Only actor to work on every “Walking Dead” show receives “Dead City” on-air tribute
Only actor to work on every “Walking Dead” show receives “Dead City” on-air tribute
Dalton RossMon, July 27, 2026 at 2:14 AM UTC
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Rif Hutton on ‘General Hospital’Credit: Nick Argo/ABC via GettyKey Points -
The season premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City ended with a special message to a late, great star who is the only actor to perform on every single franchise series.
Rif Hutton also could be seen on several hit shows and soap operas.
Walking Dead boss Scott M. Gimple explains to EW what made Hutton so important.
There is only one actor who worked on every single Walking Dead show, and that actor received a tribute on Sunday night’s season premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City.
You may have never seen Rif Hutton on The Walking Dead, but you certainly heard him. The actor not only provided growls, groans, and moans for zombies on the original Walking Dead series, but he did the same for all six spin-offs: Fear the Walking Dead, World Beyond, Tales of the Walking Dead, Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and The Ones Who Live. That makes him the most prolific performer in franchise history.
The Walking Dead paid tribute to Hutton — who died of brain cancer on April 18 at the age of 73 — with an onscreen message at the conclusion of Sunday’s Dead City season 3 premiere that read, “In Loving Memory of Rif Hutton.”
Rif HuttonCredit: Robin Marshall/Shutterstock
The zombie actors on set during filming of Walking Dead shows are usually silent, with their voices then added in later in post-production by other voice actors — and Hutton was the master.
“Rif Hutton performed on every Walking Dead series we’ve made,” franchise chief content officer Scott M. Gimple tells Entertainment Weekly. “And his talent made those shows more real, more textured, and scarier!”
Gimple, who also honored Hutton on social media after his passing, continues to praise his go-to zombie voice. “Rif is yet another example of how lucky TWD’s been to have had the chance to work with remarkably committed and generous artists. Rif Hutton helped bring the dead to life and his work will live on forever.”
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While it was Hutton’s voice that made its mark on The Walking Dead, his face did indeed appear onscreen in several other TV series. He played Dr. Ron Welch on Doogie Howser, M.D. (starring a young Neil Patrick Harris) and also portrayed Lt. Cmdr. Alan Mattoni on JAG. He was a frequent TV guest star who also appeared in recurring roles on soap operas like General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Rif Hutton in “Rattled!”Credit: Vertical Entertainment / Courtesy Everett
The on-screen tribute to Hutton capped a Dead City season premiere that saw Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan joining forces once again — but this time, not reluctantly.
The episode began with Maggie essentially daring Negan to stab her — after she stabbed him in the back during last season’s finale — but, by the end, the pair were laughing and smiling after working together to take down the Croat and secure an incubator for a baby in need on the way.
It appeared to be the start of a new era for the duo — one of legitimate cooperation —and the episode then ended with a nod to the past, paying tribute to the true voice of The Walking Dead.
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on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
