Walter Barnes Biography

Fast Facts

• Served with the U․S․ Army as a Sergeant during World War II
• Was honored with a memorial tribute at the 70th Annual Academy Awards in 1998
• Graduated from Louisiana State University, where he played football and became a college weightlifting champion
• His football career earned him the notice of the television station WCAU, which hired him to do stunts in a live Western show called "Action in the Afternoon․"
• Made his acting debut in an episode of the TV series "State Trooper" in 1956
• Played for the Philadelphia Eagles after graduation before becoming a coach of university football teams like Columbia University and Arizona State University
• Best known for his role as Tank Murdock in "Every Which Way But Loose" and as Sheriff Sam Shaw in "High Plains Drifter․"