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Arts & Entertainment

TV Cowboy Will Hutchins Makes Stop at LIMM

Long Island Radio and TV Historical Society hosts the star of Sugarfoot.

The Long Island Radio and TV Historical Society (LIRTVHS) hosted a discussion with Will Hutchins recently at the .

Hutchins discussed his career in early TV, movies, stage and the circus. Now a resident of Glen Head, Hutchins starred in Sugarfoot on ABC, a 60-minute show which aired from 1957 to 1961. Hutchins followed it with Hey Landlord and Dagwood. He also made guest appearances on such series as Alfred Hitchcock, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Love American Style and Maverick.

, president of the LIRTVHS, introduced Hutchins to the audience. Hutchins, an actor and comedian, landed the starring role in the western show  Sugarfoot in 1957. For those not familiar with the show, they got a small taste of the concept with a 15-minute viewing. “We used a lot of stock footage so it looked like we spent a lot more money than we actually did,” Hutchins joked.

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The concept of the show was a naïve young cowboy working his way up. “My wife used to call me the Shirley Temple of cowboys,” he said. “I was perfect for the part. The first year that gave me a horse that was too big for me. The next horse I got was named Penny and that horse became my best friend.”

Hutchins grew up in California and attended drama school. He went to school, he said, to avoid going into the Army. He lived close to the studios in California and would frequently watch movies being made, which piqued his interest in the industry.

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The role of Sugarfoot was written for Hutchins. It was shot year round on the Warner Brothers lot. “The show was shot with just one camera,” he said. “Some of the outdoor shots were actually shot inside so there was a lot going on. We worked five days a week and we didn’t get paid any overtime. There wasn’t a very strong union during that time. For a while, I didn’t even have a stuntman. I did it all myself.”

After the show was off the air, Hutchins went on to work on Gunsmoke. He also did two guest appearances on Perry Mason. Hutchins was nostalgic, sharing plenty of personal stories about his friends in the television and radio business over the years. He did two films with Elvis Presley as well.

In 2009, Hutchins shot a movie on Long Island called “The Romantics.” “Things have definitely changed technologically over the years,” Hutchins said. “Now you can look at the shot right after you take it. I always thought that was cheating – we had to wait until the next day to see if we got it right.”

He then changed his career path, joining the circus as a clown. Hutchins spent many years traveling all over the U.S., Canada and Australia. He also worked as a ring master and was part of a clown troop in Los Angeles.

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