Editing Henry Wilcoxon (section)

==Later life as producer and TV actor==
In the late 1940s, "several young actors and actresses came to Wilcoxon and wife [[Joan Woodbury]] and asked them to form a play-reading group", which began to take shape as the 'Wilcoxon Players' in 1951, when the two "transformed their living room into a stage."<ref name="Whizzbang13"/> 'Guest star' performers sometimes appeared in the plays produced by the group, among them [[Larry Parks]] and [[Corinne Calvet]], and soon the "Wilcoxon Group Players Annual Nativity Play" was being performed "at the Miles Playhouse in [[Santa Monica]]."<ref name="Whizzbang13"/> The group was recognised by the [[American Cancer Society]] in 1956 with a Citation of Merit, awarded for donations received by attendees of the groups Easter productions.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/>

Wilcoxon played a "small but important part" in DeMille's 1952 production ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', on which film he also served as associate producer, helping steer the film towards its [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], 1952.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/> He also acted as associate producer on, and acted (as Pentaur, the pharaoh's captain of the guards) in DeMille's remake of his own ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'' (1956). Wilcoxon was sole producer on the 1958 film ''[[The Buccaneer (1958 film)|The Buccaneer]]'', a remake of DeMille's [[The Buccaneer (1938 film)|1938 effort]], which DeMille only "supervised" (due to his declining health) while [[Anthony Quinn]] directed.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/>

After DeMille died, Wilcoxon did "considerable work... in pre-production" on "a film based on the life of [[Lord Baden-Powell]], founder of the [[Boy Scout]] movement," which DeMille had left unrealised, and was also ultimately abandoned.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/>

After a relatively inactive period "for the next three or four years," Wilcoxon had a "chance meeting with actor [[Charlton Heston]] and director [[Franklin Schaffner]] at [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]," a meeting which saw him appear in ''[[The War Lord]]'' (1965), for which he again "went on tour... visiting 21 cities to publicize the picture."<ref name="Whizzbang13"/>

He was credited as co-producer on a "90-minute tribute to Cecil B. DeMille televised by [[NBC]]" entitled ''The World's Greatest Showman: The Legend of Cecil B. DeMille'' (1963), whose production was hampered by the absence of "some of DeMille's best-remembered films of the 30s and 40s" when rights-holder [[MCA Inc.|MCA]] refused their use.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/> At the opening of the DeMille Theatre in New York, he produced a "two-reel short," that in the estimation of critic [[Don Miller (critic)|Don Miller]] "was much better than this 90-minute tribute."<ref>Don Miller quoted in [[Don Daynard|Daynard, Don]] ''Henry Wilcoxon'' in Peter Harris (ed.) ''The New [[Captain George's Whizzbang]]'' No. 13 (1971), pp. 2–7</ref>

In the last two decades of his life, Wilcoxon worked sporadically and accepted minor acting roles in a number of television and film productions. He guest-starred in shows including ''[[Daniel Boone (1964 TV series)|Daniel Boone]]'', ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'', ''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]'', ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'', ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Cimarron Strip]]'', ''[[Cagney & Lacey]]'', ''[[The Big Valley]]'', ''[[Private Benjamin (TV series)|Private Benjamin]]'' and ''[[Marcus Welby, M. D.]]'', as well as in a smaller number of films. Wilcoxon is probably best known today for his small but memorable role as the golf-obsessed Bishop Pickering in the classic 1980 comedy ''[[Caddyshack]]''.<ref name="Whizzbang13"/> In one scene, he plays golf in the driving rain with groundskeeper Carl, played by actor [[Bill Murray]]. It took hours to film the scene, with both actors standing under artificial rain towers and wind machines. In an interview from 2010, Murray called Wilcoxon “a great pro” who “nailed everything he did.” Wilcoxon also told Murray that the book, ''The Art of Dramatic Writing'' was an influence in his career.<ref>''Caddyshack: The making of a Hollywood Cinderella story'', Flatiron Books, 2018, page 187.</ref>