Frederick Edwin Beir, known as Fred Beir (September 21, 1927 – June 3, 1980), was an American actor, who appeared mostly on television.  He made guest appearances on TV series like Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, The Andy Griffith Show, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone (the 1963 episode “Death Ship)”, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, The Munsters, The Time Tunnel, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Honey West, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, The FBI, The Odd Couple, Kung Fu, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Rockford Files, Barnaby Jones, Dallas, and Lou Grant.  On April 14, 1959, Beir played the alias Roy Cantwell, a respected schoolteacher in a quiet western town, in the ABC/Warner Brothers series, Sugarfoot, with Will Hutchins in the title role. Don Dubbins plays the outlaw Sid Garvin, who comes looking for Cantwell, his estranged brother. Cantwell has hidden away $20,000 in loot from one of Garvin’s robberies. Sugarfoot, a friend of Cantwell’s, tries to defuse the situation after Garvin takes three children hostage at the school. Meanwhile, a tornado wipes out the schoolhouse and virtually the entire town though most of the inhabitants made it to safe shelter. Cantwell would not be around to rebuild; he dies from a shot fired by his brother, who with his loot finally in hand perishes in the storm. Betty Lynn plays Alice Fenton, Cantwell’s friend who takes over the teaching duties after his death. Child actor Stephen Talbot of Leave It to Beaver delivers a compelling role as Ab Martin, Cantwell’s prize pupil who at the end of the episode recites to his dying teacher part of Patrick Henry’s famous address of 1775 at St. Johns’ Church.  He died in Hollywood of cancer on June 3, 1980, aged 52.