John “Bobby” Wright Dies: ‘McHale’s Navy’ Actor, Singer & Son Of Country Icon Kitty Wells Was 84

John “Bobby” Wright, the last surviving cast member of the 1960s Ernest Borgnine military sitcom McHale’s Navy and the son of country music pioneer Kitty Wells, died Tuesday, October 27, at his home in Madison, Tennessee. He was 84.

His death was announced by his family, who noted the Wright died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.

Wright, who was credited with the name John Wright for his performance as radio operator Willy Moss in McHale’s Navy as well as for other acting roles, was known as Bobby Wright for a country music singing career that followed in the footsteps of his groundbreaking mother and his father, the country singer Johnnie Wright. Kitty Wells is considered the first major female country singer who topped the U.S. charts in 1952 with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.”

As Bobby Wright, the singer-actor placed more than 20 singles on the Billboard Country Songs chart from 1967-79. His biggest hit was 1971’s “Here I Go Again,” which reached No. 13, and two others made the Top 40: “Lovin’ Someone on My Mind” (1973) and “Seasons in the Sun” (1974). Terry Jacks had a No. 1 pop hit with his version of the latter that same year.

Born John Robert Wright Jr. in Charleston, West Virginia, on March 30, 1942, Wright moved to Los Angeles after high school for a career in show business, and soon landed the McHale’s Navy role that would put him in a cast that included Borgnine, Joe Flynn and a young Tim Conway. The series ran on ABC from 1962 to 1966, and launched two feature films, 1964’s McHale’s Navy and 1965’s McHale’s Navy Joins The Air Force, that featured the TV cast including Wright.

The comedy series, created by Edward Montagne, was set during World War II and followed the misadventures of an U.S. Navy P.T. crew stationed in the fictional Pacific island base of Taratupa. Wright’s Willy was among the decidedly un-militaristic – but always battle-ready – crew under the command of Borgnine’s Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale, an unconventional type forever at odds with Flynn’s strict, by-the-book and entirely ineffective Captain Binghamton.

After the series ended, Wright had a brief acting career that included appearances in 1966 episodes of the CBS comedy Pistols ’n’ Petticoats and NBC Western The Road West.

Wright’s music career would prove longer-lasting. Moving back to Madison to join his parents and sisters on a syndicated television family variety show, Wright toured with his musical family as the Kitty Wells Johnnie Wright and Bobby Wright family show until 2007. From ’67 to ’79, he also recorded as a solo artist for Decca, ABC and United Artists Records, charting 21 singles.

Wright’s mother died in 2012 and his father in 2011. Sister Ruby Wright Taylor, a singer who also performed with the family, died in 2009, and nephew Larry Stephenson (Duke) Jr., died last year.

Wright is survived by daughters LeAnn Henson and Kamela Stewart; their husbands; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sister Sue Sturdivant; former wife and lifetime friend Brenda Wright Moore; and five nieces and nephews.