Sheb Wooley

American character actor in many Westerns, 'Sheb Wooley' (qv) was also a figure in country-western music. Born and raised in Oklahoma, he spent his youth as a cowhand. His musical ability led to radio and subsequently film work. He played minor supporting roles for a dozen years starting in 1950, including one of the Frank Miller gang in _High Noon (1952)_ (qv). In 1958 he had a giant hit record with his own song "The Purple People Eater" (years later there was a movie made based on the song, _Purple People Eater (1988)_ (qv)) and he followed it with a string of similar humorous country ditties, often recorded under the name Ben Colder. For a number of years he had a regular role as scout Pete Nolan on the hit TV series _Rawhide (1959)_ (qv). He worked infrequently as an actor after that, concentrating on the music business.::Jim Beaver <[email protected]>