{{Short description|American radio and television actor (1907–1966)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}} {{Infobox person |name = Jack Mather |image =John "Jack" Mather.jpg |imagesize = |caption = |birth_name = John E. Mather |birth_date = {{birth date|1907|9|7}} |birth_place = Illinois, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1966|8|16|1907|9|7}} |death_place = Wauconda, Illinois, U.S. |occupation = Actor, voice actor |years_active = 1929–1966 |spouse = Rosalie Encell Mather |children = 2 }}
'''John Eugene Mather''' (September 7, 1907 – August 16, 1966) was an American radio and television actor, best known for playing The Cisco Kid on radio and for being the original voice of Wally Walrus.
==Early life and career== Mather was born on a farm outside Chicago, Illinois, to John A. and Ella Mather.<ref name="Western">French, Jack; Siegel, David S. ''Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air''. McFarland. {{ISBN|978-0786471461}}. Retrieved 2 May 2018.</ref>
One of Mather's earliest roles in entertainment was performing on radio in Chicago as half of a musical duet.<ref name=":0" /> Having been a cast member of the ''First Nighter'' radio show, he moved to Los Angeles when the show also moved to Los Angeles.<ref name="Western" /> Throughout his career, he appeared on popular radio shows including ''The Jack Benny Program'', ''Lux Radio Theatre'', ''Fibber McGee and Molly'', and ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show''.
In animation, Mather occasionally did voice work for George Pal and UPA.<ref>[http://www.intanibase.com/iad_artists/artist.aspx?artistID=1333 "Jack Mather at the Internet Animation Database"]. Retrieved 2 May 2018.</ref> In 1943, Walter Lantz cast Mather as Woody Woodpecker's nemesis, Wally Walrus for ''The Beach Nut'' (1944).<ref>{{Cite web |title='Guess Who??' Voice Artists in the Woody Woodpecker Cartoons|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/guess-who-voice-artists-in-the-woody-woodpecker-cartoons/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=cartoonresearch.com}}</ref> Giving Wally a Swedish accent, Mather maintained the role until Walter Lantz Productions temporarily shut down in 1948. Dallas McKennon and Paul Frees later took over the role following the studio's reopening in 1950.
He also occasionally appeared in films, including ''The Bravados'' (1958) and ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959).<ref name="Western"/>
In 1959, Mather played legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight in the episode, "Old Blue", of the syndicated television anthology series, ''Death Valley Days'', hosted by Stanley Andrews. The episode focuses on Goodnight's lead steer, Old Blue, who is stolen and thereafter adopted as a family pet.{{Citation needed |date=November 2020}}
Mather appeared as crooked Judge Hardy in an episode of ''Maverick'' in 1959 titled "The Sheriff of Duck'n'Shoot" opposite James Garner and Jack Kelly as Bret and Bart Maverick, and as Col. O'Hearn the following year on ''Maverick'' again in the episode "Thunder from the North" starring Roger Moore as Beau Maverick.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lentz |first=Harris M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O85kAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Jack+Mather%22+%22Maverick%22 |title=Television Westerns Episode Guide: All United States Series, 1949–1996 |date=1997 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-0377-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maverick |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/maverick/episodes-season-3/1000200033/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maverick |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/maverick/episodes-season-4/1000200033/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}</ref> He also appeared on two other ABC Warner Brothers series, ''77 Sunset Strip'' with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and ''Surfside 6''. In his last television role in 1962, he was cast as Frank Lathrop in "The Daniel Clay Story" on the Western series ''Wagon Train'' with John McIntire.
==The Cisco Kid== In 1946, Mather was cast in the title role of Mutual's adaptation of ''The Cisco Kid'', opposite Harry E. Lang as Pancho. The series, which was pre-recorded, ran from 1946 to 1956 and for more than seven hundred episodes.<ref>[https://www.radioarchives.com/The_Cisco_Kid_Volume_4_p/ra167.htm "The Cisco Kid Volume 4"]. Retrieved 2 May 2018.</ref> In addition to playing Cisco, Mather also was the announcer for the program in its later years.<ref name="Western"/>
==Personal life== Mather was married to Rosalie Encell and was the father of two sons Gregory Alan Mather (December 6, 1939 – March 9, 2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obituary information for Gregory Alan Mather |url=https://www.mcnuttfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=40136494 |access-date=2026-04-17 |website=www.mcnuttfuneralhome.com |language=en}}</ref> who was a former football star and Robert who managed a cattle ranch.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
==Death== On August 16, 1966,<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Jack Mather, Film Actor And Radio's Cisco Kid, 58 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/117623993 |accessdate=November 3, 2020 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=August 22, 1966 |page=33|id={{ProQuest|117623993}}}}</ref> Mather died in Wauconda, Illinois, of a heart attack.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/154721329/ "The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware"]. Retrieved 2 May 2018.</ref> He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Libertyville, Illinois where he grew up.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Yowp |date=2012-06-06 |title=Tralfaz: Jack Mather |url=https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2012/06/jack-mather.html |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Tralfaz}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, Jack}} Category:1907 births Category:1966 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male radio actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Male actors from Illinois Category:Radio personalities from Illinois Category:Walter Lantz Productions people