Denver Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was a beloved American character actor, a familiar, grizzled face in countless Westerns who became a television icon for two classic, backwoods patriarch roles: Briscoe Darling Jr. on The Andy Griffith Show and the wise Uncle Jesse on The Dukes of Hazzard.
A decorated World War II veteran, Pyle had an extensive film career, often appearing in Westerns. He was a favorite of director John Ford and had the uncredited but pivotal role of the gunman who actually shoots Liberty Valance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). His other classic film roles include the determined lawman Frank Hamer in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and a supporting part in Disney’s Old Yeller (1957).
He achieved his first wave of television fame as the jug-playing patriarch of a musical mountain family on The Andy Griffith Show. He became even more famous to a new generation as Uncle Jesse, the good-hearted, CB-radio-wielding mentor to the Duke boys on The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985. This role cemented his legacy as one of television’s most cherished father figures.
