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                    PARLEY BAER

Picture


          Good or bad, there is one word that describes 

Parley Baer's voice and tone perfectly, 
and that word is...  bleat.  
That was its sound when he was being natural,  
such as when he settled down to playing Chester 
in nearly 500 episodes of Gunsmoke.  
And when he settled down to old age and played 
just about every mayor and town official on television.  
          There were times when he solidified or lowered  
or softened his voice--such as when he plays a guilty judge 
in the Have Gun-Will Travel episode 'Wedding Day'--
and the effect was to make his character and him 
deeper, more intelligent, more substantial.  
          But as with most radio actors, 
Parley Baer was at his most interesting 
when he was playing little irregular roles 
in programs such as Suspense, Escape, Romance, etc.  
Indeed, the trick to really enjoying able actors 
such as Parley Baer and William Conrad, 
is to finally go beyond their regular roles 
and find these gems of varied performances.  
          It was in these almost countless radio shows 
of the 1940s and 1950s, where some actors skipped nuance 
and simply resorted to affecting accents, 
that Baer showed there was so much more to acting.  







          Parley Baer and Peggy Webber pull off perfect performances 
in the February 17, 1950 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar episode 
about Mr. and Mrs. Arbuthnel Trump, 
an old couple who intend to commit suicide 
so the insurance money can be used to re-people the world via snakes 
after a cataclysm.  
(Fans of Peggy Webber already know she excelled 
in old lady characters from roles such as Lady May 
in the Have Gun-Will Travel episode 'Bad Bert.')  
Watch out for the in-joke when Mr. Trump refers to his reptilian plan:  "According to the Meston theory as set down in 1903."  




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