*Famous Faces on "Cheyenne"TV Series (1st Season 1955-56)!
Clint Walker stars as Cheyenne Bodie, a 6' 7" feet of cowboy brawn, courage and integrity. This epic series of gunblazing action and panoramic prairie vistas ran for eight top-rated seasons and it it pit our laconic hero against crooked sheriffs, hostile Indians, outlaws, rustlers and trigger-happy hooligans. Bullets scream, wit and fists fly, but justice prevails. And, as the dust settles, riding off to new adventures is Cheyenne Bodie, looming large in the hearts of Western Fans....
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- George D. Wallace was born in New York and, at age 13, moved with his mom and her new husband to McMechen, West Virginia, a coal mining town where the boy began working in the mines. He joined the Navy in 1936, got out in 1940, and then went right back in again when World War II started. A chief boatswain's mate, he ended up in Los Angeles after a total of eight years in the service. Wallace supported himself with an array of odd jobs, from working for a meat packer ("knockin' steers in the head") to lumber-jacking in the High Sierras. A stint as a singing bartender attracted the attention of Hollywood columnist Jimmy Fidler, who helped him get his show-biz start. Wallace enrolled in drama school in the late 1940s, while earning his living tending the greens at MGM. He soon began landing jobs in films and TV, most notably as Commando Cody in the Republic serial Radar Men from the Moon (1952). He later made his Broadway debut in Richard Rodgers' "Pipe Dreams," replaced John Raitt in "The Pajama Game" and was nominated for a Tony for his leading role in "New Girl in Town" with Gwen Verdon. Other stage roles have included "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" opposite Ginger Rogers, "Jennie" with Mary Martin, "Most Happy Fella" (during production, he met his present wife, actress Jane A. Johnston), "Camelot" (as King Arthur), "Man of La Mancha," "Company," and more. In 1960, his career was stalled when a horse fell on him and broke his back during the making of an episode of TV's The Magical World of Disney (1954)'s "Swamp Fox." His painful recovery took seven months. He sometimes billed himself George D. H. Wallace, to avoid confusion with comic George Wallace.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Plank - Don Megowan was born on 24 May 1922 in Inglewood, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Creation of the Humanoids (1962), The Werewolf (1956) and Blazing Saddles (1974). He was married to Alva Megowan and Betty Eleanor Wright. He died on 26 June 1981 in Panorama City, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"Wes Garth" - Actor
- Soundtrack
The son of a Georgia minister, Edward Andrews debuted on stage in 1926 at age 12. By 1935, he had landed on Broadway. A solid character actor, his amiable demeanor made him a natural for the jovial, grandfatherly types and genial, small-town businessmen he often played, but his very large physique and peering eyes, partially hidden behind ever-present large-framed eyeglasses, served him well when cast as a heavy, i.e. a sinister character like a corrupt businessman or official, or worse. He was memorable as the glad-handing, charming but murderous leader of a corrupt political machine in The Phenix City Story (1955) and, later in his career, as Molly Ringwald's solicitous grandfather in Sixteen Candles (1984).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 3
The Argonauts (1 Nov. 1955)
"Duncan" (as Ed Andrews)- Actor
- Director
A graduate of the University of Southern California School of Law, Morris Ankrum was an attorney and an economics professor before switching careers and joining the theater. He was a veteran stage actor by the time he entered the film industry in the 1930s. His film career spanned 1933-64, during which time he played in 279 films and TV shows. Ankrum spent much time in westerns, playing everything from Indian chiefs to crooked bankers. Among his best remembered parts are his numerous villainous roles in Paramount's highly popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. The Hoppy films in which he appears include North of the Rio Grande (1937), Hills of Old Wyoming (1937), Pirates on Horseback (1941), Three Men from Texas (1940), Borderland (1937), and Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936), among others.
He was cast in many other films throughout the '30s, '40s, and '50s, varying from small appearances to co-starring roles. He can be seen in low-budget "B" pictures and big-budget blockbusters alike. It was in the 1950s, though, that he hit his stride in the science-fiction genre, where his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and authoritative voice perfectly fit the role of the military officer helping scientists fight off outer-space menaces, most memorably as Col. Fielding in the classic Invaders from Mars (1953).
Later in his career he did much TV work, in such series as Bonanza (1959), The Rifleman (1958), Rawhide (1959), Cheyenne (1955), Gunsmoke (1955), The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955), Maverick (1957), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Sea Hunt (1958), and over a dozen more. At the end of his career from 1957-64, he had a recurring role as a judge in 22 episodes on the Perry Mason (1957) TV series.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
"Ed Roden, Sr."
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"John Clements"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Robert Armstrong is familiar to old-movie buffs for his case-hardened, rapid-fire delivery in such roles as fast-talking promoters, managers, FBI agents, street cops, detectives and other such characters in scores of films--over 160--many of them at Warner Brothers, where he was part of the so-called "Warner Brothers Stock Company" that consisted of such players as James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale and Humphrey Bogart, among others.
Although he could easily be taken for having grown up in a tough area of Brooklyn or the Bronx, he was actually from the Midwest. He was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1890, and his father owned a small and profitable flotilla of boats for use on Lake Michigan. Hearing the Siren call of the gold fields in late 19th-century Alaska, however, he packed up the family and headed west. A typical staging place to start north was in Washington state, and the family settled in Seattle. Robert spent a short hitch in the infantry during World War I. Afterwards he decided to go into law and started to study at the University of Washington. However, it wasn't long before that he decided he had a gift for acting and--perhaps influenced by his uncle, playwright and producer Paul Armstrong--decided to follow that path. He hooked up with future Hollywood character actor James Gleason, known to everyone as "Jimmy", who worked for a variety of playhouses in California and Oregon and who was heir to his parents' stock company, which toured across the US. Armstrong joined Gleason's company and returned with them to New York. He started from the bottom up, learning the craft of acting. After moving on to leading roles, he received the prime part in Gleason's own play "Is Zat So?" (1925-1926), a particularly successful play among several he had written (he also directed and produced plays on Broadway into 1928).
Hollywood scouts were watching, and Armstrong found himself with a film contract. He appeared in approximately 10 films in 1928 alone, and after the first five he was able, with the advent of sound, to give voice to the take-charge, mile-a-minute, clenched-teeth delivery that would make him one of the busiest character men in Hollywood--and right alongside him in several of his early 1930s features was his old friend and boss Jimmy Gleason.
It was in 1932 that Armstrong became acquainted with an ambitious and adventurous pair of Hollywood filmmakers. Both were World War I fliers, big-game hunters and animal trappers, and partners in high adventure documentaries, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack had found a friend in rising producer David O. Selznick, who brought them on board at RKO, with Cooper as production idea man. Schoedsack was the technical side of the pair, knowledgeable about the actual physical and technical side of filmmaking, , and became the actual director of their projects, with Cooper as an associate producer and sometime co-director. They turned out what would be the first of a string of horror-tinged adventure movies, The Most Dangerous Game (1932), with Armstrong having a part in it. He got in his usual wisecrack lines but from a less dimensioned character who had an early demise--the film centered on Joel McCrea and still young silent screen veteran Fay Wray. Cooper saw much of himself in Armstrong's general personality and wanted him for a film that he had been wanting to make for quite a few years, an adventure yarn dealing with the stories he had heard during his years making films in jungles all over the world of giant, vicious apes. The resulting film, King Kong (1933), would put Armstrong at stage center as big-time promoter Carl Denham (very much Cooper himself). The film also began co-star Fay Wray on the road to stardom. With Copper and Schoedsack co-directing and the legendary Willis H. O'Brien heading up a visual effects team supporting his for-the-time astounding animated miniature sequences, the film was a treasure trove for RKO, bringing newfound respect for a studio known mostly for its "B" action films and westerns. It was Armstrong's defining moment and set the stage for the plethora of leading man and second lead roles he would play through the 1930s.
A sequel, Son of Kong (1933), followed almost immediately with the same production team and, though not achieving the critical or box-office acclaim as its predecessor, showcased another Armstrong strength--a great sense of comedic timing that had been evident, but not really traded upon, in previous films. The Cooper/Schoedsack team got in one more for 1933, with Armstrong as an uncommon--for him--romantic lead in Blind Adventure (1933), a fast-paced but but often uneven adventure yarn. All the studios wanted him, and what followed was a flood of usually good, crowd-pleasing roles, although still in "B" pictures. Among the better ones were Palooka (1934) and 'G' Men (1935), with Armstrong playing a hard-nosed FBI agent who is mentor and partner to a young James Cagney. With a full menu of adventure yarns and colorful cop and military roles, at the end of the decade Armstrong even played one of America's great folk heroes - Jim Bowie - in Man of Conquest (1939), this time at Republic Pictures.
Armstrong got more of the same in the decade of World War II--although with age he started to slip down the cast list--with some variety, playing a Nazi agent in the spoof My Favorite Spy (1942) and--in somewhat ridiculous "Japanese" makeup--as a Japanese secret-police colonel (named Tojo) with former co-star James Cagney in the escapist romp Blood on the Sun (1945). Finally, Cooper--gorillas still on his mind--came calling for Armstrong again for his Mighty Joe Young (1949), which he made about midway in his association with partner John Ford in their Argosy Pictures venture under the wing of RKO. Armstrong was again a reincarnation of Carl Denham as Max O'Hara, a fast-talking promoter looking for a sensation in "Darkest Africa". The Ford touch is perhaps seen in the cowboys who go along with young Ben Johnson as romantic lead to enthusiastic--to say the least--Terry Moore with her pet gorilla Joe (about half as big as King Kong but definitely no ordinary gorilla). It is a great little movie, with more light-hearted tone than "Kong" and a red-tinted fire scene recalling the silents. It was a Saturday matinée favorite for at least a decade afterward (this writer enjoyed it as his first movie theater adventure as a small child).
Armstrong increasingly went to the small screen through the 1950s. He was a familiar face on most of the TV playhouse programs of the period and did many of the series oaters and crime shows of the period. He received a great send-up as a guest on Red Skelton's variety show when the oft giggling host asked him, "Say, did you ever get that monkey off that building?" Armstrong liked keeping busy and helping friends. One of the latter was Cooper--still promoting as his alter ego Carl Denham in his old age. The two passed away within 24 hours of one another in April of 1973.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
"Marshall Len Merrick"- Wavy-haired, articulate, quietly-spoken Bardette was one of Hollywood's archetypal villains of westerns and cliffhanger serials. He initially aspired to become a mechanical engineer after graduating from Oregon State University in June 1925. However, by the late 1920s, he had changed his name from Terva Gaston Hubbard to Trevor Bardette and embarked on a brief, unremarkable acting career on the East Coast stage, before moving to Hollywood in 1937. Though he went on to essay the occasional sheriff, rustic, frontiersman or hero's sidekick, his stoney features and deep-set, cold eyes ensured that he would invariably be cast as a ruthless heavy, sneaky spy, swindler, gangster or double-crosser. In the course of a thirty year career, the majority of his characters rarely survived until the final scene.
A hard-working character player, Bardette took on just about any role offered him. Between 1938 and 1940 alone, he appeared in some 33 films, including bits in prestige pictures like Jezebel (1938), Marie Antoinette (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) and The Grapes of Wrath (1940). At the smaller studios and later for television, he fared rather better in terms of screen time. Serials, especially, gave him the opportunity to chew the scenery at his most menacing: as the scar-faced Pegleg (aka Mitchell) of Overland with Kit Carson (1939), the icily controlled, preening killer Raven of Winners of the West (1940); and the deceptively meek Jensen, head of a Nazi spy ring, in The Secret Code (1942). On TV, he was Old Man Clanton, cattle rustler and perpetual nemesis of law and order in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955) (though, in actual fact, N.H. Clanton never faced the Earps, having met his fate earlier at the hands of Mexican cowboys in Guadalupe Canyon). Then there were recurring roles in series like Lassie (1954), Cheyenne (1955) and Gunsmoke (1955), to name but a few.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Bardette bought his own ranch in Green Valley, Arizona, where he spent his remaining years after retiring from acting in 1970. In interesting footnote is his authorship (under his original name) of a short story entitled "The Phantom Photoplay", published in the August 1927 issue of Weird Tales magazine. His first name Terva, evidently sounded sufficiently feminine to be included among the publication's list of lady writers.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
"Ed McKeever" - Lane Bradford was born on 29 August 1922 in Yonkers, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), The Invisible Monster (1950) and The Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958). He was married to Joan Irene Velin and Mary Schrock. He died on 7 June 1973 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
"Sgt. Baker"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)
"Cliff O'Neill" - Actress
- Soundtrack
Tall, sultry, green-eyed blonde Peggie Castle was actually spotted by a talent scout while she was lunching in a Beverly Hills restaurant. In her films she was usually somebody's "woman" rather than a girlfriend, and her career was confined to mostly "B"-grade action pictures, dramas or westerns: Harem Girl (1952), Wagons West (1952), The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Jesse James' Women (1954), among others. She did, however, have good roles in such films as Payment on Demand (1951) with Bette Davis, 99 River Street (1953) with John Payne, I, the Jury (1953), The White Orchid (1954), Miracle in the Rain (1956) with Jane Wyman and in Seven Hills of Rome (1957) with Mario Lanza. After three seasons playing sexy femme lead Lily Merrill, the dance-hall hostess and romantic interest for steely-eyed Marshal Dan Troop in the TV western series Lawman (1958), she left show business in 1962. She later developed an alcohol problem and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1973 at age 45.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 12
Fury at Rio Hondo (17 Apr. 1956)
"Mississippi"- William Challee was born on 6 April 1904 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Five Easy Pieces (1970), Desperate (1947) and Bonanza (1959). He was married to Joan Wheeler, Ella Franklin Crawford, Ruth Nelson and Eleanor Lynn. He died on 11 March 1989 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Tatum Soldier with Michael Landon" (uncredited) - Billy Chapin was born on 28 December 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Night of the Hunter (1955), Tobor the Great (1954) and Violent Saturday (1955). He was married to Susan Carole Briere. He died on 2 December 2016 in the USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
"Tommy Scott" - Actress
- Soundtrack
Born Madelyn Earle Jones in South Carolina in 1919, this future actress' childhood dream was to be a missionary in China, but a taste of acting in school plays soon changed her mind and she decided on a career on stage. Her mother was supportive of her decision and, while Madelyn was attending college in South Carolina, entered her picture in a contest sponsored by CBS Radio for a part in a radio play in Hollywood. Madelyn won the part and took the name of the character she played, Lois Collier, as her professional name.
Collier landed more radio work, and soon began playing small parts in local stage productions and getting some work in a few films for Republic Pictures. It was on stage, however, where she was spotted by a scout for Universal Pictures and given a seven-year contract. Although Lois possessed a beautiful singing voice, Universal seldom gave her a chance to show it off, and she was stuck in a succession of B pictures and serials. When her contract expired, she freelanced and did a few comedies and westerns for Monogram and some serials for Republic. In 1951 she got a role on the Boston Blackie (1951) TV series, and stayed on the show until it was canceled in 1954, after which she retired from the business.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
"Ruth McKeever"- Peter Coe was born on 11 November 1918 in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia. He was an actor, known for Vigilante Force (1976), Road to Bali (1952) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). He was married to Rosalee Calvert. He died on 9 June 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Perado - Steve Conte was born on January 16, 1920, in Gagliato, Italy. He came to the US with his family in 1926. They sailed to New York, where he spent his teenage years. During WWII he served in the Army Air Corps, where he was based in Europe. Soon after the war he married and had two children, Shirley and Bruce. Sometime in the late 1950s he divorced and focused on his career. His ex-wife and children moved to Las Vegas sometime later. At the time the family had been living in Los Angeles, where Steve continued to reside. One of his favorite hangouts was Schwab's on Sunset and La Cienega, known for its show business-based clientèle. In 1960 he had a son, Steve, who was put up for adoption, and who searched for and found him in 1992. Among family and close friends, he was known for his sense of humor and love of practical jokes.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 3
The Argonauts (1 Nov. 1955)
"Acuna" - Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Louis Albert Denninger Jr. was the son of a garment manufacturer who relocated and set up shop in Los Angeles when Louis Jr. was 18 months old. After finishing school, Denninger enrolled at Woodbury Business College and majored in business and accounting, graduating cum laude with a master's in business administration. But Denninger, who never liked accounting, started becoming involved in little theater groups as a hobby and was encouraged to compete in a radio contest called "Do You Want to Be an Actor?", winning a screen test at Warner Brothers. Warners wasn't interested in him because he looked too much like another well-known actor under contract, but by now he had his heart set on a movie career. Denninger was soon signed by Paramount, who insisted on changing his name (to "Richard Denning") because his real name, Denninger, sounded too much like gunman John Dillinger's. He retired and moved to Maui but was asked to play the governor in TV's Hawaii Five-O (1968). He agreed to play the governor as long as he didn't have to be in every episode. It ran for 12 years, ending in 1980. Five years later, his actress-wife Evelyn Ankers died at their up-country Maui home (cancer). "I'm very grateful for a career that wasn't spectacular, but always made a good living or filled in "in-between," Denning said of his acting days. "I have wonderful memories of it, but I don't really miss it."Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Capt. Quinlan" - Actor
- Soundtrack
Stocky, balding American character actor with a rich, deep voice, equally adept at Western bad guys and Shakespeare. He began his career in films in minor roles, primarily as gangland henchmen, and progressed to become widely familiar as a figure in a variety of dramas and occasional comedies. Although a stalwart and reliable supporting player, he was not of a type to essay leading roles in films, but remained a well-respected actor whose face, if not name, is familiar to a generation of film and television viewers.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
"Sgt. Cap Daniels"- One of four children, lovely Detroit-born actress Doris Dowling (born May 15, 1923) would follow older sister Constance Dowling (who died relatively young in 1969) into show business. Raised in New York City, she briefly spent some time with a San Francisco Folies Bergère company before returning to New York and studying at Hunter College.
Following several years as a singing/dancing Broadway chorine in such musicals as Panama Hattie (debut at age 17), Banjo Eyes, Beat the Band and New Faces of 1943, Doris decided to pattern sister Constance's career formula by relocating to Hollywood and pursue films. After a couple of bit parts, she scored with the second femme role of a barfly, prostitute and enabler to fellow alcoholic Ray Milland in the sobering classic film The Lost Weekend (1945). That movie, which won "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" for Milland, was the first to deal with the harrowing effects of alcoholism. This success led to an equally choice victimy part in the Raymond Chandler film noir The Blue Dahlia (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake as Ladd's ill-fated wife. From there she was relegated to "B"-level post-war films. She co-starred with Kent Taylor in the crime mystery The Crimson Key (1947), but then found herself uncredited a year later in the Bing Crosby musical romancer The Emperor Waltz (1948).
Seeing the writing on the wall, Doris (like sister Constance) decided to move and continue her movie career abroad. With her dark, earthy, exotic-eyed beauty, she complemented several dramas, including a starring role in the Italian classic Bitter Rice (1949) that also starred Vittorio Gassman and made an international sex star out of Silvana Mangano. Filmed entirely in Cuba, she then starred in the minor musical drama Sarumba (1950) playing a singer and love interest to handsome sailor Michael Whalen, followed by a second femme role in the Italian drama Alina (1950) starring rising goddess Gina Lollobrigida. Doris' last starring film was in the romantic adventure Cuori sul mare (1950) (Hearts at Sea) with handsome Jacques Sernas. Before departing Italy, she also played Bianca in Orson Welles' troubled European production of Othello (1951), which was filmed in Italy and Morocco.
Returning to the US by 1952, theater and TV would comprised much of Doris' later work. She appeared on several anthology programs, including "Armstrong Circle Theatre," "Goodyear Playhouse" and "Schlitz Playhouse," and guested on the popular dramatic shows of the day such as "Medic," "Cheyenne," "Richard Diamond, Private Detective," Mike Hammer," "Have Gun--Will Travel," "Checkmate," Shirley Temple's Storybook," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Perry Mason," "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Bonanza," "Barnaby Jones," "The Dukes of Hazzard," and the mini-series "Scruples." She also enjoyed a regular role on the Julie Newmar-hyped female robot sitcom My Living Doll (1964).
In 1973, Doris returned to the stage and shared an Outer Critics Circle award for her performance in the all-star stage production of "The Women" on Broadway. Her final film roles were in The Car (1977) and Separate Ways (1981)
Married three times, she was wife #7 to band leader Artie Shaw, her first husband, with whom she had a son, Jonathan Shaw. Doris died June 18, 2004 at age 81, and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Los Angeles.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
"Cora Culver" - Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivacious blue-eyed blonde Penny Edwards was born in New York City in 1928 and displayed signs of musical talent as a youth. She began studying dance by age six and, as a teen, appeared on Broadway in "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1943". After a couple of other musicals and a stint with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, she was signed by Warner Brothers in 1947. She showed great perk and promise as a second lead, singing and dancing opposite the likes of Dennis Morgan and Ben Blue in her film debut, My Wild Irish Rose (1947). She continued on winningly in the Shirley Temple vehicle That Hagen Girl (1947); then alongside Morgan again in Two Guys from Texas (1948); with Donald O'Connor and Marjorie Main in the rube musical Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948); and in another musical, Tucson (1949).
After a successful vaudeville tour, Penny was signed by Republic Pictures and started off in a series of "prairie flower" ingénue roles while temporarily replacing a pregnant Dale Evans in a number of Roy Rogers oaters. In 1951, she wed agent Ralph Winters and had two daughters: Deborah Winters (born 1954), who would go on to become an actress in her own right, and Rebecca (born 1956). After a succession of "B" movies, Penny left Hollywood to focus on religious work. She later reappeared on the more popular TV shows of the day, including the westerns Tales of Wells Fargo (1957), Wagon Train (1957) and Bonanza (1959), and in light-hearted entertainment alongside Robert Cummings and Red Skelton in their respective shows. Penny's lovely, ladylike features also made a significant dent in the commercial market, appearing as "The Lux Girl", "The Palmolive Girl" and "The Tiparillo Girl".
Following her divorce in 1958, Penny married Jerry Friedman and they had a son, David. That 1964 union would end up in the divorce courts as well. Penny retired from show biz completely by the mid-1960s and died, in 1998, of lung cancer, just two days after her 70th birthday.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
"Molly Crowley"- Sam Flint was born on 19 October 1882 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for My Pal Trigger (1946), A Face in the Fog (1936) and Junior Prom (1946). He was married to Ella Ethridge. He died on 17 October 1980 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
Williams (uncredited)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 9
Rendezvous at Red Rock (21 Feb. 1956)
"Roberts" - Actor
- Director
- Producer
He was born in the Bronx, New York. As a young man, he moved to Los Angeles and studied at Los Angeles City College. He served in the Navy during World War II. Fowley played everything from cowboys to gangsters, appearing alongside stars like Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. He debuted in The Mad Game (1933), with Spencer Tracy and Claire Trevor. In his best-known performance, the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain (1952), he played a film director trying to ease a silent-film star into her first talking picture. His best-known television role was as Doc Holliday in the popular ABC western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955) during the 1950s and early '60s. His last film was The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) in 1979. He played Grandpa Hanks in the CBS comedy Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1966) in 1966-67. Other television credits included The Streets of San Francisco (1972), Perry Mason (1957) and The Rockford Files (1974). He died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital, aged 86.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 9
Rendezvous at Red Rock (21 Feb. 1956)
"Pritchard"- Dean Fredericks was born on 21 January 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Phantom Planet (1961), Jungle Jim (1955) and The Disembodied (1957). He was married to Myda. He died on 30 June 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
"Chief Yellow Knife" (as Norman Frederic) - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Amiable and handsome James Garner had obtained success in both films and television, often playing variations of the charming anti-hero/con-man persona he first developed in Maverick, the offbeat western TV series that shot him to stardom in the late 1950s.
James Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, to Mildred Scott (Meek) and Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a carpet layer. He dropped out of high school at 16 to join the Merchant Marines. He worked in a variety of jobs and received 2 Purple Hearts when he was wounded twice during the Korean War. He had his first chance to act when a friend got him a non-speaking role in the Broadway stage play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1954)". Part of his work was to read lines to the lead actors and he began to learn the craft of acting. This play led to small television roles, television commercials and eventually a contract with Warner Brothers. Director David Butler saw something in Garner and gave him all the attention he needed when he appeared in The Girl He Left Behind (1956). After co-starring in a handful of films during 1956-57, Warner Brothers gave Garner a co-starring role in the the western series Maverick (1957). Originally planned to alternate between Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) and Bret Maverick (Garner), the show quickly turned into the Bret Maverick Show. As Maverick, Garner was cool, good-natured, likable and always ready to use his wits to get him in or out of trouble. The series was highly successful, and Garner continued in it into 1960 when he left the series in a dispute over money.
In the early 1960s Garner returned to films, often playing the same type of character he had played on "Maverick". His successful films included The Thrill of It All (1963), Move Over, Darling (1963), The Great Escape (1963) and The Americanization of Emily (1964). After that, his career wandered and when he appeared in the automobile racing movie Grand Prix (1966), he got the bug to race professionally. Soon, this ambition turned to supporting a racing team, not unlike what Paul Newman would do in later years.
Garner found great success in the western comedy Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). He tried to repeat his success with a sequel, Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), but it wasn't up to the standards of the first one. After 11 years off the small screen, Garner returned to television in a role not unlike that in Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969). The show was Nichols (1971) and he played the sheriff who would try to solve all problems with his wits and without gun play. When the show was canceled, Garner took the news by having Nichols shot dead, never to return in a sequel. In 1974 he got the role for which he will probably be best remembered, as wry private eye Jim Rockford in the classic The Rockford Files (1974). This became his second major television hit, with Noah Beery Jr. and Stuart Margolin, and in 1977 he won an Emmy for his portrayal. However, a combination of injuries and the discovery that Universal Pictures' "creative bookkeeping" would not give him any of the huge profits the show generated soon soured him and the show ended in 1980. In the 1980s Garner appeared in few movies, but the ones he did make were darker than the likable Garner of old. These included Tank (1984) and Murphy's Romance (1985). For the latter, he was nominated for both the Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Returning to the western mode, he co-starred with the young Bruce Willis in Sunset (1988), a mythical story of Wyatt Earp, Tom Mix and 1920s Hollywood.
In the 1990s Garner received rave reviews for his role in the acclaimed television movie about corporate greed, Barbarians at the Gate (1993). After that he appeared in the theatrical remake of his old television series, Maverick (1994), opposite Mel Gibson. Most of his appearances after that were in numerous TV movies based upon The Rockford Files (1974). His most recent films were My Fellow Americans (1996) and Space Cowboys (2000) .Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
"Lt. Brad Forsythe"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Lt. Lee Rogers"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)
"Rev. Bret"- Actor
- Writer
- Director
James Gleason was born in New York City to William Gleason and Mina Crolius, who were both in the theatre. He was married to Lucile Gleason (born Lucile Webster), and had a son, Russell Gleason. As a young man James fought in the Spanish-American War. After the war he joined the stock company at the Liberty Theater in Oakland, California, which his parents were running. James and his wife then moved to Portland, Oregon, where they played in stock at the Baker Theater. For several years afterward they toured in road shows until James enlisted in the army during World War I. When he returned he appeared on the stage in "The Five Million." He then turned to writing, including "Is Zat So", which he produced for the NY stage. He also wrote and acted in "The Fall Guy" and "The Shannons on Broadway." Next he wrote The Broadway Melody (1929) for MGM. He collaborated, in 1930, on The Swellhead (1930), Dumbbells in Ermine (1930), What a Widow! (1930), Rain or Shine (1930) and His First Command (1929). He and his wife were then contracted to Pathe, Lucille to act, and James (or Jimmie as he was known) as a writer. Probably his most famous acting role was as Max Corkle, the manager of Joe Pendleton who was wrongly plucked from this life into the next, in the hit fantasy Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
"Pop Keith "- Actor
- Writer
Big, burly character actor, one of the toughest of screen heavies. New York-born Leo Gordon's combination of a powerful physique, deep, menacing voice and icy, withering glare was guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of even the bravest screen hero. Director Don Siegel, who used Gordon in his prison film Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), once said that "Leo Gordon was the scariest man I have ever met"--this coming from a man who had directed John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Bette Midler! Siegel wasn't talking about just Gordon's screen presence. As a "heavy", Gordon was the real deal--before becoming an actor (he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Gordon served five years in San Quentin State Prison for armed robbery (during which he was shot several times point-blank by police--and survived). "Riot in Cell Block 11" was filmed at Folsom State Prison--where Gordon also served time--and the Folsom warden remembered him as a troublemaker.At first he refused to allow the film to be shot there if Gordon was to be in it, but Siegel was able to convince him that Gordon was no threat to the prison.
Contrary to his image, though, Gordon was not just a one-note villain. He did play sympathetic parts on occasion, notably in the western Black Patch (1957)--which he also wrote--and in Roger Corman's civil rights drama The Intruder (1962), and turned in first-rate performances, especially in the latter film. Gordon was also a screenwriter, turning out several screenplays for Corman. He wasn't just limited to writing low-budget sci-fi films, either; he penned the screenplay for the WWII epic Tobruk (1967), writing in a meaty part for himself as Kruger, a tough sergeant in a platoon of German Jews masquerading as Nazi soldiers to help blow up a German oil storage facility.
Leo Gordon died in Los Angeles, CA, in 2000 at age 78 of heart failure.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
"George MacDonald"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dabbs Greer was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as assorted villains. With his plain looking face, wavy hair and mellow, distinctive voice he was a solid supporting actor.
He was born on April 2, 1917, in Fairview, Missouri, to Randall Alexander Greer and Bernice Irene Dabbs. Reared in Anderson, Missouri, he was the only child of a pharmacist father and a speech therapist mother. His first acting experience was on stage in a children's theatre production when he was eight years old. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, where he earned a BA and headed the drama department and Little Theatre in Mountain Grove, Missouri, from 1940-43. He then moved on to the famed Pasadena Playhouse in California as actor, instructor and administrator from 1943-50. He made his film debut in Reign of Terror (1949) (aka "The Black Book") in an uncredited bit part and went on to appear in many parts during the next 50 years. He is probably best remembered for his role as Rev. Alden on Little House on the Prairie (1974) but he was also a regular on the TV series Gunsmoke (1955) as a merchant, Mr. Jonas; Hank (1965) as Coach Ossie Weiss and Picket Fences (1992) as Rev. Henry Novotny. He also appeared in made-for-TV movies and guest-starred on such series as Adventures of Superman (1952); The Rifleman (1958); Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958); Trackdown (1957); Perry Mason (1957); Bonanza (1959); The Fugitive (1963) and The Brady Bunch (1969). He died in 2007, aged 90. He never married, had no children, and left no immediate relatives.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"Townsman" (uncredited)- Stephanie Diane Griffin was born on March 15, 1934, in Valley City, Ohio, USA, population 250, the daughter of Noel and Alice Griffin. Stephanie and her younger sisters, Michaleine and Patricia, moved with their mother to West Hollywood from Santa Cruz in 1941. Stephanie graduated from Liverpool High School in West Hollywood, now part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. She was a model and actress. Following her first television appearance in 1954 as Claire on The Ford Television Theater program, "Sister Veronica," she appeared in 1955 as Marjorie Forrester on all fourteen episodes of The Great Gildersleeve. Those were followed by three 1956 roles on The Bob Hope Show, Cheyenne, and another Ford Theater appearance as Laura on "Sheila." Her only film role was Valinda Normand also in 1956, "The Last Wagon." Stephanie appeared on the July 2, 1956 Life Magazine cover. In 1957 she played Sally on the Code 3 program, "The Guilty Ones." It was thirty-two years later in 1989 that she acted as Dr. Brooks in her final role in the made for television movie, "The Karen Carpenter Story." Her first husband, David L. March filed suit for divorce against her charging adultery. He claimed she was intimate with businessman James Raskin on several occasion in September and October 1956. March dropped his divorce suit in November, clearing the way for Stephanie to prosecute her own divorce complaint, charging cruelty. As part of Stephanie's divorce settlement in December 1956 she waived alimony and agreed to pay all community debts up to $4,000. Stephanie married James L. Raskin in March 1957. They divorced in January 1968. Stephanie Raskin has been living in Valley Village, Los Angeles County, California USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
"Jenny McKeever" - Actor
- Writer
American actor and occasional screenwriter. One of the most frequently seen heavies in films and television programs of the 1950s, his name is nevertheless well known only to buffs. Occasionally he played minor leads and sympathetic characters, but his stern good looks and rich deep voice made him a memorable villain, particularly in Westerns.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
"Carl Thompson"- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Multi-talented and unconventional actor/director regarded by many as one of the true "enfant terribles" of Hollywood who led an amazing cinematic career for more than five decades, Dennis Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas. The young Hopper expressed interest in acting from a young age and first appeared in a slew of 1950s television shows, including Medic (1954), Cheyenne (1955) and Sugarfoot (1957). His first film role was in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), quickly followed by Giant (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Hopper actually became good friends with James Dean and was shattered when Dean was killed in a car crash in September 1955.
Hopper portrayed a young Napoléon Bonaparte (!) in the star-spangled The Story of Mankind (1957) and regularly appeared on screen throughout the 1960s, often in rather undemanding parts, usually as a villain in westerns such as True Grit (1969) and Hang 'Em High (1968). However, in early 1969, Hopper, fellow actor Peter Fonda and writer Terry Southern, wrote a counterculture road movie script and managed to scrape together $400,000 in financial backing. Hopper directed the low-budget film, titled Easy Rider (1969), starring Fonda, Hopper and a young Jack Nicholson. The film was a phenomenal box-office success, appealing to the anti-establishment youth culture of the times. It changed the Hollywood landscape almost overnight and major studios all jumped onto the anti-establishment bandwagon, pumping out low-budget films about rebellious hippies, bikers, draft dodgers and pot smokers. However, Hopper's next directorial effort, The Last Movie (1971), was a critical and financial failure, and he has admitted that during the 1970s he was seriously abusing various substances, both legal and illegal, which led to a downturn in the quality of his work. He appeared in a sparse collection of European-produced films over the next eight years, before cropping up in a memorable performance as a pot-smoking photographer alongside Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now (1979). He also received acclaim for his work in both acting and direction for Out of the Blue (1980).
With these two notable efforts, the beginning of the 1980s saw a renaissance of interest by Hollywood in the talents of Dennis Hopper and exorcising the demons of drugs and alcohol via a rehabilitation program meant a return to invigorating and provoking performances. He was superb in Rumble Fish (1983), co-starred in the tepid spy thriller The Osterman Weekend (1983), played a groovy school teacher in My Science Project (1985), was a despicable and deranged drug dealer in River's Edge (1986) and, most memorably, electrified audiences as foul-mouthed Frank Booth in the eerie and erotic David Lynch film Blue Velvet (1986). Interestingly, the offbeat Hopper was selected in the early 1980s to provide the voice of "The StoryTeller" in the animated series of "Rabbit Ears" children's films based upon the works of Hans Christian Andersen!
Hopper returned to film direction in the late 1980s and was at the helm of the controversial gang film Colors (1988), which was well received by both critics and audiences. He was back in front of the cameras for roles in Super Mario Bros. (1993), got on the wrong side of gangster Christopher Walken in True Romance (1993), led police officer Keanu Reeves and bus passenger Sandra Bullock on a deadly ride in Speed (1994) and challenged gill-man Kevin Costner for world supremacy in Waterworld (1995). The enigmatic Hopper continued to remain busy through the 1990s and into the new century with performances in All the Way (2003), The Keeper (2004) and Land of the Dead (2005).
As well as his acting/directing talents, Hopper was a skilled photographer and painter, having had his works displayed in galleries in both the United States and overseas. He was additionally a dedicated and knowledgeable collector of modern art and had one of the most extensive collections in the United States. Dennis died of prostate cancer on May 29, 2010, less than two weeks after his 74th birthday.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
"Utah Kid"- Actor
- Producer
- Director
This tall, sandy-haired, mustachioed actor from Texas, born Justus McQueen, adopted the name of the character he portrayed in his first film, Battle Cry (1955). Jones, with his craggy, gaunt looks, first appeared in minor character roles in plenty of WWII films including The Young Lions (1958), The Naked and the Dead (1958), Hell Is for Heroes (1962) and Battle of the Coral Sea (1959). However, 1962 saw him team up with maverick director Sam Peckinpah for the first of Jones' five appearances in his films. Ride the High Country (1962) saw Jones play one of the lowlife Hammond brothers. Next he appeared alongside Charlton Heston in Major Dundee (1965), then Peckinpah cast him, along with his real-life friend Strother Martin, as one of the scummy, murderous bounty hunters in The Wild Bunch (1969). Such was the chemistry between Jones and Martin that Peckinpah teamed them again the following year in The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), and Jones' final appearance in a Peckinpah film was in another western, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). Two years later Jones directed the cult post-apocalyptic film A Boy and His Dog (1975) starring a young Don Johnson. He has continued to work in Hollywood, and as the lines on his craggy face have deepened, he turns up more frequently as crusty old westerners, especially in multiple TV guest spots. He turned in an interesting performance as a seemingly good ol' boy Nevada cowboy who was actually a powerful behind-the-scenes player in state politics who leaned on Robert De Niro's Las Vegas mob gambler in Martin Scorsese's violent and powerful Casino (1995)."Smitty Smith"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nancy Kulp wore many hats: Publicity person, actress, linguist, would-be politician, and teacher. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kulp attended college in Florida, then headed for Hollywood to work in publicity for the movies, not star in them. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Kulp was convinced by director George Cukor and casting director Billy Gordon that she should be in front of the camera, not behind the scenes. She then began a solid career as a character actress in films and television, including two memorable roles: on The Bob Cummings Show (1955) as bird-loving "Pamela Livingstone", and on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) as the long-suffering, lovesick, and bird-loving "Miss Jane Hathaway". After the Hillbillies ended its 9-year run, Kulp found work in theater, Broadway, and television, and dabbled in politics, making an unsuccessful 1984 run for Congress in Pennsylvania. Later, she taught acting and retired to a farm in Connecticut and, later, Palm Springs, where she died of cancer in 1991.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
"Waitress"- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz, on Saturday, October 31st, 1936, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. In 1941, he and his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey.
When Eugene was in high school, he participated -- and did very well -- in track and field, especially javelin throwing, and his athletic skills earned him a scholarship to USC. However, an accident injured his arm, ending his athletic career -- and his term at USC -- and he worked a number of odd jobs and small roles to make ends meet and decided that acting was for him. However, he thought that his real name was not a suitable one for an aspiring actor, and so "Michael Landon" was born.
Two of his first big roles were as Tony Rivers in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and as Tom Dooley in the western The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959). That same year he was approached by producer David Dortort to star in a pilot called The Restless Gun (1957), which was renamed when the series was picked up to Bonanza (1959). Landon played Little Joe Cartwright, the youngest of the three Cartwright brothers, a cocky and somewhat rebellious youth nevertheless had a way with the ladies. For 14 years, Landon became the heart and soul of the show, endearing himself to both younger and older viewers, and he became a household name during the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1968, after almost ten years of playing Little Joe, he wanted an opportunity to direct and write some episodes of the show. After the season finale in 1972, Dan Blocker, who played his older brother Hoss and was also a close friend, died from a blood clot in his lung, after gall bladder surgery, but Michael decided to go back to work, revisiting his own character in a two-part episode called "Forever."
Bonanza (1959) was finally canceled in early 1973, after 14 years and 430 episodes. Michael didn't have to wait long until he landed another successful role that most TV audiences of the 1970s would thoroughly enjoy, his second TV western, for NBC, Little House on the Prairie (1974). That show was based on a popular book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and he played enduring patriarch and farmer Charles Ingalls. Unlike Bonanza (1959), where he was mostly just a "hired gun," on this show he served as the producer, writer, director, and executive producer. By the end of its eighth season in 1982, Landon decided to step down from his role on "Little House" as he saw his TV children grown up and moved out of their father's house, and a year later, the show was canceled. After 14 years on Bonanza (1959) and 8 years on Little House on the Prairie (1974), it was about time to focus on something else, and once again, he didn't have to wait too long before Highway to Heaven (1984) came along. Unlike the western shows that he did for 23 years, this NBC fantasy/drama show focused on Jonathan Smith, an angel whose job was to save peoples' lives and work for God, his boss. Victor French played ex-cop Mark Gordon, who turned down a fortune but had redeemed himself by meeting Jonathan.
By the end of the fifth season in 1989, French was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in June of that same year. Landon was devastated by the loss and pulled the plug on Highway to Heaven (1984). In early 1991, after 35 years of working on NBC, he was axed by the network, so he moved to CBS to star in the pilot of a two-hour movie, Us (1991), in which he played Jeff Hayes, a man freed from prison by new evidence after 18 years wrongfully spent inside. This was going to be another one of Landon's shows but, in April 1991, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He later appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) to talk about his battle with the disease, and many people in the audience were affected by the courage and energy he showed. Unfortunately, he was already terminally ill by that time, and on Monday, July 1st, 1991, after a three-month battle, he finally succumbed to the disease. His family, his colleagues, and his children were all by his side. His life-time: Saturday, October 31st, 1936 to Monday, July 1st, 1991, was 19,966 days, equaling 2,852 weeks & 2 days.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Young Soldier" (uncredited)- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her career may have only lasted a dozen years, and the number of films slightly more than twenty, but Barbara appeared in some interesting productions. As a young girl, she was a model. While completing her studies at UCLA, she co-starred in half a dozen movies for 20th Century Fox. Lawrence appeared in the critically acclaimed A Letter to Three Wives (1949).
In 1952, she was cast in Here Come the Nelsons (1952), which was the film version of their popular radio programme. Rock Hudson was also in the cast. The following year, Lawrence was cast with Gig Young in Arena (1953), which was a 3-D feature film from MGM. As originally shown, special 3-D glasses were required to view the picture to bring all the action of the Rodeo to your seat. In 1954, she was cast in Her Twelve Men (1954), which was the last film that Greer Garson made at MGM. In 1955, she was cast as Gertie Cummings in Oklahoma! (1955), which was filmed in TODD-AO wide-screen. After making a few movies in 1957, she retired.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)
"Lola McQuilan"- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Barton MacLane graduated from Wesleyan University, where he displayed a notable aptitude for sports, in particular football and basketball. Not surprisingly, his physical prowess led to an early role in The Quarterback (1926) with Richard Dix. MacLane once commented that, as an actor, he needed to have the physical strength to tear the bad guys "from limb to limb", if necessary. Ironically, it was usually Barton himself who was destined to be at the end of a hiding (when not getting shot, instead), typically as snarling henchmen, outlaws and other assorted dubious or abrasive types throughout most of his 40-year acting career. In fact, Barton became so typecast, that his name was for a time used proverbially, to generally describe a shouting, hard-nosed ruffian.
After training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, MacLane joined a stock company in Brooklyn. In 1927 he had his first part on Broadway, a brief moment as an assistant district attorney, in the melodrama "The Trial of Mary Dugan". He then played a small featured role as a police officer in "Subway Express" (1929-30), a drama enacted in the interior of a subway car. In mid-1932 MacLane tried his hand at writing his own starring vehicle for the stage, entitled "Rendezvous". While the play closed after just 21 performances, it led to a contract with Warner Brothers.
Barton had already appeared in bit roles for Paramount at their Astoria Studios, including The Marx Brothers' debut film The Cocoanuts (1929). He portrayed mobster Brad Collins in 'G' Men (1935) (with James Cagney), which set the tone for most of his future assignments. Brawny, with squinty eyes and a rasping voice, MacLane was the ideal surly tough guy, particularly suitable for westerns and the type of films noir Warner Brothers excelled at. He was often cast as cops, be they bent or honest. Some of his most representative performances include gangster Al Kruger in Bullets or Ballots (1936), which won him some of the best critical notices of his career; outlaw Jack Slade in Western Union (1941); crooked construction boss Pat McCormick, who gets beaten up by Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt over past-due wages in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); hard-nosed cops Detective Dundy in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Lt. Reece in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950). MacLane, on loan to Universal, also had a starring role in Prison Break (1938) as an innocent tuna fisherman who is framed for murder. He was prominent as a tough but sympathetic cop, foil to sleuthing girl reporter Glenda Farrell in the "Torchy Blaine" series of the mid- to late 1930s. In the 1960s Barton began to cultivate a good-guy image as Marshal Frank Caine in the NBC western series Outlaws (1960) as well as showing up in a small recurring role as Air Force Gen. Martin Peterson in I Dream of Jeannie (1965).
Barton was married to the actress Charlotte Wynters, who appeared with him in six of his films. When not on the set, the couple spent time on their 2000-acre cattle ranch in Madera County, California. For his work in television, Barton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
"Martin Storm"- Actress
- Soundtrack
She was born Adelaide Delgado on August 28, 1923 (some references list 1925) to Spanish-speaking parents. The future Adela Mara began dances lesson at age 6 and was discovered as a young teenager by the legendary Xavier Cugat. Singing and dancing with his in the Detroit area, Cugat took the beautiful, brown-eyed brunette to New York where she performed in his shows at such esteemed clubs as the Copacabana.
While touring as a singer/dancer, she was spotted in Florida by a Columbia talent scout and signed to a Hollywood contract in 1942 at age 19. Starting off in bit exotic roles in such films as Honolulu Lu (1941), she quickly grew to alluring co-starring status opposite top banana Glynis Ahearn in Shut My Big Mouth (1942). There continued playing brisk leading ladies in a series of standard, uneventful "B" films including Vengeance of the West (1942) with Tex Ritter and Alias Boston Blackie (1942) starring Chester Morris.
A couple of years later she was transformed into a sexy platinum blonde pin-up after signing with Republic Studios and kept herself quite busy predominantly cast as senorita-types opposite cowboy stars Roy Rogers in Bells of Rosarita (1945) and Gene Autry in Twilight on the Rio Grande (1947). She was also fetching fodder in crime dramas including Blackmail (1947) and Web of Danger (1947) and a pleasant diversion in adventure pictures such as Wake of the Red Witch (1948) with John Wayne and The Avengers (1950).
Arguably Adele's best parts would come with Angel in Exile (1948) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), the latter again starring Duke Wayne. Seldom was she given the chance to capitalize on her acting talents, however, and her film career waned in the mid 1950s. Her last screen appearance would be in The Big Circus (1959) with Victor Mature. Adele subsequently moved into TV and was featured in a number of guest spots, primarily in westerns. She eventually abandoned her career and settled down to raise her three sons from her 1952 marriage to TV mogul Roy Huggins who produced many hit shows including 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and Maverick (1957). On a rare occasion, she would appear as a guest in one of his efforts, including an episode of the TV series Cool Million (1972).
Huggins died in 2002 and Adele passed away eight years later of natural causes in Los Angeles on May 7, 2010. The 87-year-old actress was interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
"Sarita"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"Claire Du Pas"- Helene Marshall was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Jungle Jim (1955) and Peter Gunn (1958). She was married to George Marshall Jr. (I). She died in 2015 in California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 9
Rendezvous at Red Rock (21 Feb. 1956)
"Joan Grayson" - Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
Kermit Maynard was born on 20 September 1897 in Vevay, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Fighting Texan (1937), Valley of Terror (1937) and Phantom Patrol (1936). He was married to Edith Jessen. He died on 16 January 1971 in North Hollywood, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
Wagon Train Guard (uncredited)- Mort Mills was born on 11 January 1919 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Touch of Evil (1958), Psycho (1960) and Torn Curtain (1966). He was married to Elizabeth (Betty) Dell Pentland and Mary Loretta Grady. He died on 6 June 1993 in Ventura, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"Mike" (uncredited)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
"Ben Taggart" - Bearing a strong resemblance to Humphrey Bogart certainly helped in typecasting the handsome, hairy-chested Gerald Mohr into "B" film noir. Born in New York City in 1914, he was the son of Sigmond Mohr and Henrietta Noustadt, a Viennese singer. In 1920 his father was killed in a tragic accident while at work when Mohr was five years old, and he was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandfather, who was a psychologist and associate of Dr. Sigmund Freud, the famed psychoanalyst. Mohr became a fervent student of Freud as a result of this association. He was taught to ride and play piano at an early age and attended the prestigious Dwight Preparatory School in New York. Even as a teen, Mohr possessed a smooth vocal delivery and landed a job as a staff broadcaster for CBS Radio, which in turn opened the door for him to Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre. Mohr made his Broadway debut in the minor role of a gangster in "The Petrified Forest," the same play that put Bogart on the map.
His first starring role in films came with the serial Jungle Girl (1941), in which he played principal villain Slick Latimer. However, because of his pleasant, distinctive baritone voice, it was radio that became Mohr's meal ticket during the 1940s, and he signed on for a number of popular suspense thrillers such as "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" and "The Whistler." In 1949, "Radio and Television Life" magazine named Mohr as the Best Male Actor on Radio.
After a number of bit parts, he finally won a noticeable role in Lady of Burlesque (1943) with Barbara Stanwyck, after Welles referred him to the film's director, William A. Wellman. Following WWII service with the Air Force, Mohr returned to acting and found his niche in intrigue, playing the title role in The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) and its two sequels, along with Passkey to Danger (1946), Dangerous Business (1946) and The Truth About Murder (1946). As much as he wanted to extricate himself from this trenchcoat stereotype, he continued to chug along in the 1950s with the same type of roles represented by The Sniper (1952), Invasion, U.S.A. (1952) and Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959). His final leads were in This Rebel Breed (1960) and the low-grade sci-fi thriller The Angry Red Planet (1959). In 1954-55 he starred as Christopher Storm in 41 episodes of the Swedish-made TV series Foreign Intrigue (1951).
Finding film work scarce in the following decade, he found regular work on TV, guest starring in over 100 dramas, ranging from TV westerns like Maverick (1957), Bronco (1958), Cheyenne (1955) and Bonanza (1959) to action/courtroom series such as 77 Sunset Strip (1958), Hawaiian Eye (1959) and Perry Mason (1957), among many others.
His last movie role came in the top-notch musical Funny Girl (1968) starring Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, in which Mohr was featured as Tom Branca, one of Nicky Arnstein's cronies, who offers to help Fanny Brice out by giving the proud but debt-ridden gambler a prime casino job.
Mohr was overseas in Stockholm, Sweden, where he had just completed filming the pilot of a new TV series called "Private Entrance" when he suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 54.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 9
Rendezvous at Red Rock (21 Feb. 1956)
"Pat Keogh" - Actress
- Soundtrack
Smoulderingly beautiful and a fetching, exotic-eyed vision on the American screen during the 1950s and early 1960s, dark-maned Lisa Montell impressed more, especially to male film-goers, as a lovely diversion midst all the rugged terrain and tropical South Sea hazards than as a formidable actress. Similar in beauty and allure to the stunning Debra Paget and France Nuyen, the "Starlet of Many Faces" had a strong knack for ethnic accents and managed to play a variety of foreign types over her relatively brief time before the camera (Peruvian, Mexican, French, Italian, Burmese, Polynesian). Her film resume, which would include such cult-oriented classics as Daughter of the Sun God (1962), World Without End (1956) and the Roger Corman cheapies Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) were nearly all "B" and "C" grade (or worse) in scope and she eventually tired of the lack of challenge. She abandoned her career at the height of her beauty (around 1962) but found immense personal rewards in later decades as a spiritual exponent of the Bahá'í faith.
Although Lisa was born Irena Ludmilla Vladimiovna Augustinovich in Warsaw, Poland, on July 5, 1933, she was not raised there and did not keep her given name for long. Of Russian-Polish descent, she was born to privilege. She and her family managed to flee safely to the United States just months before the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Her father, a successful businessman, changed the family name to Montwill and Irena's name was adjusted to Irene. The family moved into a spacious Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City and generously took in Polish refugees (both friends and family) as needed during WWII.
Lisa studied art, voice and dance in Forest Hills and eventually was accepted into the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan. She later transferred to the High School for the Performing Arts where she developed an interest in acting. Following graduation, she attended the University of Miami (Florida) for a semester before her father, whose business involved iron mines in Peru, relocated the family to Lima. While there Lisa again studied drama in American-based acting workshops that were set up there. She received her first professional break in 1953 after being noticed and cast by Hollywood producers searching for local female leads for a film they were shooting in Peru.
The film was called Daughter of the Sun God (1962) and it was set in the Peruvian jungles. Lisa plays a young adventurous blonde explorer on an expedition who is not only threatened by raging waters, desert heat and native ritualistic practices, but by various wildlife as well (crocodiles, pumas and gigantic snakes, to name a few). The film had financial problems and was so poorly made that it was held up nearly a decade before it was finally bought and released to the American market in 1962.
While enjoying a South American jet-set life in Peru, Lisa went on to appear in a handful of other local films before learning of Hollywood's interest in her despite the unsuccessful marketing of her debut film. Following her father's untimely death, Lisa and her mother moved to Los Angeles where the ethnic-looking wannabe found work cast on TV as Eurasian, Latina and Native-American types.
Billed as Irene Montwill, Lisa's first Hollywood film was Warner Bros.' Jump Into Hell (1955), a French Indochina (pre-Vietnam) war picture in which she played a French love interest to European soldier Peter Van Eyck. The studio then put her under a temporary contract and she changed her name to the more exotic moniker of Lisa Montell. Despite more second-lead exposure in the RKO films, Escape to Burma (1955), a tea plantation drama starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan, and Pearl of the South Pacific (1955), a tropical South Seas adventure with Virginia Mayo and Dennis Morgan, Lisa was not able to up her status in Hollywood.
After filming the minor western, The Wild Dakotas (1956), she appeared in one of her better-remembered pictures, the cult sci-fi film, World Without End (1956), with Hugh Marlowe and Rod Taylor, which takes place on Earth in the 26th century. She went on to play a small role as a ballet dancer in the Leslie Caron MGM drama, Gaby (1956), and was also one of the Italian Martelli sisters (the others being Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok and Lisa Gaye) in the musical comedy, Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), starring Dean Martin. On the western front, she appeared, with Chuck Connors, as an Indian maiden in Tomahawk Trail (1957). Things moved in a cult-like direction for Lisa with her tropical female roles in Roger Corman's Naked Paradise (1957) and She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), both filmed in the same spot in Hawaii. If nothing else, she got to show off her great figure and underwater swimming skills. Over the years, scores of adventurous guest roles came Lisa's way on TV, notably westerns, including the popular series as The Gene Autry Show (1950), Broken Arrow (1956), Tales of Wells Fargo (1957), Colt .45 (1957), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Sugarfoot (1957), Cheyenne (1955), Bat Masterson (1958) and Maverick (1957). Outside the western genre, came a few varied performances in everything from comedy (The Ann Sothern Show (1958)) to hip action adventure (Surfside 6 (1960)).
Once wed to fellow actor David Janti, Lisa's last film was the minor "B" western, The Firebrand (1962), starring Kent Taylor. She retired soon after and devoted herself, exclusively, to educational pursuits as well as her Bahá'í religion. She was elected to the Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles and served as Chairperson. Often a public speaker, she has been outspoken on such issues as poverty and discrimination. She was also quite active in the early stages of the civil rights movement and has spent active time with youth arts programs. She later wrote a book (as Lisa Janti) about her spiritual sojourn and, more recently, became the program director of the Center for Education at the Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute. In 2008, she was a guest attendee at the Western Legends Film Festival.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
"Rosa"- Ralph Moody was born on November 5, 1886 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA as Ralph Roy Moody, the oldest son of Franklin Jerome Moody and Ida M. Hicklin. His introduction to show business was first as an actor on the stage in pre-radio days and then as a radio personality. His first acting role was in 1900 as the boy, Heinrich, in Rip Van Winkle. At the 1904 World's Fair he sang tenor in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He had a wide following as Uncle Abner on WIBW, CBS Radio, in the 1930's in Topeka, Kansas, USA. As Uncle Abner he was the town's barber, constable, postmaster, and chief source of information. Beginning in the mid-1940's he was a frequent radio cast member on The Roy Rogers Show. When Gunsmoke began its radio show run in 1952, Ralph Moody was one of the regular cast members. He began making film and television appearances at the age of 62. His first television roles were on three 1949-50 The Lone Ranger (1949) episodes, each time as an Indian chief with a different name. Frequently on TV westerns he had roles as an Indian, but was not type cast. His range of characters included a variety of roles with Jack Webb on Dragnet (1951). Many of his dozen appearances on The Rifleman (1958) were as Doc Burrage. He had six appearances on Bonanza (1959), most as an Indian, at the end of his 23 year acting career. He was married to Hazel B. McOwen. He died on September 16, 1971 in Burbank, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 12
Fury at Rio Hondo (17 Apr. 1956)
"Pete" - Actress
- Stunts
Growing up in the proverbial shadow of the studios, California native Ann Robinson acted in grade-school plays and later fibbed her way into the movie business as a stunt woman on movies such as Black Midnight (1949), The Story of Molly X (1949), and Frenchie (1950). She was part of Paramount's golden circle of new stars in the early 1950s but had only one leading role at the studio, in producer George Pal's The War of the Worlds (1953).
In 1957, she ran off to Mexico to marry a famous matador, Jaime Bravo ("and blew my career right out of the water"). Their son Jaime Jr. became a director with ABC Sports and has won several Emmy awards. Since 1987, Robinson has been married to real estate broker Joseph Valdez. She is a fixture at sci-fi conventions and autograph shows.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
"Joan Carter"- Son of character actor Houseley Stevenson, brother of actor Houseley Stevenson Jr., Onslow Stevens was highly active from mid-1920s at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, where his entire family worked frequently as performers, directors and teachers. he scored a major success on Broadway in "Stage Door" in 1936. He played many leading roles and even more character parts over the years. Although at first a stalwart and reliable figure in films, in later years his career was adversely affected by alcohol. Nevertheless, he was a familiar and respected performer for many years. His final months were spent in a Van Nuys, California, nursing home where, in November 1976, he suffered a broken hip under unclear circumstances. Pneumonia set in and he died in January 1977. A coroner's inquest ruled that the broken hip had occurred "at the hands of another, not an accident."Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
"Judge Dana Culver" - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dub Taylor was born on 26 February 1907 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Getaway (1972), The Wild Bunch (1969) and You Can't Take It with You (1938). He was married to Florence Gertrude Heffernan. He died on 3 October 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
"Hoyt "(as Dubb Taylor)- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
Suave and handsome Australian actor arrived in Hollywood in the 1950s, and built himself up from a supporting actor into taking the lead in several well-remembered movies. Arguably his most fondly remembered role was that as George (Herbert George Wells), the inventor, in George Pal's spectacular The Time Machine (1960). As the movie finished with George, and his best friend Filby Alan Young seemingly parting forever, both actors were brought back together in 1993 to film a 30-minute epilogue to the original movie! Taylor's virile, matinée idol looks also assisted him in scoring the lead of Mitch Brenner in Alfred Hitchcock's creepy thriller The Birds (1963), the role of Jane Fonda's love interest in Sunday in New York (1963), the title role in John Ford's biopic of Irish playwright Sean O'Casey in Young Cassidy (1965), and a co-starring role in The Train Robbers (1973) with John Wayne. Taylor also appeared as Bette Davis future son-in-law in the well-received film The Catered Affair (1956). He also gave a sterling performance as the German-American Nazi Major trying to fool James Garner in 36 Hours (1964). Later, Taylor made many westerns and action movies during the 1960s and 1970s; however, none of these were much better than "B" pictures and failed to push his star to the next level. Additionally, Taylor was cast as the lead in several TV series including Bearcats! (1971), Masquerade (1983), and Outlaws (1986); however, none of them truly ignited viewer interest, and they were cancelled after only one or two seasons. Most fans would agree that Rod Taylor's last great role was in the wonderful Australian film The Picture Show Man (1977), about a travelling sideshow bringing "moving pictures" to remote towns in the Australian outback.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 3
The Argonauts (1 Nov. 1955)
"Clancy"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Most familiar to TV audiences as no-nonsense Sheriff Roy Coffee on the long-running western series Bonanza (1959), Ray Teal was one of the most versatile character actors in the business. In his almost 40-year career he played everything from cops to gunfighters to sheriffs to gangsters to a judge at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. He could play a kindly grandfather in one film and a heartless, sadistic killer in the next, and be equally believable in both roles. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, he was a musician who worked his way through college playing the sax in local bands. At UCLA in the 1920s he formed his own band and led it until 1936. He appeared in several films in minor bit parts, and it wasn't until 1938 that he had a somewhat more substantial part, in Western Jamboree (1938). The next year he had a bigger part in the splashy Spencer Tracy adventure Northwest Passage (1940) as one of Rogers' Rangers. He appeared in serials, westerns, crime dramas, costume epics (he even appeared as Little John in The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)!), war pictures, had a small but memorable part as an anti-Semitic blowhard who gets knocked into a store display by Dana Andrews in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and a bigger and more memorable part as one of Spencer Tracy's fellow judges in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). He also made many appearances on TV, in everything from The Lone Ranger (1949) to Green Acres (1965). He died of natural causes in 1976.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
"McCanles"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Maj. Heffler" (uncredited)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Pittsburgh-born and -raised character actor Regis Toomey, of Irish descent, took an early interest in the performing arts and initially studied drama at the university of his home town. One of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, John Regis Toomey initially pondered a law career, but acting won out and he gradually established himself as a musical stage performer. Dropping his first name for acting purposes, he was touring in a production of "Little Nellie Kelly" in England when he developed an acute case of laryngitis. The severity of the problem forced a serious rethinking of his career goals.
With the birth of sound pictures, Toomey made an auspicious debut with Alibi (1929) starring Chester Morris where a climactic death scene sparked controversy--and a movie career that would include almost 200 pictures and a number of other notorious death scenes. His lead/second lead status opposite such stars as Clara Bow, Constance Bennett, Barbara Stanwyck and Evelyn Brent fell away within a few years, and he found more work in streetwise character roles. Fast-paced crime action was his forte and he was prevalent throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in many classic films including 'G' Men (1935), Meet John Doe (1941), The Big Sleep (1946), Rachel and the Stranger (1948) and Spellbound (1945). In 1955 he played Uncle Arvide of The Salvation Army in Guys and Dolls (1955) alongside Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons and Vivian Blaine, a role for which he is still well remembered.
In the 1950s he found employment on TV as a good guy, typically playing judges, sheriffs, businessmen and police sergeants. He was a regular on The Mickey Rooney Show (1954). Fellow one-time singer Dick Powell became a friend and Powell, having turned producer, saw to it that Toomey had involving roles on a couple of his TV series such as Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1956) and Burke's Law (1963). He was later a regular on Petticoat Junction (1963). Toomey played roles well past his 80th year.
His marriage (from 1925) to Kathryn Scott produced two children. They met in 1924 when he appeared in a musical production of "Rose Marie" that Kathryn assistant choreographed. Toomey died of natural causes on October 12, 1991, at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills, California at age 93.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
"John Dembro"- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Gregory Walcott grew up in North Carolina and went into the Army just after the end of World War II. After leaving the service, he grew restless on the East Coast and, with $100 in his pocket, thumbed his way west to pursue an acting career. An agent who spotted him in a little theater play helped Walcott land his debut movie role in Red Skies of Montana (1952). Two years later, on the strength of his performance as a drill instructor in the Marine Corps movie Battle Cry (1955), he was placed under contract at Warner Brothers. He co-starred (as a drill instructor again) in another Marine Corps story, The Outsider (1961), which earned him a Universal contract and his own TV series, 87th Precinct (1961) (1961-62) with Robert Lansing.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
"Lou Grey"- Peggy Webber started her career at age two and a half, performing during intermissions in silent movie theaters. She started working in radio at age 11; by 18, she was writing, producing and directing early television shows; at 21, she won the award that was later known as the Emmy for her drama anthology series Treasures of Literature. Among her many thousands of radio credits, workhorse Webber appeared in over 100 Dragnet programs, playing Ma Friday and many other characters.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
"Ella McIntyre" - Actor
- Producer
Prolific American character actor of primarily villainous roles. The son of German parents, Cincinnati feed-store manager August Wilke and his wife Rose, Robert Joseph Wilke grew up in Cincinnati. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida, hotel, where he made contacts in the film business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and continued as such until the mid-'40s, when he began getting actual roles in low-budget westerns and serials. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in High Noon (1952) led to work in higher-quality films. He worked extensively in television as well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in Days of Heaven (1978). An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies. He died in 1989.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
"Bob Manson" (as Bob Wilke)- 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.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Foster - Actor
- Soundtrack
Respected character actor whose on-screen work included everything from Shakespeare to Dick Tracy (1990) (his last film). After a long apprenticeship in the theatre, the 38-year-old Wolfe finally debuted in films in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), recreating his Broadway role. He then toiled away steadily in Hollywood for the next several decades, working as a supporting player in literally hundreds of film and TV productions well into his 90s. Though capable of a wide range of parts, Wolfe's gentle, patrician manner found him most often cast as a butler, a minister or a kindly doctor. He finally gained his greatest fame at the age of 85, effortlessly stealing scenes as Mama Carlson's doddering yet feisty butler "Hirsch" in several episodes of the MTM sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
"Charlie Peabody"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Clint Walker was born Norman Eugene Walker in Hartford, southwestern Illinois, to Gladys Huldah (Schwanda), a Czech immigrant, and Paul Arnold Walker, who was from Arkansas. Walker almost single-handedly started the western craze on TV in the 1950s as Cheyenne Bodie in Cheyenne (1955). Growing up in the Depression era meant taking work wherever you could get it, and Walker found himself working at such jobs as Mississippi River boatman, carnival roustabout and golf caddy. He quit high school at 16 and at age 17 joined the Merchant Marine. After the war he worked his way cross country, including working in the oil fields in Brownwood, Texas, and wound up in California, where he worked as an undercover agent for a private detective agency on the Long Beach waterfront. After a while he took a job as a security officer at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. It was there that he met quite a few Hollywood people who told him that his size, physique and good looks would serve him well in Hollywood and that he should go to Los Angeles and give it a try. He met actor Henry Wilcoxon, who introduced him to director Cecil B. DeMille, and Walker found himself playing the part of a Captain of the Guard in The Ten Commandments (1956). Someone from Warner Bros. saw the film, found out that Walker was under contract to producer Hal B. Wallis, bought up Walker's contract and gave him the lead in "Cheyenne". The series was a huge hit and spawned countless other western series, from Warners and other studios. However, Walker was dissatisfied with the way Warners was handling his career -- they would let other contract players make films, for example, but he wasn't allowed to -- and that triggered a dispute which ended up with him taking a walk from the show. He and Warners eventually settled their disagreements. When the show ended Walker began to get supporting parts in features, his biggest and most successful one being The Dirty Dozen (1967). He starred in the well-received The Night of the Grizzly (1966) and the not-so-well received None But the Brave (1965), a WWII film that was Frank Sinatra's one and only stab at directing. He also played the lead in Baker's Hawk (1976), and turned in a good performance as a villain in the TV movie Scream of the Wolf (1974). Lately he and several of his colleagues from "The Dirty Dozen" provided the voices for the animated film Small Soldiers (1998)."Cheyenne Bodie"
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 3
The Argonauts (1 Nov. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 9
Rendezvous at Red Rock (21 Feb. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 12
Fury at Rio Hondo (17 Apr. 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 13
Star in the Dust (1 May 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Alderson led a colorful life considering his origins in a mining village in the north of England. After spending all of two weeks as a miner, he lied about his age, joined the British Army and attained the rank of Major. Leaving for the US, he married a General's secretary and got into the movies, often playing villains. He played (uncredited) the Gum Chewer in Blazing Saddles (1974).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
"Beef Simpkins"- David Alpert was born on 5 January 1928 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Gog (1954), Death of a Salesman (1951) and Science Fiction Theatre (1955).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
"Wilfred Barnes" - Adelle August was born on 12 February 1934 in Kennewick, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for Apache Ambush (1955), Women's Prison (1955) and The Man Called X (1956). She was married to Leonard G. Rogers. She died on 24 April 2005 in Palm Springs, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
"Jeremy Barnes" - Actress
- Soundtrack
Diane Brewster was born on March 11, 1931, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was largely a character actress in both motion pictures and television. She was 24 years old when she began acting on TV. Her first role was in a few episodes of the westerns Cheyenne (1955) and Zane Grey Theatre (1956). Her first motion picture roles was as Sylvia Quentin in Pharaoh's Curse (1957) in 1956. However, most older viewers remember her as the attractive grade school teacher Miss Canfield on the popular TV comedy series Leave It to Beaver (1957). While her last big screen appearance was as Kate Lawrence in The Young Philadelphians (1959) in 1959, Diane made one more TV appearance on Family Affair (1966) in 1966. Afterwards, Diane retired from the camera. Diane died of heart failure on November 12, 1991. She was 60 years old.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 6
The Travelers (3 Jan. 1956)
"Mary"- Barbara Eiler was born on 27 July 1922 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Magical World of Disney (1954), The Rifleman (1958) and One Step Beyond (1959). She was married to Martin Sperzel and Don Nelson. She died on 16 July 2006 in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)
"Ruth" - Nancy Hale was born on 2 August 1929 in New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Ten Commandments (1956), Whirlybirds (1957) and Flight That Disappeared (1961). She died on 26 February 2020 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 7
Decision (24 Jan. 1956)
"Ann Saunders" - Pepe Hern was born on 6 June 1927 in New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Magnificent Seven (1960), 13 West Street (1962) and Family Theatre (1949). He was married to Vestei E. Deatherage. He died on 28 February 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 12
Fury at Rio Hondo (17 Apr. 1956)
"Ricardo" - Actor
- Additional Crew
If you've ever seen a war picture, sci-fi epic or western from the 1940s or 1950s, then you've seen Thomas Browne Henry, and more than once. Along with Morris Ankrum, Henry is probably the army officer most responsible for helping Earth drive off hordes of invading outer-space monsters, aliens and other unwelcome intruders. His stocky build, sharply etched face, commanding voice and no-nonsense, get-down-to-business style were just right for the scores of generals, colonels, bankers, political leaders and other authority figures he played over his long and prolific career. Born in California, he had a very successful career as a stage actor and director, and was closely associated with the renowned Pasadena Playhouse, before breaking into films in 1948 (his brother, William Henry, was also an actor) and played a succession of cops, sheriffs, district attorneys, professors and, of course, army officers over the next 20+ years. He finally retired in 1970 and went back to his first love, the theater, again back to the Pasadena Playhouse. He died in 1980.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 5
The Outlander (13 Dec. 1955)
"Editor John" (as Tom Brown Henry)- Actor
- Soundtrack
Iglesias was a prolific supporting actor found in many Hollywood westerns of the 50s and 60s. He was born Eugene Luis Francisco Iglesias Carrillo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said to have come from a distinguished family with connections to José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín, the first elected governor of Puerto Rico. Iglesias arrived in California as a student, was signed by Columbia and made his debut as Mel Ferrer's determined younger matador brother in The Brave Bulls (1951). Thereafter, he found his niche in westerns playing an assortment of colourful characters, sometimes outlaws (perhaps his best-remembered tole as Johnny Sombrero in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)), often Native Americans (Chibiabos in Hiawatha (1952), Gray Eagle in Jack McCall, Desperado (1953), Chato in Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) and Walk the Proud Land (1956)). Other roles cast him as Italians (the impassioned patriot Rollo D'Anterras in Mask of the Avenger (1951)), Hispanics (Don Manuel Arriega in Cowboy (1958)) or Portuguese (Paulo in East of Sumatra (1953)). Iglesias segued into TV work from the mid-60s and retired from acting in 1970.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
"Alfredo"- Prolific supporting actor, arguably best known for his two guest appearances on Rod Serling 's The Twilight Zone (1959). In one of his later roles he played the chimpanzee veterinarian Dr. Galen in Planet of the Apes (1968) which was also co-scripted by Serling. Wright King studied drama at the St Louis School of Theater, graduating in 1941. During the Second World War he served for three years with the U.S.Navy, stationed in the South Pacific. After being honorably discharged he continued his drama studies in New York at the Actors Studio and at the American Theatre Wing. He did not make his screen debut until 1949. A string of walk-on parts was followed by a critically acclaimed supporting role in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1947-49) as well as in the subsequent motion picture. King enjoyed a lengthy career, featuring in stage plays on both sides of the Atlantic and popping up in numerous television episodes (especially westerns). In one season of Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958) he played the sidekick of bounty hunter Josh Randall, played by Steve McQueen (1960) .
A close friend of Eileen Heckart until her death in 2001, King left the acting profession in 1987. With his wife June, he retired to Portland, Oregon. More recently, he resided in Woodland Hills, California, where he died at the venerable age of 95 on November 25 2018. His son is actor Meegan King .Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 11
Quicksand (3 Apr. 1956)
"Frank Endicott" - Beverly Michaels was born on 28 December 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Wicked Woman (1953), East Side, West Side (1949) and Blonde Bait (1956). She was married to Russell Rouse and Voldemar Vetluguin. She died on 9 June 2007 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
"Sheila Dembro" - Actor
- Soundtrack
Ray Montgomery was born on 27 May 1922 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Ramar of the Jungle (1952), Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954) and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955). He was married to Jean Trent. He died on 4 June 1998 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 2
Julesburg (11 Oct. 1955)
"Morton Scott"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Reeves was born on 10 August 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Target Earth (1954), Adventures of Superman (1952) and I Love Lucy (1951). He died on 17 March 1967 in Northridge, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 4
Border Showdown (22 Nov. 1955)
"Cliff Bartow"- 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.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
"Johnny Bravo"- Henry Rowland was born on 28 December 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor, known for Supervixens (1975), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) and Wolf Larsen (1958). He was married to Eleanor. He died on 26 April 1984 in Northridge, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 10
West of the River (10 Mar. 1956)
"Pvt. Ryan" - Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Paul Savage was born on 2 September 1925 in Warren, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Gunsmoke (1955), The Streets of San Francisco (1972) and MacGyver (1985). He died on 17 September 2014 in La Quinta, California, USA.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 15
The Last Train West (29 May 1956)
"Deputy Orville Jones"- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born and raised on a farm in Michigan in 1890, Irish-American character actor Harry Shannon had the credentials for becoming a staple player in westerns. He started off his career traveling around with repertory and stock companies and developed his musical abilities in tent shows, burlesque houses and such tuneful Broadway shows as "Oh, Kay!" (1926), "Hold Everything" (1928), "Simple Simon" (1931), and "Pardon My English" (1933). A company member of Joseph Schildkraut's Hollywood Theater Guild, Shannon broke into films at the advent of sound and started things off in comedy film shorts opposite such celebrated players as Bert Lahr, Shemp Howard, and Leon Errol. In the 1940s Shannon established himself in feature-length movies and although he remained a minor, second-string player, he proved himself a durable presence in westerns usually remaining on the good side of the law as sheriffs and bucolic dads. In lighthearted entertainment he could be found as a friendly Irish cop or bartender. He made a slight but memorable impression as Kane's alcoholic father in the classic Citizen Kane (1941), while his last role would be as the grandfather in the musical Gypsy (1962). In between were small parts in such notable films as The Fighting Sullivans (1944), The Jolson Story (1946), High Noon (1952), Touch of Evil (1958), and The Buccaneer (1958). 1950s TV westerns such as Cheyenne (1955), Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), and Gunsmoke (1955) made consistent use of his rustic demeanor. Shannon died in 1964 at age 74.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 14
Johnny Bravo (15 May 1956)
"Matt Crowley"- Jeffrey Silver was born on 25 February 1937 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for The Outsider (1961), The Charles Farrell Show (1956) and Space Patrol (1950).Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 1
Mountain Fortress (20 Sep. 1955)
Stew Davis (as Jeff Silver) - A burly American supporting actor, Mickey Simpson was born Charles Henry Simpson to Fred and Bertha Rogers Simpson in Rochester, New York. His paternal heritage was Irish. He was the eldest of four sons, one of whom, Richard, died in childhood. When his father was unable to find work following the 1929 stock market crash, his mother supported the family as a waitress. By his 20s Mickey had grown into a hulking figure and considered a boxing career. He has been referred to in some sources as the 1935 "New York City Heavyweight Boxing Champion," but the only official records of his ring work are for two fights in Los Angeles in 1939, both of which he lost.
Simpson, nicknamed "Mickey," arrived in Los Angeles in the late 1930s. Some unconfirmed stories have him working as a chauffeur for Claudette Colbert. In 1939 he reportedly played a bit part in Stagecoach (1939), a film whose director, John Ford, would loom large in Simpson's career. Simpson found fairly steady movie work playing guards, cops, bouncers and thugs until his career was interrupted by World War II, in which he reportedly served in the U.S. Army. When he returned to Hollywood it was John Ford who resurrected his career, giving him a small but notable role as one of Walter Brennan's sons in My Darling Clementine (1946). Simpson would appear in a total of nine Ford films, though his most familiar role is probably that of Sarge, the racist diner owner who beats up Rock Hudson near the end of Giant (1956).
Simpson worked, primarily in lesser roles--he even showed up in a short, Gents in a Jam (1952), with The Three Stooges--until his 57th year. He died of heart failure in Northridge, CA, near his Reseda home, on 23 September 1985, at the age of 71. He was buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, in Los Angeles.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
"Swallow" - Anne Whitfield was born August 27, 1938 in Oxford, Mississippi, USA. She was an actress, known for White Christmas (1954), numerous TV shows and commercials, and a long radio career beginning in 1945 when she was seven. Her TV appearances include One Step Beyond, 3 Perry Masons, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, 77 Sunset Strip, Dobie Gillis, 2 Cheyennes, and a Bonanza. When she left Hollywood in 1976, she went back to college, got a degree in Mass Communications, and began a new career as a water quality educator at the state Department of Ecology. Now retired, Annie is a climate activist and a proud but worried grandmother of seven.Cheyenne: Season 1, Episode 8
The Storm Riders (7 Feb. 1956)
"Johnnie Dembro"