Frank Sutton
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Frank Sutton (October 23, 1923 - June 28, 1974) was an American actor who was most remembered for his role as the loud, hard-nosed drill sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Sutton was born in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1923. When he was eight years old, his father took a position as a linotype operator at the Nashville Tennessean in Nashville. While growing up in Nashville, his father died and his family coped with his loss. After Sutton graduated from East Nashville High School, he returned to Clarksville to become a radio DJ. He enlisted during World War II and came back to the states to attend Columbia University, after which he became an actor. In 1949, he married Toby Igler.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he played small roles in such television shows as Gunsmoke and The Untouchables, and the movie Marty, before landing the role of Sergeant Carter on Gomer Pyle in 1964. He continued the role for four seasons, until the show was cancelled in 1968. His friendship with co-star Jim Nabors continued well into the 1970s.
After Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Sutton went on to perform in dinner theater and made guest appearances on other television programs. While preparing for a performance in Shreveport, Louisiana, he died of a heart attack at 50. Sutton was buried in his hometown of Clarksville.