William Barton Yarborough was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama, primarily on the NBC Radio Network. He is famous for his roles in the Carlton E. Morse productions I Love a Mystery, where he played Doc Long, and One Man's Family, where he spent 19 years portraying Clifford Barbour. In addition, Yarborough spent three years as Sgt. Ben Romero on Jack Webb's Dragnet.
Early years
He was born in Goldthwaite, Texas. As a youth, Yarborough ran away from home, attracted by the vaudeville stages, and he first worked in radio during the 1920s. After joining a touring musical comedy show, he progressed from bit parts to leading man as the troupe played in various places in Oklahoma and Texas. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Southern California, where in 1925 he became a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. One of Yarborough's earliest reported activities in acting was in November 1922, when he was a member of the cast of a Rebekah and Odd Fellows lodges production of The Prince Chap in Reno, Nevada. He was active in dramatic productions at the University of California, including a one-act play on radio station KLX in 1924. His work on stage at UC ranged from drama to farce.
Career
After graduating from the University of California in 1925, Yarborough acted in London, New York, and California, having the leading-man role in Outward Bound. He was a member of the Eva Le Gallienne Civic Repertoire in New York City. Yarborough's NBC radio debut was in 1930, broadcasting from San Francisco. In 1932, Yarborough began a long run as Clifford Barbour on the radio serial One Man's Family, continuing in the role throughout his life. Yarborough was probably best known for his roles as Doc Long in the West Coast cast of Carlton E. Morse's I Love a Mystery and Sergeant Ben Romero, Joe Friday's original partner, on Dragnet. Yarborough's other radio work includes the title role in Hawk Larabee, as well as the roles of Brazos John in Hawk Durango, Sleepy Stevens in Hashknife Hartley, Skip Turner in Adventures by Morse, also by Carlton E. Morse, and the title attorney's assistant in Attorney for the Defense. Yarborough appeared as Doc Long in three feature films for Columbia Pictures, based on the radio series I Love a Mystery: I Love a Mystery in 1945, The Devil's Mask and The Unknown. Yarborough adopted a Southern accent for the Doc Long character, and would retain the dialect for Dragnet. He started work on the Dragnet television series in 1951. However, the day after he filmed the second episode, he suffered a heart attack, and died four days later at age 51. After his death, his One Man's Family character was dropped without explanation while his death was worked into Dragnet by having Ben Romero also die of a heart attack in the episode "The Big Sorrow."
Personal life
Yarborough married radio actress Barbara Jo Allen. They had a daughter, Joan, and divorced shortly after in 1931. He married again in 1949, to Janet Warren.
Death
Yarborough died in Burbank, California, at age 51. Dragnet was in production at the time, and the radio episode "The Big Sorrow", airing eight days after Yarborough's death, portrayed Joe Friday dealing with the sudden death of "Ben Romero", and being assigned a new partner. The television episode was broadcast on September 25, 1952. The episode opened with star Jack Webb reciting a dedication of the episode to Yarborough's memory.
