadet Eric Raddison
1954	The Glenn Miller Story	uncredited
1956	The Edge of Night	Sgt. Fitzsimmons
1958-1961	Naked City	Franklin Maquon
1960-1961	Deadline	John McDowell	Lead role in the episode "To Move a Mountain" (1960)
1960-1961	The Secret Storm	Joe Sullivan #2
1961-1962	Gunsmoke	Charlie (1961) Olie (1962) Billy Tooker/Marston (1962)
1962	Have Gun – Will Travel	Davey Walsh	One-time role – The Trap (1962)
1962	The Twilight Zone	Frank, Jerry's manager	One-time role in episode "The Dummy"
1962-1963	Combat!	Corporal Cording	– The Chateau (1963)
1962-1963	The Untouchables	Benny Stryker (1962) Smiley Barris (1962) Angie Stazak (1963) Sgt. Davey McCain (1963)	The Stryker Brothers (1962) ... Benny Stryker The Contract (1962) ... Smiley Barris The Speculator (1963) ... Angie Stazak The Butcher's Boy (1963) ... Sgt. Davey McCain
1963	The Fugitive	(deputy) Jackson	One-time role in episode 3 "The Other Side of the Mountain"
1963	Death Valley Days	Diamondfield Jack	Episode: Diamond Field Jack aired October 1, 1963
1964	The Andy Griffith Show	Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter	One-time role in episode "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
1964-1969	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter
1966	Password	Himself	Game show contestant / Celebrity guest star
1969-1971	The Jim Nabors Hour	Himself
1970–1973	Love American Style	Various	Episodes: Love and the Bonded Separation (1973) Love and the Secret Life (1972) Love and the Guru (1972) Love and the Lady Barber(1971) ... Herb Redding Love and the Haunted House (1970) ... Walter

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Gomer's Sgt. Carter, Frank Sutton, Dead". St. Petersburg Independent. Associated Press. June 29, 1974. p. 14-A. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
^ Handsaker, Gene (August 21, 1966). "Visiting the Real War". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4. Retrieved November 22, 2008.^{[dead link‍]}
^ ^a ^b Polk, Peggy (January 5, 1965). "Imagine! Gomer Pyle Victim of 'Snafu'". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs. United Press International. Retrieved January 19, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
^ Kleiner, Dick (March 29, 1997). "Reader asks what preceded 'Gomer Pyle'?". Calhoun Times and Gordon County News. p. 3. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
^ Lowry, Cynthia (July 29, 1965). "Gomer Pyle Show Scored Immediately". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. p. 4. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
^ "Nabors' Production Still Popular". Rome News-Tribune. October 16, 1970. p. 9-A. Retrieved November 23, 2008.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Complete Television Programs for Thursday". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 17, 1970. p. 48. Retrieved November 23, 2008.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Rearden, T.J. (Mrs.) (May 18, 1972). "Roaming Around Florida". The DeFuniak Springs Herald. p. 10. Retrieved March 30, 2020.