Robert Horton, known for his role as scout Flint McCullough in the Emmy-nominated series “Wagon Train,” died March 9 in Los Angeles, his niece Joan Evans told the New York Times. He was 91.
He landed his breakout role starring as McCullough in the hit Western series “Wagon Train” for five seasons, exiting the show in 1962. Around the time he left “Wagon Train”– which accumulated seven Primetime Emmy nominations throughout the duration of its eight-season run — the show switched networks, transitioning from NBC to ABC.
Soon after departing from “Wagon Train,” Horton starred in the one-season Western series “A Man Called Shenandoah,” for which he also sang the theme song. Other key TV roles include guest spots on “Murder, She Wrote,” “As the World Turns,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Public Defender” and “The Lone Ranger.”
Horton also performed on Broadway and pursued a singing career. In 1963 he starred as rainmaker Bill Starbuck in the original cast of “110 in the Shade,” a musical adaptation of N. Richard Nash’s early ’50s play “The Rainmaker.” The production ran at Manhattan’s Broadhurst Theatre for over 300 performances. He also recorded albums and performed in nightclubs during his tenure on “Wagon Train.”
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After being medically discharged from the Coast Guard in 1943, Horton made his screen acting debut in an uncredited part in the 1945 WWII drama “A Walk in the Sun.”
Horton is survived by his wife Marilynn.
