Bing Russell in The Magnificent Seven.
Bing Russell (center) as a traveling salesman in The Magnificent Seven.

Character actor Bing Russell is best known for the recurring role as a deputy on the long-running TV series Bonanza.  He appeared in a number of Westerns, both on the small and big screens, over his 40 year career.

He can be seen (though wasn’t credited) as a Fort Griffin bartender in the classic 1957 Gunfight at the OK Corral, and on three other occasions he was in Tombstone-related TV shows.  And there’s an irony there—for his son Kurt Russell would have his own turn at the gunfight when he starred as Wyatt Earp in 1993’s Tombstone.

Related Articles

  • san-juan-bonanza

    Duane Smith is the finest mining historian and writer I personally know. With this new…

  • ponderosa-ranch-blog

    In 1961, producers of Bonanza decided some land around Lake Tahoe, CA was great for…

  • mary_doria_russell_author_doc_hbo_tv_book

    Author of Doc, which Ron Howard will be filming for HBO. On Ron Howard’s HBO…