Morris Ankrum height - How tall is Morris Ankrum?

For "Mant," the movie within the movie in Matinee (1993), Kevin McCarthy plays a character named "Gen. Ankrum." This was director Joe Dante's tribute to Ankrum and the roles he played in those fondly remembered sci-fi films of the 1950s.

Later in his career he did much TV work, in such series as Bonanza (1959), The Rifleman (1958), Rawhide (1959), Cheyenne (1955), Gunsmoke (1955), The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955), Maverick (1957), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Sea Hunt (1958), and over a dozen more.

Fielding in the classic Invaders from Mars (1953).

Played Ed Roden with Kirk Douglas in Along the Great Divide (1951) and with Clint Walker in Cheyenne: The Travelers (1956).

It was in the 1950s, though, that he hit his stride in the science-fiction genre, where his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and authoritative voice perfectly fit the role of the military officer helping scientists fight off outer-space menaces, most memorably as Col.

The Hoppy films in which he appears include North of the Rio Grande (1937), Hills of Old Wyoming (1937), Pirates on Horseback (1941), Three Men from Texas (1940), Borderland (1937), and Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936), among others. He was cast in many other films throughout the '30s, '40s and '50s, varying from small appearances to co-starring roles. He can be seen in low-budget "B" pictures and big-budget blockbusters alike.

Appeared in 13 films in the Hopalong Cassidy series between 1936-41, in mostly villainous roles.

His film career spanned 1933-64, during which time he played in 279 films and TV shows. Ankrum spent much time in westerns, playing everything from Indian chiefs to crooked bankers. Among his best remembered parts are his numerous villainous roles in Paramount's highly popular Hoplaong Cassidy film series.

A graduate of the University of Southern California School of Law, Morris Ankrum was an attorney and an economics professor before switching careers and joining the theater. He was a veteran stage actor by the time he entered the film industry in the 1930s.