Will Hutchins, Star of ABC's 'Sugarfoot,' Dies at 94

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Hollywood Reporter

The onetime Warner Bros. contract player also appeared in two Elvis films and played a New York City landlord and Dagwood Bumstead on short-lived sitcoms.

By Mike Barnes

April 22, 2025 9:03am

Will Hutchins, the eccentric actor who portrayed the wholesome sharpshooter and frontier lawyer Tom Brewster on the 1957-61 ABC Western Sugarfoot, has died. He was 94.

Hutchins died Monday of respiratory failure at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, his wife, Barbara, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was hysterical, everyone loved him,” she said. “He had a great sense of humor, and it never gave up on him.”

Hutchins also starred as Woody Banner, who inherits a Manhattan brownstone from his uncle, on the 1966-67 NBC sitcom Hey, Landlord, created by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, fresh off their work on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Two years later, the blue-eyed Los Angeles native played Dagwood Bumstead opposite Patricia Harty on the 1968-69 CBS comedy Blondie. Based on the comic strip and following a set of films and a 1957 NBC series, it lasted just 16 episodes before being canceled.


Will Hutchins on 'Sugarfoot' Courtesy Everett Collection

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/will-hutchins-dead-sugarfoot-1236197846/

[Susan Calvin]

1. I remember that from when I was a kid.

And several other now obscure westerns that were on in the same period of years. At the time, I thought they were all the same show, or at least set in the same place.

[dem4decades]

5. Maverick, Cheyenne and Sugarfoot was the rotation in the afternoon when i was a kid.

My favorite was the Maverick with James Garner (Brett) not Beau or Bart. I thought Clint Walker was the last one alive, before he died, sorry I didn't know Sugarfoot was still alive.

For a kid, those shows were great, I still remember them, 60 years later.

[rsdsharp]

2. I remember Sugarfoot. It was part of a rotating trio of shows along with Cheyenne and Bronco.

I also remember him in Spinout and Clambake. I was surprised to see Sugarfoot in Elvis movies.

[Susan Calvin]

8. Sugarfoot, Sugarfoot

He's the lopin' cattle ropin' Sugarfoot. Once he gets his dander up there's no one who's quicker on the draw. You'll find him on the side of law and order from the Mexicali border to The rolling hills of something something something something.

I did not do a search for that. It came straight out of my head.

Oops, replied to the wrong post. See post directly below, unless someone replies to this.

[oasis]

10. It was kind of a catchy tune in those days.

[Faux pas]

13. Lol thank you Susan!

I thought he was easy loping cattle roping, close enough for a kid I guess

[Susan Calvin]

15. Oh, I was a kid too, so I'm not sure. I really didn't look it up.

I think easy loping is better, so that probably actually was it.

[Faux pas]

16. Curtesy of https://www.crazyabouttv.com/sugarfoot.html

Sugarfoot, Sugarfoot, easy lopin', cattle ropin' Sugarfoot,
Carefree as the tumbleweeds, ajoggin' along with a heart full of song
And a rifle and a volume of the law.

Sugarfoot, Sugarfoot, never underestimate a Sugarfoot,
Once you got his dander up, ain't no one who's quicker on the draw.


You'll find him on the side of law and order,
From the Mexicali border, to the rolling hills of Arkansaw.

Sugarfoot, Sugarfoot, easy lopin', cattle ropin' Sugarfoot,
Ridin' down to cattle town, a-joggin' a-long with a heart full of song
And a rifle and a volume of the law.

[Faux pas]

3. I still bust

out singing the show's theme every once in a while, I only remember the first line, I'm fine with that.
RIP Will

[Susan Calvin]

9. See above.

If I was trying to prove my mental acuity by quoting almost the whole thing, I guess I failed.

[rsdsharp]

11. And here it is!

&pp=ygUUdGhlbWUgZnJvbSBzdWdhcmZvb3Q%3D

[Faux pas]

14. Thank you too

rsdsharp

[Marthe48]

4. He was one of my early idols

His characters were so wholesome.

[timms139]

6. Still watch

Sugarfoot and Bronco on METV Plus on sundays .

[Martin68]

7. Sugarfoot was one of my favorites back in the day. The non-violent, law-studying young cowboy.

[valleyrogue]

12. He was the last star of the 1950s Warner Brothers westerns. n/t

[Susan Calvin]

17. I'm guessing those were the ones that I thought were all one show. nt

[valleyrogue]

19. These are the Warner Brothers TV western series of the 1950s:

Cheyenne--Clint Walker (1927-2018)
Sugarfoot--Will Hutchins (1930-2025)
Bronco--Ty Hardin (1930-2017)
Colt .45--Wayde Preston (1929-1992), Donald May (1929-2022)
Lawman--John Russell (1921-1991), Peter Brown (1935-2016), Peggy Castle (1927-1973)
Maverick--James Garner(1928-2014), Jack Kelly (1927-1992), Roger Moore (1927-2017), and I forgot the one "lead" actor of the WB westerns, Robert Colbert, is still alive, though he didn't appear all that much on the series. He was born in 1931 and will be 94 in July.

[Susan Calvin]

20. Yep, the ones I thought were all one show are in that list. nt

[valleyrogue]

21. Maverick did a brief parody of the Warner Brothers TV westerns in the episode,

"Hadley's Hunters," which was in season 4 and was the second episode. One sequence had Jack Kelly encountering all of the stars of the WB TV westerns (except Wayde Preston because Colt .45 had just gone off the air and was represented by a dusty, empty office and Preston's character's briefcase), plus Edd "Kookie" Byrnes from 77 Sunset Strip. The episode is considered a classic today.

As I recall, the first three shows I listed were on rotation, while the last three were standalone series.

A non-western series called Conflict was also part of the rotation by using the same time slot as Cheyenne and the others.

[Susan Calvin]

22. Oh my gosh, I have got to watch that episode.

I loved Maverick as well, but I did not confuse it with anything else.

[valleyrogue]

23. I hope this Pluto link works for you.

It does for me:

https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/series/66d628b86ec6ad0013614d0c/season/4/episode/66e9e3fb85f1df0013d92ac8?utm_medium=deeplink&utm_source=justwatch


Robert Colbert can be seen in this episode, and he was later a lead in the series. The brief sequence with the WB TV western lead actors begins just after the 23-minute mark.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

18. Seen here with Tommy Rettig

He was born on the same day as Tommy Kirk.

Tommy Rettig


Rettig in Death Valley Days in 1962

Born: Thomas Noel Rettig, December 10, 1941; Queens, New York
Died: February 15, 1996 (aged 54); Marina del Rey, California, US
Occupation: Actor, software engineer, author

{snip}

Early life and acting career

{snip}

On October 28, 1958, Rettig guest-starred in the episode "The Ghost" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins in the title role. In the series installment, Rettig played Steve Carter, a troubled youth whom Sugarfoot is taking to Missouri to collect an inheritance. Rettig also sang the popular ballad "The Streets of Laredo" in the episode.


Rettig (left) with Will Hutchins in Sugarfoot (1958).

{snip}

Post-acting career

{snip}

On February 15, 1996, Rettig died of heart failure at age 54. He was cremated through Inglewood Park mortuary, and his ashes were scattered at sea three miles off Marina del Rey, California with the ashes of his friend Rusty Hamer in a combined ceremony.

{snip}

Tue Dec 10, 2024: On this day, December 10, 1941, Tommy Rettig, "Jeff Miller" in the original "Lassie," was born.