John “Bobby” Wright Dies: ‘McHale’s Navy’ Actor, Singer & Son Of Country Icon Kitty Wells Was 84 — SkimNews
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- Bobby Wright died Tuesday, October 27, at his home in Madison, Tennessee, at age 84. His family announced that he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones and identified him as the last surviving cast member of McHale’s Navy.
- McHale’s Navy aired on ABC from 1962 to 1966, with Wright playing radio operator Willy Moss alongside Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn and a young Tim Conway.
- McHale’s Navy launched two feature films in 1964 and 1965, both featuring Wright and members of the television cast.
- Bobby Wright charted 21 singles on Billboard’s country chart from 1967 to 1979. His biggest hit was 1971’s “Here I Go Again” at No. 13, while “Lovin’ Someone on My Mind” and “Seasons in the Sun” also reached the Top 40.
- Terry Jacks had a No. 1 pop hit in 1974 with his version of “Seasons in the Sun,” which was also a Top 40 country hit for Wright that year.
- Kitty Wells was considered the first major female country singer to top the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 in 1952 with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”; Wright followed both her and his father, Johnnie Wright, into country music.
- Bobby Wright moved back to Madison to join his parents and sisters on a syndicated television family variety show and toured with the Kitty Wells Johnnie Wright and Bobby Wright family show until 2007.
Why it matters: With Wright’s death, the 1962-66 *McHale’s Navy* cast has no surviving members, leaving the series and its two feature films as the record of Borgnine, Flynn and Conway. His 21 Billboard country singles show why “sitcom actor” is incomplete: “Here I Go Again” reached No. 13, and Terry Jacks took “Seasons in the Sun” to pop No. 1.
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