Frank McGrath

To say Charlie Wooster was just the Wagon Train’s cook is like saying the Oscar is just an award. He was friend, confidant and the emotional glue which held them all together. He was also the comic relief.

From the Claudia Obermiller Collection

From the Claudia Obermiller Collection

That’s not to say that ‘ole Charlie didn’t have his quirks. He was sometimes irascible, often excitable, and always had a wicked tendency to talk too much. In fact, what Charlie did best is to drive everybody else crazy.

Bill and Charlie. Hard to think of one without the other. And both stayed for the run of Wagon Train, all eight seasons

From the Claudia Obermiller Collection

Charlie had been cooking for the Major for since the Civil War. About which the Major never ceased complaining. And then there was the running criticism of Charlie’s coffee, which he seemed to brew endless pots of regardless of how little it was appreciated.

Frank McGrath was born February 2, 1903 in Mound City, Missouri. A stuntman by trade, he had worked with the best of them before Wagon Train. Although Robert Horton did most of his own stunts, occasionally, Frank McGrath filled in.

McGrath was a lot tougher than he looked. In the eight months previous to the filming of John Ford’s, The Searchers, McGrath had been in a body cast due to a broken back. Immediately upon reporting to Ford, he performed three separate horsefall and drag stunts.

(Below right – The Searchers) Although the picture is fuzzy, that’s McGrath standing next to Terry Wilson and the young fella in front is Patrick Wayne, son of The Duke. They were in front of the camera because Ford used the stuntmen in a wedding dance scene.

From the Megan Herring Collection

Frank McGrath died in 1967 of a heart attack.

Below is a partial list of Frank McGrath’s credits in addition to Wagon Train and the Searchers.

The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) as Hyrum Remmington
The Last Challenge (1967) as Ballard Weeks
The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) as Plank
Tammy and the Millionaire (1967) as Uncle Lucius
The War Wagon (1967) as Bartender
Gunfight in Abilene (1967) as Ned Martin
The Sword of Ali Baba (1965) as Pindar
“Tammy” (1965) TV Series as Uncle Lucius
Hell Bound (1957) (uncredited) as Detective
The Tin Star (1957) (uncredited) as Jim Clark
Ride Vaquero! (1953) as Pete
The The Milkman (1950) (uncredited) as Man
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) as Bugler/Indian
Big Jack (1949) (uncredited) as Posse member
Half Past Midnight (1948) (uncredited) as Taxi Driver
A Southern Yankee (1948) as Dispatch rider
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) (uncredited) as Posse Member
Sundown Jim (1942) as Outlaw
The Riders of the Purple Sage (1941) as Pete
The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) (uncredited) as First Referee
Robbers’ Roost (1933) as Mexican
The Rainbow Trail (1932) (uncredited)
A Dangerous Profession (1949) (uncredited) as Man
My Hands Are Clay (1948) as Father O’Brien

From the Megan Herring Collection

From the Megan Herring Collection

From the Megan Herring Collection

From the Megan Herring Collection