# Hank Patterson
**Hank Patterson** (October 9, 1888 – August 23, 1975) was an American character actor and musician, born Elmer Calvin Patterson, best known for playing stableman Hank Miller on *Gunsmoke* and farmer Fred Ziffel on *Petticoat Junction* and *Green Acres*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson). Over a film career that began in 1939, he specialized in gruff, rural, often uncredited supporting parts, mostly in Westerns[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Elmer Calvin Patterson; known professionally as Hank Patterson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/) |
| Born | October 9, 1888, Springville, Alabama[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/) |
| Died | August 23, 1975, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, of bronchial pneumonia, aged 86[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson) |
| Signature roles | Hank Miller on *Gunsmoke*; Fred Ziffel on *The Beverly Hillbillies*, *Petticoat Junction*, and *Green Acres*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson) |
| Screen work | 57 titles cataloged by the American Film Institute; about 201 acting credits listed by IMDb[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/65330) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/) |
| First film | Uncredited townsman in the 1939 Roy Rogers Western *The Arizona Kid*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson) |
| Spouse | Daisy Marguerite Sheeler, married May 18, 1915 until his death[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/) |
## Early life and music
Patterson was born in Springville, Alabama, to Green and Mary Newton Patterson. His great-grandfather James Pearson was an original settler of St. Clair County, Alabama, as was his mother's great-grandfather Thomas Newton[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/). Between 1894 and 1897 the family left Alabama for Taylor, Texas, where he tried to work as a serious musician and settled for playing piano in traveling vaudeville shows[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/).
In the 1920s he worked his way out to California, where his film career began[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/). His first screen appearance was an uncredited role as a townsman in the 1939 [Roy Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-rogers) picture *The Arizona Kid*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson).
## Film career
Through much of the 1940s Patterson appeared in numerous Westerns, usually as uncredited townspeople, with a few credited parts in B-movies such as *The El Paso Kid* (1946) and the 1949 [Gene Autry](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-autry) vehicle *The Cowboy and the Indians*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson). The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog lists 57 titles in his cast filmography, running from *[Abilene Town](https://www.edgepedia.org/abilene-town)* (1946) onward[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/65330).
**Science fiction and other genres.** Alongside the Westerns he took small roles in 1950s genre films. He appeared in two films involving giant spiders, *Tarantula* (1955) and *Earth vs. the Spider* (1958)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/), as well as *[The Amazing Colossal Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-amazing-colossal-man)* (1957), *Attack of the Puppet People* (1958), and *Monster on the Campus* (1958)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson). He also had a credited role as Ellis in the 1956 drama *Julie*[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson).
## Television: Gunsmoke and the Ziffel years
Television became his main medium, and Westerns remained his staple. He made one-off appearances on programs such as *Wagon Train*, *Bonanza*, and *Johnny Ringo*, and had notable recurring parts including an elderly bounty hunter on *Have Gun – Will Travel* beginning in 1958[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson). On *Gunsmoke* he played stableman Hank Miller, a role he portrayed for 11 years[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson); IMDb credits him in 35 episodes of the series between 1959 and 1973, often under different character names[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/). A compilation of series episode counts credits him as Hank Miller in 33 *Gunsmoke* episodes from 1962 through 1972, along with eleven episodes of *Have Gun – Will Travel*, nine of *Death Valley Days*, and appearances on *Maverick*, *Cheyenne*, *[Daniel Boone](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-boone-1964-tv-series)*, *The Virginian*, *The Rifleman*, and others[5](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/133572-hank-patterson?language=en-US).
His best-known role was farmer Fred Ziffel, whom he played across three series: *The Beverly Hillbillies* (1962), *Petticoat Junction* (1963), and *Green Acres* (1965)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/). On *Green Acres* he appeared as Fred Ziffel in 85 episodes from 1965 to 1971[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/). The character and his wife Doris treated their pet pig Arnold as a son, and the association with Arnold became the role for which Patterson was remembered[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson) • [5](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/133572-hank-patterson?language=en-US).
**Working while deaf.** By the time he was making *Green Acres*, Patterson was in his late 70s and almost completely deaf. The producers kept him in the part, working around the impairment by having a dialogue coach lie on the floor, out of shot, tapping his leg with a yardstick as a cue to deliver his line[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/).
## Later appearances and death
Patterson continued working into the late 1960s, with credits including *Love, American Style* (1969) and *The Mod Squad* (1968)[6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/hank-patterson/). He died of bronchial pneumonia on August 23, 1975, in [Woodland Hills, Los Angeles](https://www.edgepedia.org/woodland-hills-los-angeles), at the age of 86[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/). He and Daisy Marguerite Sheeler had been married from May 18, 1915 until his death[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/).
## Family connections and namesakes
IMDb's biography records Patterson as a great-uncle of the actress [Téa Leoni](https://www.edgepedia.org/tea-leoni)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/).
The name Hank Patterson is shared by unrelated people. A Society for American Baseball Research biography describes a Hank Patterson who signed with the [Boston Red Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-red-sox) in 1931, spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and died of a heart attack on September 30, 1970[7](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/hank-patterson/). An obituary published on Legacy.com records Henry D. Patterson, known as Hank, of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, who died on June 30, 2026, at the age of 84[8](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/henry-patterson-obituary?id=61881131). Neither is the actor.
## References
1. [Hank Patterson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/)
2. [Hank Patterson Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/hank_patterson)
3. [Hank Patterson – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666230/bio/)
4. [Hank Patterson, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/65330)
5. [Hank Patterson, The Movie Database (TMDB)](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/133572-hank-patterson?language=en-US)
6. [Hank Patterson, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/hank-patterson/)
7. [Hank Patterson, Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project](https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/hank-patterson/)
8. [Henry Patterson Obituary, Legacy.com](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/henry-patterson-obituary?id=61881131)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, early era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license