James Hampton, Bumbling 'F Troop' Bugler and character actor, Dies at 84

[Demovictory9]

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https://resizing.flixster.com/PeBAGfKT1I-RX1igoODmQUVdfIw=/506x652/v2/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/arts/television/james-hampton-dead.html

James Hampton, Bumbling ‘F Troop’ Bugler, Dies at 84
A character actor, he was best known for comedic roles but also appeared in “The China Syndrome” and other dramas.

James Hampton, a character actor who achieved a measure of sitcom immortality with one of his earliest roles, the inept bugler Hannibal Dobbs in the 1960s series “F Troop,” died on Wednesday at his home in Trophy Club, Texas. He was 84.

Linda McAlister, his agent, said the cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease.

Mr. Hampton had a genial countenance well suited to comedic roles characterized by bumbling or gullibility. He had appeared in a handful of television shows, “Death Valley” and “Dr. Kildare” among them, when the director of a “Gunsmoke” episode he was in brought him to the attention of a Warner Bros. casting director. That led to the role on “F Troop,” a spunky ABC comedy about a military outpost, Fort Courage, in the 1860s.

The show starred Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Melody Patterson and Ken Berry, but Mr. Hampton made an indelible impression in his secondary role as a bugler whose playing bore only a passing resemblance to music. (In the show’s opening montage, an arrow makes a direct hit into the bell end of his horn as he’s playing.) The show ran for only two seasons, but its over-the-top humor in an era of milder comedies like “The Andy Griffith Show” endeared it to a certain segment of viewers.

[lame54]

1. Caretaker

[sorcrow]

4. My first thought, too. nt

[brush]

2. I loved "F-Troop". It was a wild west version of Phil Silvers' Sargeant Bilko show of the '50s

[jg10003]

3. I still can sing the theme song, one of the best ever.