Any time you turn on a Gunsmoke episode, it’s likely you’ll see actor Morgan Woodward. He has also appeared in Dallas, Star Trek, Cool Hand Luke, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bonanza, The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, and way too many more to mention. I had the opportunity to join him as a guest at the Bonanza Round Up in Burbank, California and was honored that he was sitting in the audience during the debut of my original character, “Scrappy Higgins.”
Woodward was a fan favorite at the event. I watched him as he was so gracious and greeted everyone with kindness and a smile. During the panel, he was asked about his unique method of never blinking during a scene. His response, “Most of the time, I was a bad guy, and I never wanted to blink, because if you blink, you’ve lost the battle. If I liked the leading man, I would sometimes blink. But if I didn’t, I never blinked.” A female in the audience asked, “What about a leading lady?” His response, “Oh, I made passes.” (Roar of laughter from the audience). Woodward passed away on February 22, 2019 at the age of 93.
