{{short description|American actor (1931–1983)}} {{distinguish|Mike Whitney}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}} {{infobox person |image = Michael_Witney_small.jpg |name = Michael Witney |birth_date = {{birth date|1931|11|21}} |birth_place = Ticonderoga, New York, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1983|11|30|1931|11|21}} |death_place = New York City, New York, U.S. |occupation = Film and television actor: ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' |years_active = 1963–1981 |spouse = {{plainlist| *{{marriage|Donna (JoJo) Collette Bailey|1956|1976|end=divorced}} *{{marriage|Twiggy|1977}} }} |children = 1 }}
'''Michael Witney''' (born '''Whitney Michael Moore Armstrong''';<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kleiner |first1=Dick |title=Michael Whitney in Star's Orbit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/orlando-evening-star-michael-witney-193/179798953/ |work=Orlando Evening Star |date=December 5, 1966 |location=Orlando, FL |page=18 |access-date=August 27, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> November 21, 1931 – November 30, 1983) was an American film and television actor.
==Career== In 1963–64, Witney's first screen-acting role was a recurring part as the first wagon master, Buck Coulter, in the first 14 episodes of the ABC Western television series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters''.<ref name=":0" /> He guest-starred in other Western series, including four appearances between 1965 and 1971 on NBC's ''Bonanza'' and once on ''Daniel Boone'', starring Fess Parker.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Leiby |first1=Bruce R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IzOSCgAAQBAJ |title=A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History |last2=Leiby |first2=Linda F. |date=2015-09-15 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0075-8 |pages=174 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=113}} He guest-starred as a cavalry captain in the 1965 episode "South Wind" of CBS's ''Gunsmoke''.
In 1966, he appeared as Sergeant MacDonald in "Muted Fifes, Muffled Drums" of ABC's ''A Man Called Shenandoah'', starring Robert Horton,<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=297}} and as Jared Hobson in the 1967 episode, "The Execution", of Dale Robertson's ABC Western series, ''The Iron Horse''. He was cast as Wild Bill Hickok in the 1965 episode, "No Gun Behind His Badge", of the syndicated anthology series, ''Death Valley Days'', with host Ronald Reagan playing Thomas J. "Bear River" Smith. Witney portrayed pioneer Peter Lassen in a 1968 ''Death Valley Days'' episode, "The Other Side of the Mountain", hosted by Robert Taylor.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lentz |first=Harris M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O85kAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Michael+Witney%22+%22Death+Valley+Days%22 |title=Television Westerns Episode Guide: All United States Series, 1949-1996 |date=1997 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-0377-6 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=127}} [[File:Owen Marshall 1972.JPG|thumb|From left: Arthur Hill, Witney, Sharon Gless, John Davidson and Louise Sorel on ABC's ''Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law'' (1972)]] In 1975, Witney was cast as Frank Ward in 10 of the 11 episodes of the BBC television series, ''Oil Strike North'', a drama about the Triumph Oil Company and its attempt to extract petroleum from the North Sea. On December 30, 1965, Witney made a brief appearance as a sailor named Johnny who helped Zsa Zsa Gabor, who guest-starred in the #15 episode of the second season of ''Gilligan's Island'' entitled, "Erica Tiffany Smith to the Rescue". He also appeared in NBC's'' Star Trek'' episode "A Private Little War", playing Tyree, a friend of Kirk from years earlier and current leader of a band of Hill People. His last screen appearances were from 1978–1981 in different roles in three episodes of ABC's ''Charlie's Angels''.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
==Personal life== Witney married Donna (JoJo) Collette Bailey in 1956 in Helena, Montana. They divorced in 1976.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Aaker |first=Everett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltUkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Michael+Witney%22+%22Bailey%22&pg=PA2089 |title=Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary |date=2017-06-08 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-6250-3 |pages=445 |language=en}}</ref> He married the British model Twiggy in 1977;<ref>{{cite news |title=Twiggy Marries |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-michael-witney/196737598/ |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=June 15, 1977 |location=San Francisco, CA |page=33 |access-date=May 2, 2026 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> they had a daughter, Carly. Witney died in New York on November 30, 1983, nine days after his 52nd birthday. He died of a heart attack in a McDonald's where he had taken Carly to celebrate her fourth birthday.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Slater |first1=Lydia |title=The One and Only |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-twiggy-born-1949/179799617/ |work=Evening Standard |date=March 19, 2004 |location=London, UK |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-twiggy-born-1949/179799617/ 29], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-twiggy-born-1949/179799638/ 30] |access-date=August 27, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref>
Before his move to Los Angeles to pursue acting, Witney was a minor league pitcher for the Hornell Dodgers and the Great Falls Electrics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=67868a95|title=1953 Hornell Dodgers Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=June 24, 2017}}</ref>
==Filmography== [[File:Katherine Justice & Michael Witney in 'The Way West', 1967.jpg|thumb|270px|Katherine Justice and Michael Witney in ''The Way West'', 1967]] {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1967|| ''The Way West'' || Johnnie Mack || |- |1970|| ''Darling Lili'' || Lt. Youngblood Carson || |- |1971|| ''Doc'' || Ike Clanton || |- |1971|| ''Head On'' || Steve || |- |1972|| ''The Catcher'' || Noah || |- |1974|| ''W'' || Ben Lewis || |- |1980|| ''There Goes the Bride'' || Bill Shorter || |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} {{Memoryalpha|Michael Witney}} *{{IMDb name|0936822}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Witney, Michael}} Category:1931 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Male actors from New York (state) Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male actors from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American male actors Category:People from Ticonderoga, New York