# Whit Bissell
**Whit Bissell** (born Whitner Nutting Bissell; October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor whose career in film and television ran from the 1940s into the 1980s and included more than 200 screen roles[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html). He was popular with science-fiction cult audiences for playing doctors and scientists in 1950s genre films, and he was a series regular on television as Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk in *[The Time Tunnel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-time-tunnel)*[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html) • [2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Whitner Nutting Bissell; also credited as Whitner Bissell and Cpl. Whitner N. Bissell[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582) |
| Born / died | October 25, 1909, New York City; March 5, 1996, Woodland Hills, California, aged 86[4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/07/Actor-Whit-Bissell-dies/1034826174800/) |
| Film debut | *Holy Matrimony* (1943), as Matthew Leek[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582) |
| Screen output | More than 200 roles over four decades; the AFI Catalog lists 98 titles in his filmography[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html) • [3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582) |
| Signature role | Dr. Alfred Brandon, the scientist who turned Michael Landon into a werewolf, in *I Was a Teenage Werewolf* (1957)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/whit-bissell/) |
| Television regulars | Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk in *The Time Tunnel* (1966–67); Bert Loomis in *Bachelor Father* (1959–61)[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/) |
| Industry service | Screen Actors Guild board of directors for 18 years[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000946/) |
| Genre honor | Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, 1994[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html) |
## Early life and stage career
Bissell was born in New York City, the son of James Dougal Bissell, a surgeon, and Helen Nutting[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/). He attended the [University of North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-north-carolina) and began acting on stage, appearing on Broadway before becoming a regular film performer in the late 1940s[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html). His early screen appearances were often uncredited, and his lean features led to roles as petty hoods and callow young men, such as the young inmate in [Jules Dassin](https://www.edgepedia.org/jules-dassin)'s *Brute Force* (1947)[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html).
## Film career
Bissell entered films in 1943 with *Holy Matrimony* and went on to appear in more than 80 further films, specializing as ineffectual types and high-strung professionals[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/whit-bissell/). The AFI Catalog records 98 titles in his cast filmography, beginning with *Holy Matrimony* (1943) and *Winged Victory* (1944), in which he was credited under his full name with his military rank, Cpl. Whitner N. Bissell[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582).
Through the late 1940s and 1950s he appeared in film noir and mainstream productions including *He Walked by Night* (1948), *The Caine Mutiny* (1954), *Riot in Cell Block 11* (1954), *[The Desperate Hours](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-desperate-hours)* (1955), *Gunfight at the O.K. Corral* (1957), and *The Defiant Ones* (1958)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582). In the 1960s he was familiar in popular films that included *The Magnificent Seven*, *The Time Machine*, *[Birdman of Alcatraz](https://www.edgepedia.org/birdman-of-alcatraz-film)*, *The Manchurian Candidate*, *Hud*, *Seven Days in May*, and *Where Love Has Gone*[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html). His 1970s work included *Airport*, *Soylent Green*, and *Psychic Killer*, and his final feature role was in *Casey's Shadow* (1978)[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html).
## Science fiction and horror roles
Bissell became a fixture in 1950s horror and science-fiction films, usually as doctors or military men[8](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/10/25/the-whit-bissell-wonder-show/). His genre credits included *Lost Continent* (1951), *Creature from the Black Lagoon* (1954), *Target Earth* (1954), *The Atomic Kid* (1954), *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1956), *I Was a Teenage Werewolf* (1957), *I Was a Teenage Frankenstein* (1957), *Monster on the Campus* (1958), *The Time Machine* (1960), and *Soylent Green* (1973)[8](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/10/25/the-whit-bissell-wonder-show/).
He is perhaps best remembered as the scientist who turned [Michael Landon](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-landon) into a werewolf in *I Was a Teenage Werewolf* (1957)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/whit-bissell/). In *I Was a Teenage Frankenstein* (1957), the one feature film on which he enjoyed top billing, he played Professor Frankenstein with a straight face, delivering lines such as "Speak. I know you have a civil tongue in your head because I sewed it back myself!"[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html). In *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1956) he appeared in the framing scenes imposed by Allied Artists at the beginning and end of the film, playing the doctor who believes [Kevin McCarthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-mccarthy)'s tale of pod people and ends the film reaching for the phone to alert the authorities[7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html). He played Walter Kemp, one of the time traveler's friends, in George Pal's *The Time Machine* (1960), a role he reprised in a 1978 television remake[8](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/10/25/the-whit-bissell-wonder-show/).
## Television career
Bissell worked extensively in television, with more than 118 guest appearances beginning in 1948 on the anthology series *Studio One*[9](https://ctva.biz/Profiles/Actors/WhitBissell.htm). He was a regular on *Bachelor Father* as Bert Loomis (1959–61) and played Calvin Hanley on *Peyton Place* (1965)[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/). His most prominent series role was Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk on [Irwin Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/irwin-allen)'s *The Time Tunnel* (1966–67), in which he was required week after week to react to a blank screen at breakneck speed, exclaiming lines such as "We're losing him!"[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html). He also played [Woodrow Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/woodrow-wilson) in the series *Profiles in Courage*[4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/07/Actor-Whit-Bissell-dies/1034826174800/). Guest appearances ran through the 1970s and early 1980s on shows including *The Bionic Woman*, *Kojak*, *The Incredible Hulk*, *The Dukes of Hazzard*, *Hart to Hart*, and *Falcon Crest*[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/whit-bissell/).
## Personal life and death
Bissell married three times: the actress Adrienne Marden, with whom he had two daughters, Kathy and Victoria; Shan Dilys Jukes (married December 5, 1954, died January 11, 1958), mother of his daughter Amanda; and the actress Jennifer Raines (married November 24, 1967, died January 5, 1993)[2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/). He served on the [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) board of directors for 18 years and represented the actors branch on the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences) board[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000946/) • [9](https://ctva.biz/Profiles/Actors/WhitBissell.htm).
He died on the night of March 5, 1996, at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, aged 86. UPI reported the cause as chronic lung disease; NNDB lists [Parkinson's disease](https://www.edgepedia.org/parkinsons-disease) among his risk factors[4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/07/Actor-Whit-Bissell-dies/1034826174800/) • [2](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/). He had been confined to a wheelchair for the previous few years[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html). He was survived by a son, Brian Forster, three daughters, and six grandchildren[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html).
## References
1. [Whit Bissell; Movie, TV Character Actor, Los Angeles Times (March 7, 1996)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-07-mn-44205-story.html)
2. [Whit Bissell, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/112/000100809/)
3. [Whit Bissell, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/154582)
4. [Actor Whit Bissell dies, UPI Archives (March 7, 1996)](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/07/Actor-Whit-Bissell-dies/1034826174800/)
5. [Whit Bissell, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/whit-bissell/)
6. [Whit Bissell, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000946/)
7. [Obituary: Whit Bissell, The Independent (March 20, 1996)](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/obituary-whit-bissell-1343209.html)
8. [The Whit Bissell Wonder Show, Travalanche (October 25, 2021)](https://travsd.wordpress.com/2021/10/25/the-whit-bissell-wonder-show/)
9. [CTVA Profile: Whit Bissell (1909-1996), Classic TV Archive](https://ctva.biz/Profiles/Actors/WhitBissell.htm)
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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 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 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