Roger Mobley

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Roger L. Mobley (born January 16, 1949) in Evansville, Indiana, is a former child actor in film and television, working primarily for Walt Disney Productions during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later became a Christian pastor, serving in southeast Texas.^[1]

When Mobley was eight years old, he appeared as a regular on the NBC series Fury, starring Peter Graves, Bobby Diamond, and William Fawcett. Mobley played Homer "Packy" Lambert, friend to Diamond's character, Joey Clark Newton. The program was set at the fictional Broken Wheel Ranch in California.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Mobley was one of eight children who could sing and play musical instruments. He was the son of Lance Mobley (1922–2002) and Charlene V. Mobley (born 1924). Lance Mobley was a native of Centralia, Illinois. The family moved in the early 1950s to Pecos in Reeves County, Texas, before relocating to Whittier in southern California.^{[citation needed]}

Mobley graduated from Whittier Christian High School, where he played football. On June 7, 1968, Mobley married his high school sweetheart, the former Sharie Barclay, whom he met in the eighth grade. The Mobleys have three children: Rebekah Mobley Justice, Elizabeth Mobley, and Matthew Jason Mobley (born 1972), formerly a first lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan.

Mobley's siblings are brothers Joe Mobley and wife Patty of Sun City, California; and Chuck Mobley and wife Betty Ann of Georgetown, Grand Cayman; sisters Sandra Cook and husband Lee of Port Bolivar, Texas; Renée Mobley Timpeiro of Wichita, Kansas; Lynda Gaye Courtney of Vidor, Texas, and Tami Robichau of Conroe, Texas. A fifth sister, Linda Rae Mobley, is deceased. At the time of his father's death, Roger Mobley had an uncle, Fred Mobley of Dallas, Texas, and a paternal aunt, Nancy M. Hawley of Salem, Illinois.^[2]

Military background

In 1968, Mobley joined the United States Army and trained at the United States Army Airborne School. He was assigned to the Green Berets, and served a year with the 46th Special Forces Company in South Vietnam.^{[citation needed]}

Civic service

After two years and seven months of military service, Mobley returned to California. He later moved to Vidor near Beaumont, Texas, where his parents were then living. He became a police officer and detective in Beaumont. He also worked as a police officer in Vidor and Jasper, Texas. At the time of his father's death, Mobley was living in Milam, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

Mobley has worked in many kinds of blue collar jobs, including pipefitter, like his father; longshoreman; welder; bull rider; lumberjack; milk delivery; Federal Express truck driver; prison guard; and lifeguard. He was a football/basketball coach at a private school in Beaumont and the pastor of several country churches in southeast Texas. In addition to his pastorate, Mobley has worked as an inspector for a company that installs wind turbines nationwide.^{[citation needed]}

Professional background

At the age of three, Roger and an older brother and sister formed a musical trio. The children performed at fairs and carnivals and also appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour, at the time on NBC. Leon Fromkess, a talent scout, spotted Roger and signed him up to appear on ABC's Cheyenne western series starring Clint Walker. He also appeared in an episode of the NBC children's western Buckskin starring Tommy Nolan and Sally Brophy, originally a summer replacement for The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. Mobley then joined the Fury cast in a regular role from 1957-1960. None of Mobley's siblings went into show business.^{[citation needed]}

When he joined the Disney studio, Mobley had already appeared in several television westerns and low-budget films. He starred for three seasons on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in a recurring role as the amateur sleuth newspaper reporter Gallegher, a character created by author Richard Harding Davis. He appeared in several studio films, including Emil and the Detectives in 1964.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, when Mobley turned thirty, he moved his family from Texas to Hollywood to attempt an acting comeback, with little success outside of a minor role in the Disney film, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

• The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)
• For the Love of Willadean (1964)
• The Mystery of Edward Sims (1968)
• The Treasure of San Bosco Reef (1968)
• Emil and the Detectives (1964)
• The Tenderfoot (1964)
• Gallegher (1964–1967)
• Dime with a Halo (1963)
• Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
• The Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
• The Comancheros (1961)
• The Silent Call (1961)
• A Dog's Best Friend (1959)
• The Runaway (1962)

Television appearances

• Wagon Train
• Cheyenne
• Our Man Higgins
• Destry
• Empire
• Outlaws
• Going My Way
• The Farmer's Daughter
• Route 66
• Frontier Circus
• Gunsmoke
• National Velvet
• The Virginian
• Dragnet 1967
• The Wide Country
• Dr. Kildare
• Death Valley Days
• The Law and Mr. Jones

References

External links

• Roger Mobley Official Website
• Roger Mobley at the Internet Movie Database