John Rollin Lupton (August 23, 1928 - November 3, 1993) was an American film and television actor.

Biography

Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood. Lupton was lanky and handsome like James Stewart or Henry Fonda but never achieved similar fame.

In feature films, Lupton is primarily remembered for his role as "Sister Mary" in Battle Cry and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.

Lupton co-starred in 1956 with Fess Parker in Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase, and in 1959 played a struggling writer in The Rebel Set.

In the 1954-1955 television season, Lupton appeared in several episodes as a college student in the CBS sitcom, The Halls of Ivy. In 1956, he was cast in the ABC western series, Broken Arrow, which ran for two seasons. His co-star was Michael Ansara, who played the Apache Chief Cochise. The "broken arrow" is the symbol of peace between the white man and the Indians.

On October 30, 1959, Lupton was cast in the episode "Client Peter Warren" of the ABC western series Black Saddle, starring Peter Breck as gunfighter-turned-lawyer Clay Culhane. Lupton portrays Peter Warren, a man accused by townspeople of starting a fire that caused the death of his estranged wife's wealthy and respected aunt. The motive is inheritance of joint property from the aunt's pending estate. Culhane agrees to defend Warren but instead finds evidence that Warren had been present at the scene of the fire. Ed Nelson portrays Lee Coogan, a former suitor of Mrs. Mary Warren (played by Aneta Corsaut), who is also determined to show Warren's guilt.

Lupton made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1959 and 1960. His first role was as Wally Dunbar in "The Case of the Bartered Bikini," then he played Peter Nichols in "The Case of the Lavender Lipstick."

In 1960, Lupton guest starred as Andrew Sykes in "The Triple Cross" of the syndicated crime drama, U.S. Marshal, with John Bromfield. That same year, he also appeared in a variety of programs, including Sea Hunt, Men into Space, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Tales of Wells Fargo, and Checkmate.

On April 25, 1961, Lupton played the role of Fred Powers in "Killer Odds, an episode of NBC's Laramie. Series character Jess Harper (Robert Fuller) comes upon Powers, a stranger with a price on his head, and Laramie costar Slim Sherman (John Smith) offers Fred employment on the ranch though he is pursued by gunslingers portrayed by Lee Van Cleef and Russell Johnson. The charge against Fred is fraudulent because he had killed in self-defense. Fred begins to court a local girl, Sue Fenton, played by Patricia Michon, in whom Slim Sherman also has a romantic interest. Ultimately, Slim, Jess, and Fred must rescue Sue and her family from the gunmen. Sue and Fred end up heading by covered wagon to California, where Sue had inherited unseen property.

In 1961, he was cast as Buzz in the episode "Doctor to Town" of the CBS comedy/drama, Window on Main Street, starring Robert Young, as an author who returns to his hometown after the death of his wife. Character actor Karl Swenson also appeared in this episode.

Lupton guest starred as Amber in the 1961 episode, "The Platinum Highway", of ABC's crime drama, Target: The Corruptors! with Stephen McNally as a newspaperman and Robert Harland as his investigator. He appeared too on NBC's Daniel Boone, with Fess Parker.

Lupton appeared in the 1965 biblical film The Greatest Story Ever Told as the Speaker of the town of Capernaum.

His other Disney film appearances were in The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) as the Race Starter, The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper (1976), The Young Runaways (1978) and The Secret of the Lost Valley (1980).

He also was featured on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives in the pivotal role of Dr. Tom (Tommy) Horton Jr from 1967-1980.