westerners, 1915 - 1935.
15 -35: birthday 1915-1935.
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- Donald Elson was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, just a "whoop and a holler" from Hollywood. He was a young college student at the outbreak of WWII. After serving in the Air Force, he attended the Columbia Radio School of Broadcasting on the GI Bill and pursued a career as a radio announcer at stations in Texas and Oklahoma before returning to college. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA degree in Theatre Arts in 1949 and headed to New York. Elson became a successful Broadway actor, appearing in "Inherit The Wind," "Desire Under the Elms," "Peter Pan," "Threepenny Opera" and numerous off-Broadway productions. He returned to Hollywood in the early 1960s, "saddling up" in a string of Film and TV Westerns.
His skill and craftsmanship have enabled him to portray a wide variety of characters. Why is that craggy face so "gol'durn" familiar? Because we've seen it a thousand times in movies, television series, anthologies and Movies of the Week as well as countless television commercials. - Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
At the age of five Dean Riesner was a child actor (aka "Dinky Dean") in films such as The Pilgrim (1923) with Charles Chaplin. Dean's father, writer/director Charles Reisner, worked with and was friends with Chaplin and Buster Keaton, giving young Dean a foot in the door to a film career.
Dean would have continued as a child actor had his mother not told his father, "Let the boy have his childhood". Years later, when Dean reached adulthood, his father asked him if he wanted to return to the film business, and if so in what capacity. Dean said he preferred writing. Thus began a career that coined such lines as "Do you feel lucky? Well, do you punk?" from Dirty Harry (1971) and the original, "They'll tie you naked to a chair and get medieval with you" from Charley Varrick (1973).
Dean later developed a reputation as a script doctor, doing uncredited work on such films as High Plains Drifter (1973), Blue Thunder (1983) and The Godfather Part III (1990). His reputation for hard work was more than deserved--even in this 80s, he wrote every day.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Fernando Sancho was born on 7 January 1916 in Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Son of Captain Blood (1962), La guerrilla (1973) and The Boldest Job in the West (1972). He was married to Maite Pardo. He died on 31 July 1990 in Madrid, Spain.- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Tomas Milian, an American actor born in Cuba; was trained at the Actors Studio. He appeared in a few plays on Broadway, as well as in a show by Jean Cocteau in Spoleto. Mauro Bolognini noticed him and that was the starting point of a rich cinematographic career in Italy, where he played in all manner of genres. He interpreted a mad psychopath in The Ugly Ones (1966) (aka "Bounty Killer"), a role he would then improve and diversify into an impressive gallery of neurotic and sadistic killers, first in "spaghetti westerns" (many directed by Sergio Corbucci), and then in violent action and police thrillers (many directed by Umberto Lenzi). His films gradually evolved into action comedies, as he played the recurrent characters of thief "Er Monnezza" and cop Nico Giraldi (the latter being originally based on the lead character in Serpico (1973)), two typically Roman characters who enjoyed great popularity in the '70s and '80s.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Carlos Rivas was born on 16 February 1925 in El Paso, Texas, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The King and I (1956), True Grit (1969) and Topaz (1969). He was married to Sylvia. He died on 16 June 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
An American character actor described to some as a 'rugged outdoor western/war type', proved to be Walter Barnes status in motion pictures for nearly thirty years. A pro football player, Barnes made a mark into playing roles in pictures with his performance in the 1959 film "Westbound". Although, Barnes found work in countless foreign films of the 1960s, he usually played roles ranging from crusty law officials to occasional villains, in notable roles in "Captain Sinbad", John Wayne's "Cahill US Marshal", Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter", "Pete's Dragon" and "Day of the Animals". Also as a veteran of television, Barnes has had guest starring roles in such series including "Gunsmoke", "Rawhide" and "Cheyenne". He also played Bo Svenson's father on the early 80s TV series "Walking Tall" and appeared in the 1985-86 mini series "North and South". A diabetic, Barnes retired from acting in the late 1980s and eventually moved into the Motion Picture and Television Retirement Home in Woodland Hills, California, where he passed away in January of 1998.78 westerns, 56-82.
21 feature westerns.
Noose at Noon (1958), 1958. Burt Flowers. Credited.
1918-1998, 79.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Prolific, versatile, and ubiquitous character actor Aldo Sambrell was featured in over 140 international motion pictures in a remarkably long, varied, and illustrious career that spanned four and a half decades. Swarthy and burly, usually sporting a thick mustache, and often projecting an air of quiet oily menace, Sambrell was frequently cast in colorful supporting parts as hateful villains and lethal gunslingers in numerous Italian spaghetti Westerns. Sambrell was born Alfredo Sanchez Brell on February 23, 1931 in Madrid, Spain. His family fled Spain because of the Spanish Civil War and he was raised in Mexico. While in Mexico Aldo played professional soccer in the Mexican leagues in Pueblo and Monterrey. After beginning his career in the entertainment industry as a singer, Sambrell eventually returned to Spain and made his film debut in an uncredited bit role as a Jewish rebel in the biblical epic King of Kings (1961). Aldo appeared in his first spaghetti western in 1963. Sambrell was perhaps best known for his gritty portrayals of scruffy bandit gang members in Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and C'era una volta questo pazzo, pazzo, pazzo West (1973). Sambrell gave a memorably chilling performance as ruthless bandit gang leader Mervyn Duncan in Navajo Joe (1966). He had a rare lead role as voodoo priest Gatenebo in the laughably lousy horror clunker Voodoo Black Exorcist (1974). Among the many directors Aldo worked for are David Lean, Richard Fleischer, John Milius, Sergio Corbucci, Umberto Lenzi, León Klimovsky, Jess Franco, Richard Lester, Jackie Chan, Charlton Heston, Matt Cimber and Enzo G. Castellari. Moreover, Sambrell also wrote, produced and directed a few films. He was married to actress Cándida López. His last film role was as an aging actor in the poignant short Río seco (2006). Aldo died at age 79 on July 10, 2010 in Alicante, Spain after suffering a series of strokes.- Imposing American character actor whose typical screen personae tended to be gruff westerners, irate cops, and hard-boiled gangsters. A decorated Korean War veteran, Bieri appeared on stage from 1954, both on ('Death of a Salesman', 1975) and off-Broadway. He latterly acted with the ensemble of San Diego's Old Globe Theatre (notably, as the tough captain in 'Mr. Roberts', 1995).
On screen from 1962 as a bit part player, he went on to have a prolific career as guest star of 1970s and 1980s TV shows. He was in good form as your average cantankerous police chief in both Cannon (1971) and in Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974), and further distinguished himself in weightier roles, including that of local banker Elija Crow in Bret Maverick (1981) , General Philip Sheridan in How the West Was Won (1976) and as Mafia chieftain Guido Quintana in The Sicilian (1987).
However, a little of the very large heavyset actor, whose screen persona was more malevolent than merry, went a long way, thus when he starred in his own (albeit non-eponymous) NBC sitcom, Joe's World (1979), as a Detroit house painter with five kids and assorted problems, it was fairly short-lived.
In private life, he was said to have been a keen fisherman and sailor. Bieri died in May 2001 in Woodland Hills from cancer at the age of 71. - Edmund Hashim was born on 2 June 1933 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Hellfighters (1968), The Green Hornet (1966) and Giacobbe ed Esau (1963). He died on 2 July 1974 in New York, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Gustavo Rojo was born on 5 September 1923 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was an actor and director, known for Caesar Against the Pirates (1962), The Valley of Gwangi (1969) and The Evil Forest (1952). He was married to Erika Remberg, Mercedes Castellanos and Carmela Stein. He died on 22 April 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
A classmate of director Sergio Leone with whom he would form one of the great director/composer partnerships (right up there with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, Fellini & Rota), Ennio Morricone studied at Rome's Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he specialized in trumpet. His first film scores were relatively undistinguished, but he was hired by Leone for A Fistful of Dollars (1964) on the strength of some of his song arrangements. His score for that film, with its sparse arrangements, unorthodox instrumentation (bells, electric guitars, harmonicas, the distinctive twang of the jew's harp) and memorable tunes, revolutionized the way music would be used in Westerns, and it is hard to think of a post-Morricone Western score that doesn't in some way reflect his influence. Although his name will always be synonymous with the spaghetti Western, Morricone has also contributed to a huge range of other film genres: comedies, dramas, thrillers, horror films, romances, art movies, exploitation movies - making him one of the film world's most versatile artists. He has written nearly 400 film scores, so a brief summary is impossible, but his most memorable work includes the Leone films, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) , Roland Joffé's The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988), plus a rare example of sung opening credits for Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966).78 westerns, 63-15 +.
44 feature westerns.
Composer, theme music, The Virginian (1962). 24 episodes.
Original music, The Great Silence (1968). 1968.
Born 1928 - Italy- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jô Shishido or Joe Shishido a.k.a. Joe The Ace (esu no Jô) owing to his role in 1961's Fast-Draw Guy entered acting following an audition for the Nikkatsu Studio and being one of the few to be picked and offered a contract via its New Face contest. Having signed with Nikkatsu in 1954 he began acting in drama films before drifting into yakuza sub-genre of action and crime films and ultimately finding fame through Nikkatsu director's Seijun Suzuki in Branded To Kill. This recognition was slow in developing, however, as upon its initial release reaction was mute and box office success was limited, which eventually lead to Suzuki's firing from the studio. Shishido worked further in television and for other studios and has over 160 films to his name. Wanting a more distinct look Shishido underwent cheek augmentation surgery resulting in a look described as being akin to a chipmunk. Shishido died at his Setagaya, Tokyo home at age 86 in January 2020.3 westerns
Mekishiko mushuku (1962). 1962. Filmed in Mexico.
Nosappu no jô (1961). 1961.
Quick Draw Joe (1961). 1961.
1933 -- Actor
- Art Department
Daniel Peter "Dan" O'Herlihy was born on 1 May 1919 at Odessa Cottage, Wexford Town, County Wexford (Ireland) to John Robert O'Herlihy, a civil servant from Cork who later worked in the Department of Industry and Commerce, and Ellen (née Hanton). Dan had at least two siblings, a sister and a younger brother (Michael O'Herlihy, who became a television director). The family moved to Dublin when Dan was one year old. Educated at CBS Eblana (Dún Laoghaire Christian Brothers School), as a teenager he developed literary ambitions. Upon entering UCD, he applied to study law but rapidly switched to architecture which allowed him to use his drawing skills. While a student he published political cartoons in Irish newspapers under the initials "TOC".
O'Herlihy decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, forsaking the life of an architect in favour of the acting profession. The tall, distinguished-looking university graduate boasted a rich, resonant voice which enabled him to easily find work in radio plays, as well on the stage. He first came to note as a small part actor with the Gate and Abbey Theatre Players, on occasion putting his architectural qualifications to use as a set designer. His first leading role was in Sean O'Casey's play 'Red Roses for Me' in 1944. During one of his performances in Dublin, he was spotted by the director Carol Reed and cast as an IRA terrorist in Odd Man Out (1947). This, and another London-produced film, Hungry Hill (1947), resulted in good critical notices , prompting another genial filmmaker, Orson Welles, to cast O'Herlihy in the role of Macduff for his Mercury/Republic production of Macbeth (1948). While this enterprise was far from successful, the actor's rugged, bearded appearance sufficiently impressed Luis Buñuel to cast him in the titular role of Robinson Crusoe (1954).
Until the arrival of "Friday", the only other featured character, this definitive version of Daniel Defoe's shipwrecked 17th century mariner was a tour-de-force one man show, a compelling, wordless portrayal of agonised solitude. However, as the Mexican production was considered merely a B-movie in Hollywood, O'Herlihy was forced to invest some of his own money to have the film exhibited in Los Angeles. While he was rewarded with an Oscar nomination, few worthy job offers came his way. For the remainder of the decade, he worked under short-term contracts as a character actor (often billed as "Daniel O'Herlihy") for Universal and 20th Century Fox, typically cast in costume dramas like The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), The Purple Mask (1955) and The Virgin Queen (1955). When movie roles became scarce, he branched out into anthology television, eventually becoming a much sought-after guest star on popular prime time shows like The Untouchables (1959), Bonanza (1959) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). Work on radio shows, like 'Johnny Dollar', 'Suspense' and 'Lux Radio Theatre', also continued to provide him with a steady source of income.
From the mid-1960s, he was afforded several better film opportunities: first, in a memorable dual role as the sinister, voyeuristic Dr.Caligari AND the handsome psychiatrist treating repressed mental patient Jane Lindstrom (Glynis Johns), in Robert Bloch's off-beat psycho-thriller, The Cabinet of Caligari (1962). Second, he played an anguished U.S. Air Force general contemplating orders to drop a hydrogen bomb over New York, in Sidney Lumet's gripping anti-war drama Fail Safe (1964). He was also, among later big screen appearances, one of many name actors in the star-studded military epic Waterloo (1970) (as Napoleon's "Marshal Ney"); unrecognisable in make-up as a reptilian alien in the 'Star Wars' clone The Last Starfighter (1984); as irredeemable villains in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) and RoboCop (1987); and as the inscrutable Andrew Packard in Twin Peaks (1990) on television. He continued to alternate film work with acting on stage in Los Angeles and at the Abbey Theater. Dan O'Herlihy died on 17 February 2005, aged 85. He left his papers to the care of University College Dublin (UCD) where he had graduated with a degree in architecture in 1945.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Burly, handsome and rugged character actor John Crawford appeared in over 200 movies and TV shows combined in a career that spanned over 40 years, usually cast as tough and/or villainous characters.
Crawford was born Cleve Richardson on September 13, 1920, in Colfax, Washington. He was discovered by a Warner Bros. scout while attending the University of Washington's School of Drama. Although he failed his screen test, Crawford nonetheless joined RKO as a laborer. He then got a job building sets at Circle Theater in Los Angeles, and eventually persuaded the producers to cast him in some of their plays. He was soon signed to Columbia Pictures to act in secondary roles in westerns. In the late 1950s he graduated to bigger parts in such films as Orders to Kill (1958), The Key (1958) and Hell Is a City (1960), all of which were made in the UK. Crawford returned to America in the early 1960s and began a prolific career in both movies and TV series, up until 1986. His most memorable film roles include the ill-fated chief engineer in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), the hearty Tom Iverson in Night Moves (1975), the bumbling mayor of San Francisco in The Enforcer (1976), hard-nosed police chief Buzz Cavanaugh in Outlaw Blues (1977) and amiable old mine hand Brian Deerling in The Boogens (1981). John had recurring parts as Sheriff Ep Bridges in The Waltons (1972) and Capt. Parks on Police Woman (1974). Among the many TV shows he made guest appearances in are The Lone Ranger (1949), Adventures of Superman (1952), I Spy (1965), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Untouchables (1959), Wagon Train (1957), The Fugitive (1963), Star Trek (1966), Lost in Space (1965), Bonanza (1959), Hogan's Heroes (1965), Mission: Impossible (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), The Bionic Woman (1976), Dallas (1978) and Dynasty (1981). Crawford died at age 90 following complications from a stroke on September 21, 2010, in Thousand Oaks, California. He's survived by his ex-wife Ann Wakefield, four daughters and two grandchildren.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Albert Salmi was born on March 11, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish parents. After serving in the Army during WWII, he used the GI Bill to study at the Dramatic Workshop of the American Theater Wing and the prestigious Actors Studio. He became a stage actor, very soon landing on Broadway, where his role as Bo Decker in "Bus Stop" was his biggest stage success. A compromise between the stage and screen was live TV drama, in which he was cast regularly. His portrayal of Bruce Pearson in the The United States Steel Hour (1953)'s live 1956 broadcast of "Bang the Drum Slowly" was heart-tuggingly poignant. Salmi's very first film appearance was a choice role in The Brothers Karamazov (1958), for which he turned down an Oscar nomination. The National Board of Review succeeded in presenting him with its award for the same picture, however. Salmi came to enjoy film work and actively sought out parts in westerns. He became a very familiar presence, especially on the TV screen, where he guest starred in many of the westerns and other series of the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1967 he was presented with the Western Heritage (Wrangler) Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for his role in the Gunsmoke (1955) episode entitled "Death Watch". This bronze cowboy on horseback became his most cherished award. Salmi demonstrated his versatility, however, as years went on. Tall, brawny and sometimes quite intimidating, he was often cast as the bad guy or the authority figure. He was equally convincing, though, as a wronged or misunderstood good guy or a good-natured sidekick. A method actor, Salmi had the ability to make you love or hate his character.
He was, in real life, quite different from most of the characters he played. A quiet-natured family man, he was an oddity by glitzy Hollywood standards. Many of his friends and co-stars have commented on his sense of humor and his lack of pretense. In semi-retirement, he shared his knowledge of theatre by teaching drama classes in Spokane, Washington, where he and his wife settled.- Actor
- Writer
Peter Mamakos was born on 14 December 1918 in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Ten Commandments (1956), Drums of Africa (1963) and Adventures of Superman (1952). He died on 27 April 2008 in Paso Robles, California, USA.- John Damler was born on 30 April 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Long Wait (1954), Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958) and The Fighting Chance (1955). He died on 6 June 1984 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Orville Sherman was born in Oklahoma, where his great-grandfather bought land in 1894. He appeared in numerous television episodes, mostly Westerns. Being born in the frontier may have given him an edge to playing cowboys. Although most of his screen time can be counted in seconds, he was good at his craft. Orville started tap dancing at age nine and left home at 19 to pursue his career.
According to the 1940 U.S. census, he was living as a boarder in Shawnee, Oklahoma, giving his occupation as "actor, dancer, director". He served in WWII, enlisting from Santa Fe, New Mexico where he was working with a small theater troupe. A few years later he was in New York on stage later traveling to England to appear on stage in "Oklahoma", where he met his future wife, actress Marcella Dodge.
They married in 1948 and came to California from New York City in 1956 and appeared in film and TV episodes until his death. Relatives of his brother said Orville was too occupied with work to attend his fathers funeral in 1959. He was divorced from his first wife in the 1960s. In 1973, he wed, secondly, to Jean Reno, a woman eight years his senior. That same year, he added the occupation of minister to his life, teaching speech at the church of Religious Science in Downey, California. Sadly, he died alone, with no known family (his marriage long since ended) from prostate cancer in Los Angeles, aged 68. - Robert Cornthwaite first got hooked on acting at age 13, when he was forced to play a one-line part in an eighth grade play. He did his first work with professionals five years later, in a 1935 production of "Twelfth Night" on the Reed College campus in Portland. He worked in radio in Southern California before he was inducted into the Air Force during World War II (a four-year hitch). Returning to Hollywood after the War, Cornthwaite went back into radio and then began working as a character man in features and TV. He prefers theater, which he feels is "far more liberating for the actor" than film.
- Rush Williams was born on 6 February 1924 in Texas City, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Hawaiian Eye (1959), Rawhide (1959) and Seven Guns to Mesa (1958). He was married to Jacqueline Worsley. He died on 11 February 2013 in Monrovia, California, USA.76 westerns, 16 features, 50-69.
1924 - 2013, 89. - Stafford Repp was born on 26 April 1918 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Batman: The Movie (1966), Batman (1966) and Playhouse 90 (1956). He was married to Theresa Valenti Moriarty, Sharon Diane Currier and Berta J. Slack. He died on 5 November 1974 in Inglewood, California, USA.
- Baynes Barron was born on 29 May 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Ten Commandments (1956), From Hell It Came (1957) and Captain Midnight (1954). He died on 21 July 1982 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Child actor and bit player Monty O'Grady was born John Montgomery O'Grady on March 6, 1916 in Los Angeles, California. O'Grady began his film career in the silent movie era of the mid-1920s as a child actor who's probably best known as a member of the early Our Gang group. Upon reaching adulthood O'Grady went on to become an extremely prolific and ubiquitous extra who can be spotted in a slew of films and TV shows alike in often uncredited minors roles such as reporters, waiters, party guests, passengers on ocean liners, or patrons in bars, nightclubs, or restaurants. His career as an actor spanned seven decades altogether. O'Grady died at age 84 on March 8, 2000 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.56 westerns, 26-74. 48 years of westerns.
8 feature westerns
Bobbie, The Baited Trap (1926). 1926.
1916 - 2000, 84.
426 total titles, 1924-1995, 74 years of credits. - Utilitarian actor Lonny Chapman remains one of those highly familiar character faces to which you can't quite place the name. While he appeared in over 30 films and well over 300 TV programs over a five-decade career, the theater remained his first and foremost passion and for which he is best remembered. From 1973 until his death 34 years later, he was artistic director of the Group Repertory Theatre (GRT), a North Hollywood non-profit acting organization for which he also served as producer, writer, director and actor. It was a place to which scores and scores of L.A.-based actors would, and did, call "home". The facility, which is still running today, was renamed the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre (LCGRT) in 1999 in loving tribute.
He was born Lon Leonard Chapman on October 1, 1920, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in the city of Joplin, Missouri. His interest in acting started while fairly young. Following his graduations from Joplin High School (1938) and Joplin Junior College (1940), the athletically-inclined Lonny attended the University of Oklahoma on a track scholarship. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, however, interrupted his college studies, joining the Marines the very next day. He saw major action in the South Pacific, including Guadalcanal. During his 5-year tour of duty, he contracted malaria; frequent recurrences would plague him the rest of his life. The track star returned to his Oklahoma college following war duty and graduated with a BFA in Drama in 1947.
While at college Lonny became best friends with actor Dennis Weaver, who was also a talented track-and-field athlete and fellow drama student. The two young hopefuls hitchhiked together to New York City where they began their respective careers. Within a year (1948) Lonny was appearing as "Wiley" in the Chicago company of "Mister Roberts", directed by Joshua Logan. The year after that, he made his Broadway debut in "The Closing Door", directed by Lee Strasberg. During this time, he also established strong ties with the prestigious Group Theatre and Actors Studio. It was at the Actors Studio that he forged lifelong friendships with director Mark Rydell, and character actors Martin Landau, R.G. Armstrong, Pat Hingle and Logan Ramsey, among others.
Arguably, the peak of Lonny's early stage career occurred in 1950, when he co-starred in the award-winning drama "Come Back, Little Sheba", William Inge's first play to be produced on Broadway. Art imitated life in this case as Lonny portrayed the second lead role of "Turk", a college student and star athlete. Coincidentally, friend Dennis Weaver became his understudy and eventually took over the role. Starring Tony winners Shirley Booth and Sidney Blackmer, only Ms. Booth went on to recreate her role in the film version for which she won the Oscar. Lonny, who had yet to make a movie, was replaced by the already-established Richard Jaeckel as "Turk" in the film version.
Lonny continued to solidify his reputation on Broadway with "The Chase" (1952), produced and directed by José Ferrer and starring Actors Studio exponents Kim Stanley and Kim Hunter; "Whistler's Grandmother" (1952), co-starring Josephine Hull; "The Ladies of the Corridor" (1953), directed by renowned "Group Theatre" member Harold Clurman; and the Horton Foote-penned "The Traveling Lady" (1954), again starring Ms. Stanley. Elsewhere, he earned excellent notices as "Tom" opposite Franchot Tone's "Joe" in a revival of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" and as the "Gentleman Caller" in the first national tour of "The Glass Menagerie" starring Helen Hayes. By this time, Lonny had begun appearing on early TV, making his debut in an episode of Captain Video and His Cartoon Rangers (1956). His first film was a featured role in the tuneful Doris Day/Frank Sinatra drama Young at Heart (1954) in which he shared secondary scenes with Elisabeth Fraser. Actor Studio preeminent Elia Kazan took a strong liking to Lonny as an actor and looked for no one else to play the role of "Roy", the auto mechanic, in the classic John Steinbeck film East of Eden (1955), which catapulted James Dean to cult status. Kazan then gave Lonny a plum role in his film Baby Doll (1956).
In the late 1950s, Chapman began to show promise as a mover and shaker in the theater. In 1959, and for eight seasons following, he and co-founder Curt Conway devoted their summer seasons to the Cecilwood Theatre in Fishkill, New York, where he directed over 80 productions and performed in nearly thirty. Those up-and-comers who received their Equity union card under his guidance included Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. As a playwright, Lonny saw two of his own works produced off-Broadway -- "The Buffalo Skinner" and "Cry of the Raindrop".
Lonny migrated to Los Angeles in the 1960s in order to pursue film and TV roles and, along with Martin Landau, helped form the West branch of the Actors Studio out there. His gritty look, trademark dusky voice, earnest demeanor and solid Midwest upbringing was his meal ticket for getting Hollywood work. Tailor-made for earthy, blue-collar roles, he was most at home playing unpretentious folk. One would be hard-pressed to see him donning tie and tails in highly elegant settings when he obviously appeared more at home in a plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves or, at the most, a tweed sport coat with loose tie. He provided stark authenticity to a number of westerns, crimers and small-town dramas. In Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), he portrayed the concerned diner operator who tends to Tippi Hedren's head wound after her first gull attack. He subsequently played a secondary but pivotal role in director/friend Mark Rydell's picture The Reivers (1969) set in Mississippi with Steve McQueen, and also one of Sally Field's chauvinistic bosses in the down-home drama Norma Rae (1979). He showed remarkable versatility with a top, change-of-pace supporting part in the early Woody Allen comedy classic Take the Money and Run (1969).
In 1973, he formed the Group Repertory Theatre and served as its first and only artistic director (until his death). Under his strong leadership, the non-profit organization staged over 350 productions, 45 of which were world premieres of original works. Sean Penn and Jennifer Tilly are former members of the company.
Quite visible on TV, he appeared to good advantage in prime-time programming. Headlining one TV series that never got firmly off the ground, The Investigator (1958), in which he played a private detective, he also co-starred with William Shatner and Jessica Walter in the "Law and Order" precursor For the People (1965). During the 60s, 70s and 80s, the gruff, bushy-browed actor could always be spotted somewhere on a topnotch crime show (Perry Mason (1957), The Defenders (1961) (recurring role), Judd for the Defense (1967), Mission: Impossible (1966), Mannix (1967), Ironside (1967), Quincy M.E. (1976), Matlock (1986)). He was given just as much footage sitting tall in the saddle in various western series (Laredo (1965), The Rifleman (1958), The Virginian (1962), Bonanza (1959)). He also appeared more than a few times on Gunsmoke (1955) and McCloud (1970), which starred his good friend Dennis Weaver. One particular highlight was his patriarchal role in an above-par TV-movie adaptation of The Rainmaker (1982) co-starring Tommy Lee Jones and Tuesday Weld.
A modest, down-to-earth kind of guy with a generous heart and spirit who preferred not to call attention to himself, Chapman was a sturdy film and TV presence over the years playing a hefty number of heroes, villains, boss types and confidantes. Although he worked consistently throughout the years, he never found the one role that might have moved him up the pecking order and propel him to the very top of the character echelon. In the twilight of his film career, he showed eerie countenance in his elderly watchman role in Nightwatch (1997), and last graced the screen as an octogenarian in Reindeer Games (2000), directed by John Frankenheimer and The Hunted (2003), directed by William Friedkin.
The last few years of his life were marred by failing health and the increasingly frail actor had to eventually be placed in a Sherman Oaks (California) care facility. He died there of complications from pneumonia and heart disease a little more than a week after his 87th birthday, on October 12, 2007. He was survived by his steadfast wife (of nearly 65 years), the former Erma Dean Gibbons, and their son Wyley Dean. - Scott Forbes was born on 11 September 1920 in High Wycombe, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956), The Saint (1962) and The Penthouse (1967). He was married to Jeanne Moody. He died on 25 February 1997 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Ric Roman was born on 29 September 1916 in New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Big Heat (1953), The Wayward Girl (1957) and Shadows of Tombstone (1953). He died on 11 August 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
- Producer
Clark L. Paylow was born on 16 December 1918 in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, USA. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Conversation (1974) and Sky King (1951). He died on 25 September 1985 in Encino, California, USA.99 westerns, 43-78.
15 feature westerns.
Land of Hunted Men (1943). 1943. Associate producer, Assistant Director.
1918 - 1985, 66.- Actor
- Stunts
Ted Smile was born on 14 May 1921 in Wyoming, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Lawless Rider (1954), Son of the Renegade (1953) and Have Gun - Will Travel (1957). He died on 2 November 2010 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Christopher Dark was born on 21 April 1920 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for World Without End (1956), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and The Time Tunnel (1966). He was married to Eleanor Dark. He died on 10 October 1971 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Production Manager
Herb Wallerstein was born on 28 November 1925 in New York, USA. He was an assistant director and director, known for Star Trek (1966), Mission: Impossible (1966) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). He died on 27 September 1985 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.94 westerns, 54-77.
2 feature westerns.
Through Ticket to Gunsight (1966). 1966. Director.
1925 - 1985, 59.- Fred Coby was born on 1 March 1916 in Glenbrook, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Government Agents vs Phantom Legion (1951), Jungle Goddess (1948) and Laramie (1959). He died on 27 September 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Irving J. Moore was born on 7 April 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Irving J. was a director and assistant director, known for Dallas (1978), The Immortal (1969) and Logan's Run (1977). Irving J. was married to Shirlee Allard and Forrest Dickson. Irving J. died on 2 July 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
William Mims was born on 15 January 1927 in Carthage, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1962), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) and Hot Rods to Hell (1966). He was married to Nancy Lou Irgang. He died on 9 April 1991 in Studio City, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Garland was born on 7 July 1927 in Mineral Wells, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), Panic in Year Zero! (1962) and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955). He was married to Judith Ann (Callies) DeCinces, Patricia Elaine Lee and Beverly Garland. He died on 24 May 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Stunts
John McKee was born on 30 December 1916 in San Luis Obispo, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Cape Fear (1962), 1941 (1979) and Tough Enough (1983). He died on 12 May 2013 in Vineland, New Jersey, USA.87 westerns, 48-76.
37 feature westerns.
Brad Putnam, Fishing for Fingerprints (1956). 1956. Credited.
1916 - 2013, 96.- Jesús Gómez was born in 1921 in Tenamaxtlán, Jalisco, Mexico. He was an actor, known for La tigresa (1973), Chicoasén (1980) and Alerta, alta tensión (1969). He died on 29 October 1999 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
- José Chávez was born on 12 June 1916 in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Romancing the Stone (1984), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Guns for San Sebastian (1968). He was married to María del Carmen Benitez. He died on 12 July 1988 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.
- Emilio Garibay was born on 21 May 1916 in Churintzio, Michoacán, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Secuestro diabolico (1957), El alazán y el rosillo (1966) and Cazadores de cabezas (1962). He was married to Carmen Maciel Azcárate. He died on 31 August 1965 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.
- Paul Fierro began acting at the dawn of commercialized television; in the heyday of Hollywood's youth. The 40s were tough times to get a break in the tightly knit "town of dreams," but Fierro took whatever he could get. He started doing bit parts and eventually the roles grew. By the 1950s he found his niche; usually as the villain in television westerns. Interestingly, the bad guys came in the form of cowboy, or the half-naked Indian as well. His tall, dark, athletic features lending themselves easily to the roles. It was something the always goodhearted actor eventually came to terms with. He became part of one of history's great film moments in 1948, when in "Red River," John Wayne claims Diego's (Walter Brennan) land by shooting Fierro. In 1956, he appeared as Morteno in "The Creature Walks Among Us," one of the classic monster films from the "Creature From the Black Lagoon" series. The cult status of the film was something he found enjoyable in later years, remarking to a reporter once, that laughing at life was one of the things he loved to do.
Fierro was born in L.A.'s "Dogtown," the deteriorating Southside of Santa Monica at the time. As a boy of eight, he sold papers on the corner of Figueroa St. and Santa Barbara Avenue. He also fought in a "smoker" bout at the same age to earn some money, and won. "Smoker" referring to illegally staged and unregulated boxing matches of the early 1900s. In high school he was awarded a football scholarship to North Carolina State, where he played half back from 1935 to 1937, under Notre Dame coach, Hunk Anderson. He spent most of his life during his acting career living in a cottage in Laurel Canyon, before moving to Walnut Creek, CA, where he later passed away. Truly one of the trailblazers to hit the small and big screens in the pioneering days of Hollywood. - Actor
- Stunts
Character actor, Edgar Latimer Hinton, Jr. was one of three persons killed when a single engine amphibious plane hit a cliff and plunged into Toyon Bay, Santa Catalina Island. The plane took off from the bay, circled once, and hit a 40-foot cliff in front of the exclusive Toyon Bay Boat Club. Hinton was a guest at the club with his wife, Marilynn and their three children. He had been summoned abruptly to the mainland and was due in Utah the next day to begin a movie. The crash occurred in full view of Hinton's family who had come down to the boat club pier to wave goodbye.
The aircraft, a Republic Seabee, had taken off about 4 p.m. from Orange County Airport. The pilot, Vince Pardue, had been trying to organize a charter air service from Orange County Airport to Santa Catalina Island. Toyon Bay Boat Club manager Bob Robb said that Pardue had contacted the club about the charter and when Hinton heard that Pardue was returning to the mainland he arranged for a ride. The single engine amphibian headed out to sea, then apparently returned at low altitude so that Hinton could wave to his wife and three children standing on the dock. The plane suddenly lost altitude, smashed into a cliff and fell to the rocky beach.- Nesdon Booth was born on 1 September 1918 in Baker, Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for Cimarron City (1958), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Thriller (1960). He died on 25 March 1964 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Andy Brennan was born on 21 July 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967), The Real McCoys (1957) and The Tycoon (1964). He died on 24 April 2017 in Ventura, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Sam Buffington was born on 12 October 1931 in Swansea, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), Unwed Mother (1958) and Damn Citizen (1958). He was married to Patsy Ann Whitehouse. He died on 15 May 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
José Luis Fernández was born in 1924 in Mexico. He was an actor and writer, known for El Topo (1970), La hora del jaguar (1978) and Hellish Spiders (1968). He died on 28 October 2005 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.- Actor
- Director
Jaime Fernandez, the Mexican movie star, director, and union leader, was born in Monterrey, Mexico, the youngest of the three Fernandez brothers. His half-brother Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez was Mexico's greatest native-born movie director, as well as a greate movie star himself, while his brother Fernando Fernández was a famous singer and movie actor.
Fernandez began acting when he was 10 years old, making his credited screen debut in director Fernando de Fuentes's Allá en el Rancho Grande (1949). His second credited role, in La malquerida (1949), was directed by his brother, Emilio Fernández. Jaime Fernandez worked with the great El Indio on seven other films, and won the Ariel Award (the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Actor in a Minor Role (Mejor Papel de Cuadro Masculino) under his brother's direction for La rebelión de los colgados (1954) (Rebellion of the hanged). Jamie had won his first Ariel award for Best Young Actor (Mejor Actuación Juvenil) for El rebozo de Soledad (1952) ("Soledad's Shawl"), and would win a third as Best Supporting Actor (Mejor Coactuación Masculina) playing Friday in 'Luis Bunuel' 's English-language _Aventuras de Robinson Crusoe, Las (1954)_ .
Fernandez eventually appeared in over 180 films and a number of television mini-series, as well as acted on the stage. The height of his career came in the 1950s and '60s, but he continued to work as a movie actor into the 21st century.
In 1979, he directed himself in La mafia de la frontera (1979), the first of the six films he would helm, five of them in the period 1979-82. He also directed himself in La cosecha de mujeres (1981) and San Juan de Dios es Jalisco (1982). The last film he directed was Las paradas de don Roque (1992), which was released in 1992.
Fernandez also was heavily involved in the National Actors Association (ANDA), Mexico's largest and most influential actors union. He was elected general secretary of ANDA, the union's highest position, in 1966, and served in the post for 11 years.
As a union boss, Fernandez established his reputation as a strong defender of actors' rights. The union underwent a crisis when some actors formed their own, competing union, but his strong leadership during the schism won him the nickname "Chief White Feather."
After stepping down as ANDA boss, Fernandez remained active in the union. On April 16, 2005, he was attending a meeting of union representatives with television broadcaster Televisa in Mexico City when he suffered a fatal heart attack linked to his chronic diabetes.
Jaime Fernandez was survived by his widow, Glenda, and four children.- Born in Portland, Oregon, and educated at the University of Washington and University of Michigan, Colman served in the Japanese Language Division of U.S. Military Intelligence during World War II. After his discharge, he began acting on the New York stage. In 1951, he headed to Hollywood to make his film debut in 'The Big Sky' (1952). Between movie and TV assignments, Colman kept active with theater work. Since 1981, he played Ebenezer Scrooge more than 500 times on the stage of the Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, Michigan.60 westerns, 4 features, 52-79.
1923 - 2014, 91. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Arturo Martínez was born on 21 January 1919 in San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He was an actor and director, known for The Mummies of San Angel (1975), El valiente vive... hasta que el cobarde quiere (1979) and Contrabando y traición (1977). He died on 26 September 1992 in Mexico D.F., Mexico.- Thomas McKee was born on May 30, 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. His parents were John McKee and Anne Corey. He was an actor, known for The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956). and The River's Edge (1957). His television credits include Maverick, Cheyenne, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Bat Masterson, and Tales of Wells Fargo. He died on June 20, 1960 in Burbank, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Allen H. Miner was born on 18 October 1917 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Allen H. was a director and writer, known for The Lawless Years (1959), Chubasco (1968) and M Squad (1957). Allen H. was married to Marjorie Edna Gordon. Allen H. died on 4 January 2004 in San Marcos, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tubby 5' 10 1/2" character actor Bruno VeSota had a remarkably long, varied and impressive career acting and directing in the mediums of stage, radio, movies and television. He was born Bruno William VeSota on March 25th, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the second of three sons born to Lithuanian immigrants Kasmir and Eleanora VeSota. Bruno first began acting in the 7th grade while attending the Catholic parochial school St. George's. He made his stage debut as the villain in the children's play "Christopher's Orphans." At age 19 VeSota went to the Hobart Theatre in Chicago where he learned the basics on acting, make-up and direction. He made his stage directorial debut with a production of "Richard III" and went on to direct everything from the classics to light comedies. After briefly working in Lithuanian radio in the 40s Vesota did a longer stint on English-language radio. He even provided the voice of Winston Churchill for a radio production. Moreover, Bruno joined the Actors Company of Chicago and continued to perform on stage. VeSota then worked in live television in Chicago in 1945. He directed over 2,000 live TV programs and acted in some 200 more. VeSota moved to Hollywood, California in 1952. Bruno began acting in films in 1953. He achieved his greatest cult feature popularity with his frequent and delightful appearances in a bunch of hugely enjoyable low-budget Roger Corman exploitation pictures. Bruno was especially excellent as Yvette Vickers' angry cuckolded husband in the Grade B monster classic "Attack of the Giant Leeches." Other notable movie roles include a disgusting slob junkyard owner who sells stolen automobile parts on the side in "The Choppers," a bartender in "The Haunted Palace," a hapless night watchman who becomes a victim of "The Wasp Woman," a snobby coffeehouse regular in the hilarious black comedy gem "A Bucket of Blood," a perverse oddball named Mr. Donald Duck from Duluth in "Single Room Unfurnished," a nervous innkeeper in "The Undead," a Russian spy in "War of the Satellites," a minister in "Hell's Angels on Wheels," a cultured gangster in "Daddy-O," and a brutish loan enforcer in "Carnival Rock." Bruno narrated the atrocious cheapie clunker "Curse of the Stoned Hand" for notorious schlockmeister Jerry Warren. He also worked on the make-up and has a bit part in Curtis Harrington's nicely spooky "Night Tide." VeSota does a cameo in Steven Spielberg's made-for-TV fright feature "Something Evil." Bruno directed three movies: the entertainingly lurid crime potboiler "The Female Jungle," the fun alien invasion entry "The Brain Eaters," and the silly spoof "Invasion of the Star Creatures." VeSota had a recurring role as a bartender in a handful of episodes of the hit Western TV show "Bonanza." Among the TV shows VeSota had guest spots on are "Kojak," "McMillan and Wife," "Hogan's Heroes," "Mission: Impossible," "It Takes A Thief," "Hondo," "Branded," "My Mother the Car," "The Wild, Wild West," "The Untouchables," and "Leave It to Beaver." VeSota had six children with his wife Genevieve. Bruno VeSota died of a heart attack at age 54 on September 24th, 1976.- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alberto Mariscal was born on 10 March 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a director and actor, known for La muerte va con las mariposas (1976), Mauro el mojado (1987) and Las tres tumbas (1980). He was married to María Luisa Rasgado del Castillo. He died on 24 April 2010 in Fullerton, California, USA.* 43 westerns, 54-89.
Todo por nada (1969). 1969. Director, writer.
Lopez, Sierra Baron (1958). 1958.
1926 - 2010, 84.- John Quijada was born on 18 April 1922 in Maricopa, Arizona, USA. He was an actor, known for Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), Lonesome Dove (1989) and The Young Land (1959). He died on 12 April 2019.* 44 westerns, 57-89.
10 feature westerns.
Vaquero, The Young Land (1959). 1959. Credited.
Mexican soldier, The Proxy (1961). 1961. Credited.
1922 - - Lou Nova was a World Amateur Boxing Champion. Undefeated in his first 22 pro boxing matches. Knocked out former heavyweight champion Max Baer twice. Ended Baer's career in second fight by fracturing his Adam's Apple. Noted for his "Cosmic" Punch. Was badly injured in his fight with "Two Ton" Tony Galento. After this fight spent time in the hospital and almost lost his eye. Fought Joe Louis for the heavyweight title; his famed "Cosmic" Punch could not dent the champion's chin. Won 40 professional fights.