Stage Tully debuted on Broadway in
Call Me Ziggy (1937). His other Broadway credits include
The Sun Field (1942),
The Strings, My Lord, Are False (1942),
Jason (1942),
Ah, Wilderness! (1941),
The Time of Your Life (1940),
Night Music (1940),
The Time of Your Life (1939),
The White Steed (1939), and
Chalked Out (1937).
Radio In the era of
old-time radio, Tully had the lead role of Joe in the serial
Home of the Brave. He also played Jim Carroll in the serial
Life Begins, Uncle Willie in the comedy ''My Mother's Husband
, and Charles Martin in the serial Stella Dallas. He was a frequent guest actor on Gunsmoke'', portraying a wide range of parts.
Film Tully's Hollywood film career spanned from the 1930s until 1973. After a brief appearance in the film
Carefree (1938), he next appeared in ''I'll Be Seeing You'' (1944) as the father of
Shirley Temple's character. with
Humphrey Bogart. His last feature film role was as a crooked gun dealer, seated in a wheelchair after having his left leg removed close to the hip, in
Don Siegel's popular crime film
Charley Varrick (1973), with
Walter Matthau and
Joe Don Baker. with co-star
Warner Anderson. In repeats,
The Lineup was known as
San Francisco Beat. He made two appearances as Rob Petrie's (
Dick Van Dyke) father on CBS's
The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1964 and 1966. This role reunited Tully with
Jerry Paris from
The Caine Mutiny. He also was a guest star on
The Andy Griffith Show during the seventh season. He played Walt, the milkman in the episode, "Goodbye, Dolly." In 1962, he appeared on the
NBC modern Western series
Empire, in the role of Tom Cole in the episode "Long Past, Long Remembered."
Richard Jordan also appeared in this episode as Jay Bee Fowler. The series starred
Richard Egan as
New Mexico rancher Jim Redigo. In 1963, he was cast as Danny Mundt in "A Taste for Pineapple" of the
ABC crime drama,
The Untouchables. That same year he portrayed Jethro Tate in "Who Killed Billy Jo?" on another ABC crime drama, ''
Burke's Law'', with
Gene Barry. In 1964, Tully had two appearances on CBS's
Perry Mason. The first was as defendant Carey York in "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist;" the second was as murder victim Harvey Scott in "The Case of the Nautical Knot." During the 1966 season of ABC's
Shane western series, he made 17 appearances as Tom Starett. Tully also guest starred twice in the western TV series
Bonanza: in the 1965 episode "The Dilemma" as Sundown Davis and in the 1967 episode "The Sure Thing" as Burt Laughlin. Later, Tully continued his acting in television dramas such as
Mission: Impossible and
The Rookies. == Later years ==