Hank Patterson

Known For	Acting
Birthday	Oct 09, 1888
Died	Aug 23, 1975 (86)
Birthplace	Springville, Alabama, USA
Popularity	9 (history)
Updated	Aug 04, 2024 (Update)
Entry Date	Apr 13, 2024
Links	TMDb IMDb

Biography

Hank Patterson (born Elmer Calvin Patterson; October 9, 1888 – August 23, 1975) was an American actor and musician. He is known foremost for playing two recurring characters on three television series: the stableman Hank Miller on Gunsmoke and farmer Fred Ziffel on both Petticoat Junction and Green ... Acres. Patterson found plenty of movie work, mainly playing cantankerous types as well as blacksmiths, hotel clerks, farmers, shopkeepers and other townsmen, usually bit roles and character parts in Republic Pictures westerns, and then in popular juvenile TV westerns such as The Cisco Kid, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, and Annie Oakley. Patterson played recurring or different roles in adult/family TV westerns, including the role of "Hank Miller" in 33 episodes of Gunsmoke from 1962 through 1972, on Have Gun-Will Travel (eleven episodes), Death Valley Days (nine episodes), Tales of Wells Fargo (seven episodes), Maverick (four episodes), Cheyenne (four episodes), Wagon Train (three episodes), Daniel Boone (three episodes), The Virginian (two episodes), The Rifleman, Bonanza, and in episodes of Lawman, Bat Masterson, The Restless Gun, and many others. He made additional TV appearances, including three episodes of The Twilight Zone as well as Perry Mason, Burke's Law, The Untouchables, Judd for the Defense, My Three Sons, and in later years The Mod Squad and Love, American Style.Highway Patrol. In 1963 Patterson first appeared in what would become a recurring role as farmer Fred Ziffel on the popular CBS rural comedy Petticoat Junction. In 1965 CBS debuted another rural comedy, Green Acres. Both series were set in the mythical farming community of Hooterville, with characters from Petticoat Junction often also appearing in Green Acres, including Patterson's Fred Ziffel character. It was on the popular, irreverent Green Acres that Patterson earned his greatest fame. In 1965 and 1966—two of the years in which the two series ran concurrently—Patterson frequently appeared in both shows in the same week on primetime. The association of Patterson's character with the popular character Arnold, the pet pig whom Fred and his wife Doris treated as a son, ensured Patterson a place in TV history. Arnold attended school, watched TV and was a talented artist, piano player, and actor. He even "talked" (snorted, grunted and squealed) in a language that everyone in Hooterville seemed to understand except Oliver Wendell Douglas (Green Acres co-star Eddie Albert). According to westernclippings.com "Characters and Heavies" by Boyd Magers, "Ironically, by the time Patterson was doing 'Green Acres' he was in his late 70s and almost completely deaf, but the producers loved his portrayal so much they worked around his hearing impairment by having the dialogue coach lying on the floor out-of-shot tapping Hank's leg with a yardstick as a cue to speak his line."

Known For

Filmography

The Absent-Minded Professor

1961

as Fisherman Spectator (uncredited)

Gunfighters of Abilene

1960

as Andy Ferris

Lone Texan

1959

as Jack Stone (uncredited)

The Decks Ran Red

1958

as Moody

Attack of the Puppet People

1958

as Theater Janitor

Monster on the Campus

1958

as Townsend - Night Watchman

The Saga of Hemp Brown

1958

as Gil Henry

The Spider

1958

as Hugo

Terror in a Texas Town

1958

as Brady

Attack of the Puppet People

1958

as Night Manager

The Amazing Colossal Man

1957

as Henry

The Storm Rider

1957

as Milstead

Beginning of the End

1957

as Dave

Gunsight Ridge

1957

as George Clark (uncredited)

Julie

1956

as Ellis

The First Traveling Saleslady

1956

as Courtroom Spectator

Strange Intruder

1956

as Knife Grinder

Tarantula

1955

as Josh

Phantom Trails

1955

as Jess Morgan

Southwest Passage

1954

as Barstow

Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders

1953

as Jed Larson

Jack Slade

1953

as Old Tom

Don Daredevil Rides Again

1951

as Buck Bender

Silver City Bonanza

1951

as Postman

Code of the Silver Sage

1950

as Sergeant Woods

Desperadoes of the West

1950

as Hardrock Haggerty

Blades of the Musketeers

1950

as The Old Fisherman

The Return of Jesse James

1950

as Clay County Marshal

No Sad Songs for Me

1950

as Night Construction Workman (uncredited)

The Gunfighter

1950

as Jake (uncredited)

The Cowboy and the Indians

1949

as Ranch hand Tom

The James Brothers of Missouri

1949

as Duffy [Ch. 4] / Duffy [11]

The Denver Kid

1948

as Sergeant Cooper

Relentless

1948

as Bob Pliny (uncredited)

Oklahoma Badlands

1948

as Postmaster Fred

Night Time in Nevada

1948

as Tramp

Panhandle

1948

as Old Timer (uncredited)

Springtime in the Sierras

1947

as Old-Timer

Bells of San Angelo

1947

as Deaf bus passenger

Under Colorado Skies

1947

as Slim

Robin Hood Of Texas

1947

as Guest

Robin Hood Of Texas

1947

as Taxi Driver

The El Paso Kid

1946

as Jeff Winters

Santa Fe Uprising

1946

as Deputy Jake

Abilene Town

1946

as Doug Neil

Duel in the Sun

1946

as Man (uncredited)

Three Faces West

1940

as Pool Player

The Arizona Kid

1939

as Townsman

Sabotage

1939

as (uncredited)

No data available

Organization	Category	Movie

Green Acres

as Fred Ziffel

Episodes: 28

First Aired: Sep 15, 1965

Gunsmoke

as Hank

Episodes: 18

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Petticoat Junction

as Fred Ziffell

Episodes: 11

First Aired: Sep 24, 1963

Gunsmoke

as Hank Miller

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Rawhide

as Simpson

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jan 09, 1959

Gunsmoke

as Carl

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

The Andy Griffith Show

as Hobo

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1960

Burke's Law

as Lukey Slade

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1963

Gunsmoke

as Jake

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Perry Mason

as Jack Gilly

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 21, 1957

The Twilight Zone

as Old Man

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1959

Daniel Boone

as Jed Harper (uncredited)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1964

The Virginian

as Old Man

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1962

The Loner

as The Bartender

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 18, 1965

Black Saddle

as Harvey Morgan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 10, 1959

Bat Masterson

as Prospector

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 08, 1958

Riverboat

as Rare

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 13, 1959

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Slim Baker

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1956

The Legend of Jesse James

as Porter

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 13, 1965

The Westerner

as Sample

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1960

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

as Mr. Phillips

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 21, 1959

Johnny Ringo

as Old Man

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1959

Riverboat

as Johnny Mullins (uncredited)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 13, 1959

Gunsmoke

as Crowbait

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Gunsmoke

as Judge

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Gunsmoke

as Carl Miller

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Gunsmoke

as Cowboy

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Gunsmoke

as Hank Miller (uncredited)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Gunsmoke

as Livery Man

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Jonas Mulvey

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1956

Daniel Boone

as Gray

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1964

Daniel Boone

as Fiddler

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1964

Bat Masterson

as Soda Smith

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 08, 1958

Bat Masterson

as Warren T. 'Soda' Smith

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 08, 1958

The Twilight Zone

as Freitag

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1959

The Twilight Zone

as Mr. Gentry

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1959

The New Adventures of Spin and Marty

Episodes: 30

First Aired: Nov 04, 1957

Have Gun, Will Travel

Episodes: 9

First Aired: Sep 14, 1957

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Apr 15, 1951

Buffalo Bill Jr.

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Mar 01, 1955

The Tall Man

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 10, 1960

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 06, 1955

Mister Ed

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 05, 1961

Trackdown

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 04, 1957

The Beverly Hillbillies

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 26, 1962

The Mod Squad

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1968

Sea Hunt

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 04, 1958

Laredo

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 16, 1965

Straightaway

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 06, 1961

87th Precinct

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 25, 1961

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 06, 1958

Highway Patrol

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1955

Cimarron Strip

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 07, 1967

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1951

Bronco

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 23, 1958

The Alaskans

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 04, 1959

Navy Log

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1955

Lock-Up

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 28, 1959

The Rifleman

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1958

The Guns of Will Sonnett

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 1967

The Texan

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1958

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1955

Custer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 06, 1967

City Detective

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 07, 1953

Gang Busters

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 20, 1952

Hopalong Cassidy

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1952

Miami Undercover

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 23, 1961

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History

Year	Month	Avg	Max	Min
2024	6	10	17	5
2024	7	13	23	4
2024	8	12	29	6
2024	9	9	18	2
2024	10	5	12	2
2024	11	4	7	2
2024	12	4	9	2
2025	1	6	14	2
2025	2	4	9	1
2025	3	5	6	1
2025	5	1	1	1
2025	6	1	1	1
2025	7	0	1	0
2025	8	5	10	0

Trending Rank

Year	Month	Avg Rank	Max Rank
No trending metrics available.

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Hank Patterson

Biography

Known For

Filmography

Television Credits

Popularity Metrics