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Dick Wilson began life as Riccardo DiGuglielmo in Preston, Lancashire, England. His father, Aldo DiGuglielmo, performed in vaudeville and his mother, Victoria Wilson was a singer. In late 1916, when Riccardo was only a few months old, the DiGuglielmo family moved to Hamilton, Ontario. Wilson got his start in show business when he was 15 at the local radio station, CHML. Riccardo became Richard and he adopted his mother’s maiden name as his stage name. He later went to and graduated from the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, going on to be a comic dancer in vaudeville. At the outbreak of World War II he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain in 1940. After the war, he moved to the United States and worked as a dancer in New York before heading to Los Angeles to work in television and film. He became an American citizen in 1954 and is best known for his work as Mr. Whipple for more than 25 years and in more than 500 commercials for Charmin. Wilson died at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release
The Tattered Dress (1957)
The Elevator (TV-1958)
Diary of a Madman (1963)
What a Way to Go! (1964)
The Turncoat (TV-1964)
Our Man Flint (1966)
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
Caprice (1967)
Stay Away, Joe (1968)
The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968)
Getting Away from It All (TV-1972)
The World`s Greatest Athlete (1973)
The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton (TV-1974)
Better Late Than Never (TV-1979)
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)
Get Out of My Room (1985)
TV series – Cast:
McHale’s Navy (1965-1966)
Hogan’s Heroes (1966-1971)
Bewitched (1965-1972)
Presenting Susan Anton (1979)
TV series – Guest appearances:
The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956)
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1956, 1957, 1958)
Wagon Train (1958)
The Texan (1958)
M Squad (1958, 1960)
Tales of Wells Fargo (1959)
The Untouchables (1959)
The Lawless Years (1959, 1961)
The Twilight Zone (1959, 1963)
Maverick (1960)
The Millionaire (1960)
Bat Masterson (1961)
The Deputy (1961)
The Bob Cummings Show (1961)
Checkmate (1962)
Our Man Higgins (1962)
The Virginian (1962)
Perry Mason (1963)
Ben Casey (1963)
Glynis (1963)
My Favorite Martian (1963, 1964)
The Great Adventure (1964)
My Living Doll (1964)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964)
The Fugitive (1965)
The Loner (1965)
Gidget (1965)
The Munsters (1965)
My Mother the Car (1966)
The Jean Arthur Show (1966)
The Hero (1966)
Get Smart (1966, 1968)
I Dream of Jeannie (1966, 1969)
Occasional Wife (1967)
That Girl (1967)
Petticoat Junction (1967)
The Flying Nun (1967)
Mayberry R.F.D. (1968)
The Queen and I (1969)
Bracken`s World (1969)
The Good Guys (1969)
The Partridge Family (1971)
Marcus Welby, M.D. (1971)
Nanny and the Professor (1971)
Love, American Style (1971)
McMillan & Wife (1972)
Love Thy Neighbor (1973)
Adam-12 (1973)
The Bob Newhart Show (1973, 1974, 1975)
Maude (1975, 1976)
Tabitha (1977)
Fantasy Island (1978)
Alice (1979)
Quincy M.E. (1980)
Mathnet (1987)
Square One TV (1987)
Northernstars.ca is published by the Canadian Independent Visual
and Digital Media Association – A nonprofit corporation.
Toronto, Ontario, M4X 1X7
First published as Northernstars.net February 1, 1998
ISSN 2563 4895
