Woodrow Chambliss

Woodrow Lewis Chambliss (October 14, 1914 in Bowie, Texas – January 8, 1981 in Ojai, California) was an American character actor who appeared in both feature films and television. He is probably best known for his appearances as several characters in the TV hit Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop. He was sometimes credited as Woody Chambliss. Career Chambliss was the son of Lorenzo Dow “L.D.” and Lucinda Mae (Thornton) Chambliss, who had a farm outside Brownfield, Texas. He attended public schools in Brownsville and Baylor University, where his first contact with drama occurred as a prompter with the Baylor Little Theater. In 1938 traveled to Dartington Hall, Dartington, England as a drama exchange student. He made his Broadway debut in a 1939 Chekhov production of The Possessed. The cast also included his wife, Erika Kapralik, and actor Ford Rainey, but the play only ran for fourteen performances on Broadway. During World War II, he worked at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme naval base in Port Hueneme, California. After the war, he, Rainey and others from the Chekhov company established the High Valley Players, a touring repertory troupe that for four years performed in and around Ojai, California. Chambliss went on to become the manager of the Senior Canyon Mutual Water Company prior to resuming his theater career. In addition to his work on Gunsmoke, where he eventually settled into the recurring role of storekeeper Mr. Lathrop, he also had a recurring role as riverboat Captain Tom of the "Sultana" on the TV show Yancy Derringer.