Bruce Yarnell

Who was Bruce Yarnell?

Bruce Yarnell was an American actor who co-starred in the second season of NBC's Western television series Outlaws, set in the lawless Oklahoma Territory. He was also a noted Broadway and opera baritone.

Yarnell played Deputy U.S. Marshal Chalk Breeson, having replaced Jock Gaynor in the role of deputy Heck Martin. Yarnell's principal co-star, Don Collier, played Marshal Will Foreman. Slim Pickens played the role of "Slim". In the first season, Barton MacLane had appeared as Marshal Frank Caine, and the episodes had been related from the outlaws' viewpoint. In the second season, the narrative reflected the judgment of the lawmen.

Among the segments in which Yarnell appeared were "Horse of a Similar Color", "The Outlaw Marshals", "Masterpiece", "The Cutups", "Chalk's Lot" and "The Connie Masters Story". Connie Masters, the proprietess of a restaurant, was played by Judy Lewis, daughter of Loretta Young and Clark Gable.

The character Chalk Breeson was the then 25-year-old Yarnell's first recurring television role.