Wesley Lau

American actor (1921–1984)

Marie Louise Metcalf
Sirin Devrim

Wesley Lau (June 18, 1921 – August 30, 1984) was an American film and television actor, and occasional screenwriter.

Early life

Wesley Lau was born and raised in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. His parents were Albert and Agnes (née Feldner) Lau. He graduated from Central High School in 1939.^{[citation needed]}

Lau studied playwriting at the University of Wisconsin, taking time off to serve in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. He received a Master of Arts degree at Yale Drama School,^[1] later continuing his studies at The Actors Studio in New York.^[2] Although his goal was to be a writer, he ended up acting simply because he found more jobs as an actor than as a playwright when he arrived in New York City seeking work.

Career

Lau was probably best known for playing Lt. Andy Anderson in the TV series Perry Mason. He appeared frequently during the latter part of the show's run, especially during times when longtime series regular Ray Collins, who played Lt. Arthur Tragg, was absent. Collins died in 1965 before the series ended its run. Lau first appeared on Perry Mason as defendant Amory Fallon in "The Case of the Impatient Partner" in September 1961. Less than a month later, he made the first of 81 appearances as Lt. Anderson, a role which ran from the fourth episode, "The Case of the Malicious Mariner" of the fifth season (1961–1962) through the last episode, "The Case of the Mischievous Doll" of the eighth season (1964–1965).

Other shows in which Lau made appearances included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Mike Hammer, Johnny Ringo, Have Gun-Will Travel, Peter Gunn, The Twilight Zone, The Time Tunnel, The Big Valley, Mission: Impossible, Cannon, Wagon Train, and The Six Million Dollar Man. He would reunite with Raymond Burr in an episode of Ironside called "In the Forests of the Night".

He also appeared in motion pictures, including the 1960 John Wayne film The Alamo.^[3]

Death

Lau died of heart failure^[4] on August 30, 1984, aged 63, and is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery, Los Angeles.^[5]

Acting roles

Television series

The Web, "A Time For Dying" (1953)
Studio One, "Crime at Blossom's" (1953)
Armstrong Circle Theatre, "Night Court" (1957), Mr. Miller
Omnibus, "Lee at Gettysburg" (1957), Major General John B. Hood
The Silent Service, "The Harder at Woleai" (1958), Commander Samuel D. Dealey
Steve Canyon, "Operation Crash Landing" (1958), Sergeant Bowman
Lawman, "The Badge" (1958), Rick Andrews
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, "Peace Bond" (1958), Johnny Conrad

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Season 4 Episode 11: "And the Desert Shall Blossom" (1958) as Deputy Tex

Season 4 Episode 12: "Mrs. Herman and Mrs. Fenimore" (1958) as Police Detective

Season 5 Episode 4: "Coyote Moon" (1959) as Harry

Flight

"The Dart" (1958)

"Destination Normandy" (1958)

"Typhoon Chasers" (1958)

Jane Wyman Presents

"He Came for the Money" (1958), Clay

"Day of Glory" (1958), Commander Von Schoss

The DuPont Show with June Allyson, "The Girl" (1959), Joseph Dunn
Pony Express, "The Peace Offering" (1959), Hager
Whirlybirds, "Mr. Jinx" (1959), James
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, "A Diamond for Carla" (1959), Jery Wilson
Goodyear Theatre, "Story Without a Moral" (1959), Captain Rheinhold
Peter Gunn

"Kill from Nowhere" (1959), Joe Scully

"The Death Frame" (1960), Eddie Carson

Have Gun – Will Travel

"Sons of Aaron Murdock" (1959), Lew Murdock

"Saturday Night" (1960), Stub

Gunsmoke

"Miguel's Daughter" (1959), Ab

"Young Love" (1959), Rod Allison

"The Blacksmith" (1960), Willy

Black Saddle

"Client: Tagger" (1959), Jesse Britt

"Burden of Guilt" (1960), Trip Harris

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond

"The Haunted U-Boat" (1959), Lieutenant Schneider

"The Mask" (1960), Lt. Harold Wilenski

Michael Shayne, "Murder in Wonderland" (1960), Jerry Latimer
The Law and Mr. Jones, "Christmas Is a Legal Holiday" (1960), Roger Forester
The Untouchables, "Kiss of Death Girl" (1960), Whitey Barrows
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, "He's My Brother" (1960), Dave Dray
Tales of Wells Fargo

"Leading Citizen" (1960), Morgan Bates

"The English Woman" (1960), Hank

Shotgun Slade, "Backtrack" (1960), Jeb
M Squad, "A Grenade for a Summer's Evening" (1960), Harry
Law of the Plainsman, "Stella" (1960), Staff Meeker
Johnny Ringo, "Uncertain Vengeance" (1960), Red Crale
The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, "The Trap" (1960), Carl Ryan
Mr. Lucky, "The Two Million Dollar Window" (1960), Slate
Johnny Midnight, "An Old-Fashioned Frame" (1960), Connor
Adventures in Paradise, "Vendetta" (1961), Paul Moore
The Tall Man, "Ladies of the Town" (1961), Jason Cleary
Coronado 9, "But the Patient Died" (1961), Dr. David Travis
Wagon Train, "The Christopher Hale Story" (1961), Stevens

"The Maud Frazer Story" (1961), Cavalry Soldier

Outlaws, "The Bill Doolin Story" (1961), Sam Evans
Shirley Temple Theatre, "Rebel Gun" (1961), Sheriff Westram*The Twilight Zone

"The Fugitive" (1962), Man

"Twenty Two" (1961), Airline Agent

Perry Mason (1961–1965), Lieutenant Andy Anderson (69 episodes); S5Ep2 Amory Fallon (1 episode)
Combat!, "Soldier of Fortune" (1965), Lieutenant Meyer
The Big Valley, "Earthquake!" (1965), Ralph Snyder

Bonanza

"Desert Justice" (1960), Dave Walker

"Her Brother's Keeper" (1966), Carl Armory

The Time Tunnel

"End of the World" (1966), M/Sgt. Jiggs

"Revenge of the Gods" (1966), M/Sgt. Jiggs

"One Way to the Moon" (1966), M/Sgt. Jiggs

"Rendezvous with Yesterday" (1966), M/Sgt. Jiggs

"Chase Through Time" (1967), M/Sgt. Jiggs

Laredo

"The Calico Kid" (1966) Jacobus Carson

"The Seventh Day" (1967) Reverend Egan Thomas

Garrison's Gorillas, "Banker's Hours" (1967), Colonel Karl Vogel
Run for Your Life, "A Choice of Evils" (1967), Phil Carson

The Virginian

"Nobody Said Hello" (1966), Matt McLain

"The Gentle Tamers" (1968), Hoyt

"Vengeance Trail" (1967), Sheriff Ben Morris

Land of the Giants, "The Creed" (1968), Policeman #1
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, "The Mystery of Edward Sims" (1968), Mr. Parker

The Mod Squad

"Willie Poor Boy" (1969), Dr. Albee

"The Poisoned Mind" (1971), Dr. Maggio

Longstreet, "One in the Reality Column" (1971), Defense Attorney

Mission: Impossible

"Doomsday" (1969), Dr. Thorgen

"My Friend, My Enemy" (1970), Karl Maur

"The Field" (1971) (writer)

"Double Dead" (1972), Jim Thompson

Cannon

"Hear No Evil" (1972), Ray Norman

"Valley of the Damned" (1973), Lieutenant Harry Wharton

Ironside, "In the Forests of the Night" (1973), Thompkins
Chase, "Gang War" (1973)
The Magician

"Ovation for Murder" (1973), Captain Gottschalk

"The Illusion of the Curious Counterfeit: Part 2" (1974), Captain Gottschalk

"Shattered Image" (1974), Captain Gottschalk

The Six Million Dollar Man, "Lost Love" (1975), Emil
Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981), Man with Dog (final film role)

Feature-length films

I Want to Live! (1958) - Henry L. Graham
The Alamo (1960) - Emil Sande
The Venetian Affair (1967) - Neill Carlson
Panic in the City (1968) - Police Lieutenant Brady
Journey to Shiloh (1968) - Colonel Boykin
The Sweet Ride (1968) - Gene Bronson (uncredited)
Zabriskie Point (1970) - Company Executive (uncredited)
Skyjacked (1972) - Stanley Morris
Incident on a Dark Street (1973, TV Movie) - John Pine
Lepke (1975) - First Detective (also as a writer)^[6]

References

^ Kelleher, Brian; Merrill, Diana (1987). "Wesley Lau – Lt. Andy Anderson". The Perry Mason TV Show Book. D. M. Brockman. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
^ "The Alamo". Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
^ "Wesley Lau profile". tcm.com. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
^ Obituary, sheboyganpress.com. May 13, 2016. Accessed October 19, 2022.
^ "Lepke". Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 23 September 2015.