Walter Smith Lawrence was born September 3, 1901 in Carrollton, Kentucky, the son of Kathryn Dunaway and Elliot Lawrence. He was a World War I veteran, a member of the Church and Masonic Lodge in Hollywood and a charter member of the screen actors guild. He had resided in Hollywood for 41 years when he died unexpectedly in Palm Dale, California, January 19, 1961, while filming an episode of "Wagon Train." Funeral services and burial were at Beeville, Texas.