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Tall, rangy Jim Davis spent much of his early career in westerns mainly at Republic Pictures. The Missouri-born and -raised Davis' relaxed, easygoing manner and Southern drawl easily fit most moviegoers' image of the cowboy and Republic put him in a ton of them over the years (the fact that, unlike a lot of movie cowboys, he looked right at home on a horse didn't hurt, either). He alternated between good-guy and villain roles, one of his better ones being that of the devious, murderous fur trapper working for Kirk Douglas' competition in The Big Sky (1952). He is best known, however, for his role as Ewing family patriarch Jock in the long-running TV series Dallas (1978).

Lane Smith was born on 29 April 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for My Cousin Vinny (1992), Red Dawn (1984) and The Mighty Ducks (1992). He was married to Deborah Lynn Price and Sydnee Roberta Balaber. He died on 13 June 2005 in Northridge, California, USA.

Stephen Boyd was born William Millar on July 4, 1931, at Glengormley, Northern Ireland, one of nine children of Martha Boyd and Canadian truck driver James Alexander Millar, who worked for Fleming's on Tomb Street in Belfast. He attended Glengormley & Ballyrobert primary school and then moved on to Ballyclare High School and studied bookkeeping at Hughes Commercial Academy. In Ireland he worked in an insurance office and travel agency during the day and rehearsed with a semi-professional acting company at night during the week and weekends. He would eventually manage to be on the list for professional acting companies to call him when they had a role. He joined the Ulster Theatre Group and was a leading man with that company for three years, playing all kinds of roles. He did quite a bit of radio work in between as well, but then decided it was distracting him from acting and completely surrendered to his passion. Eventually he went to London as an understudy in an Irish play, "The Passing Day."

In England he became very ill and was in and out of work, supplementing his acting assignments with odd jobs such as waiting in a cafeteria, doorman at the Odeon Theatre and even busking on the streets of London. Even as things turned for the worst, he would always write back to his mother that all was well and things were moving along so as not to alarm her in any way or make her worry. Sir Michael Redgrave discovered him one night at the Odeon Theatre and arranged an introduction to the Windsor Repertory Company. The Arts Council of Great Britain was looking for leading man and part-time director for the only major repertory company that was left in England, The Arts Council Midland Theatre Company, and he got the job. During his stay in England he went into television with the BBC, and for 18 months he was in every big play on TV. One of the major roles in his early career was the one in the play "Barnett's Folly," which he himself ranked as one of his favorites.

In 1956 he signed a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox. This led to his first film role, as an IRA member spying for the Nazis The Man Who Never Was (1956), a job he was offered by legendary producer Alexander Korda. William Wyler was so struck by Boyd's performance in that film that he asked Fox to loan him Boyd, resulting in his being cast in what is probably his most famous role, that of Messala in the classic Ben-Hur (1959) opposite Charlton Heston. He received a Golden Globe award for his work on that film but was surprisingly bypassed on Oscar night. Still under contract with Fox, Boyd waited around to play the role of Marc Anthony in Cleopatra (1963) opposite Elizabeth Taylor. However, Taylor became so seriously ill that the production was delayed for months, which caused Boyd and other actors to withdraw from the film and move on to other projects.

Boyd made several films under contract before going independent. One of the highlights was Fantastic Voyage (1966), a science-fiction film about a crew of scientists miniaturized and injected into the human body as if in inner space. He also received a nomination for his role of Insp. Jongman in Lisa (1962) (aka "The Inspector") co-starring with Dolores Hart.

Boyd's Hollywood career began to fade by the late 1960s as he started to spend more time in Europe, where he seemed to find better roles more suited to his interests. When he went independent it was obvious that he took on roles that spoke to him rather than just taking on assignments for the money, and several of the projects he undertook were, at the time, quite controversial, such as Slaves (1969) and Carter's Army (1970). Boyd chose his roles based solely on character development and the value of the story that was told to the public, and never based on monetary compensation or peer pressure.

Although at the height of his career he was considered one of Hollywood's leading men, he never forgot where he came from, and always reminded everyone that he was, first and foremost, an Irishman. When the money started coming in, one of the first things he did was to ensure that his family was taken care of. He was particularly close to his mother Martha and his brother Alex.

Boyd was married twice, the first time in 1958 to Italian-born MCA executive Mariella di Sarzana, but that only lasted (officially) during the filming of "Ben Hur." His second marriage was to Elizabeth Mills, secretary at the British Arts Council and a friend since 1955. Liz Mills followed Boyd to the US in the late 1950s and was his personal assistant and secretary for years before they married, about ten months before his death. He died on June 2, 1977, in Northridge, California, from a massive heart attack while playing golf - one of his favorite pastimes - at the Porter Valley Country Club. He is buried at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California. It was a terrible loss, just as he seemed to be making a comeback with his recent roles in the series Hawaii Five-O (1968) and the English movie The Squeeze (1977).

It is a real tragedy to see that a man who was so passionate about his work, who wanted nothing but to tell a story with character, a man who was ahead of his time in many ways ended up being overlooked by many of his peers. One fact remains about Stephen Boyd, however--his fans are still passionate about his work to this day, almost 30 years after his death, and one has to wonder if he ever realized that perhaps in some way he achieved the goal he set out for himself: to entertain the public and draw attention to the true art of acting while maintaining glamour as he defined it by remaining himself a mystery.

Peter Haskell was born on 15 October 1934 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Child's Play 3 (1991), Child's Play 2 (1990) and Bracken's World (1969). He was married to Dianne Tolmich and Annie Compton. He died on 12 April 2010 in Northridge, California, USA.

Richard Hale was born on 16 November 1892 in Rogersville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Julius Caesar (1953), Star Trek (1966) and Scaramouche (1952). He was married to Fiona O'Shiel, Kathryn Hamill and Temple Duncan. He died on 18 May 1981 in Northridge, California, USA.

Garry Walberg was born on 10 June 1921 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Quincy, M.E. (1976), King Kong (1976) and Johnny Staccato (1959). He was married to Florence M Apostol, Patsy Collett and Betty Jean Horner. He died on 27 March 2012 in Northridge, California, USA.

Richard Reeves was born on 10 August 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Target Earth (1954), Dance with Me, Henry (1956) and Adventures of Superman (1952). He died on 17 March 1967 in Northridge, California, USA.

American actor who achieved some success as a child and as a young adult, especially in B-Westerns and in television. The son of a Texas newspaper editor. Jones was a accomplished horseman from infancy. At the age of four he was billed as the World's Youngest Trick Rider and Roper. At the age of six, he was hired to perform riding and lariat tricks in the rodeo owned by western star Hoot Gibson. Gibson convinced young Jones and his parents that there was a place for him in Hollywood, and the boy and his mother went west. Gibson arranged for some small parts for the boy. His good looks, energy, and pleasant voice quickly landed him more and bigger parts. In both low-budget Westerns and in more substantial productions. In 1940 he had one of his most prominent roles, as the voice of Pinocchio (1940) in Walt Disney's animated film of the same name. Jones attended Hollywood High School and at 15, took over the role of Henry Aldrich on the hit radio show "The Aldrich Family." He learned carpentry and augmented his income with jobs in that field. He served in the Army in Alaska during the final months of World War II. Gene Autry, who had cast Jones in several Westerns before the war, now put him back to work in films. And later in television, on programs produced by Autry's company. Now billed as Dick Jones the handsome young man starred as Dick West. Where he was sidekick to the Western hero known as The Range Rider (1951), in a TV series that ran for 76 episodes in 1951 (and for decades in syndication). Then Autry gave Jones his own series Buffalo Bill, Jr. (1955)', which ran for 40 episodes. Jones continued working in films throughout the 50's and into the 60's. In 1966 he retired and entered the business world.

Beltran started her film career in Hollywood in the uncredited role of Miss Guatemala in the film Pan-Americana (1945) (1945). From 1945 to 2002, in addition to her film roles, Beltran played over 80 roles in film and television, often in smaller roles, always as Mexican women, and then later in her career, as family matriarch types or senoritas. These included guest roles in such popular TV series as The F.B.I. (1965), Bonanza (1959), Lou Grant (1977), Knight Rider (1982), The A-Team (1983) and The Jeffersons (1975). On the big screen, in film, she appeared in such films as Jubilee Trail, Marathon Man (1976), Oh, God! Book II (1980), and most recently in Ghost (1990) which co-starred Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg, and the 2002 comedy film Buying the Cow (2002). She died in Northridge, California in 2007.

Robert F. Hoy was equally at home as a stuntman and as an actor. He appeared as Joe Butler on the acclaimed TV Western, The High Chaparral. He stunt-doubled for such actors as Charles Bronson, Tony Curtis, Robert Forrester, Ross Martin, Tyrone Power, David Jansen, and Telly Savalas. He appeared in such films as The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Lone Ranger, Gambler II, Nevada Smith, Bronco Billy, and The Enforcer, and on television in such programs as Wanted Dead or Alive, Walker Texas Ranger, JAG, Dallas (recurring role), The Wild Wild West, Magnum P.I. (five episodes), and The Young Riders. Aside from appearing in front of the cameras, he was the 2nd Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator in Spain on the TV series Zorro and on the pilot episode of The Three Musketeers.

In his work as a stuntman, Bob specialized in horse work, although he was also called upon to double in fight scenes, do car work and handle high falls. The films in which lead actors and others were doubled for stunts are too numerous to mention but include: Operation Petticoat, The Defiant Ones, Spartacus, Tobruk, They Call Me Bruce, River of No Return, To Hell and Back, Drumbeat, Wings of the Hawk, and Revenge of the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

He held lifetime membership in the Stuntmen's Association, of which he was a founding member. He was also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, Directors Guild of America, AFTRA, and the Screen Actors Guild (later SAG-AFTRA).

Sybil Jacobson was born on November 23, 1929, in Cape Town, South Africa. By age 2 she had learned to play the piano, and she also demonstrated a remarkable talent for singing, dancing and mimicry. She moved to Great Britain as a small child, and by age 5 was singing, dancing, playing the piano or doing uncanny imitations of Maurice Chevalier in London nightclubs. She also performed on radio with her uncle, Harry Jacobson, and his popular orchestra. During a show at the Palace Theater a movie producer noticed Sybil and cast her in her first film, Barnacle Bill (1935). Warner Bros. Pictures studio head Jack L. Warner was so impressed with her performance that in 1935 he brought Sybil to Hollywood as his studio's answer to Shirley Temple. Aware of Shirley's popularity and golden curls, Warner did not allow Sybil to see Shirley's films for fear that she might copy her. Despite her obvious talent, Sybil failed to achieve the success that Warner had anticipated, and in 1938 the studio did not renew her contract. However, during her time at Warner Brothers, Sybil made ten films and caught the eye of Darryl F. Zanuck, the head of 20th Century-Fox--the studio that had Temple under contract. Zanuck cast Sybil opposite Shirley in two films, The Little Princess (1939) and The Blue Bird (1940). Sybil's role in "The Blue Bird" was her most dramatic, and her older sister and guardian, Anita Jacobson, hoped that it would boost her career. However, many of Sybil's scenes were cut from "The Blue Bird", and it would be her final film.

Andre Rosey Brown was born on 7 February 1956 in Rockford, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Tango & Cash (1989) and Kingpin (1996). He was married to Debra Lynn Loomis. He died on 18 July 2006 in Northridge, California, USA.

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.

He got his show business start at the age of two in 1944 in the Broadway play "A Member of the Wedding". His performance caught the eye of MGM, which brought him to Hollywood in 1946. He appeared in several feature films for MGM over the next five years. His formal education was squeezed in between takes at MGM's studio school, where other child stars of the period like Elizabeth Taylor, Dean Stockwell, Debbie Reynolds and Tommy Rettig all learned together. After signing with Disney, he was originally scheduled to be a "Mousketeer" but was pulled from the M-O-U-S-E show after six months to work on the Disney mini-series Spin & Marty. Although he had a top agent, his parents acted as his personal management team, which was common among child actors during that period. His younger brother, Scotty Morrow followed in his footsteps and became a popular featured film and television actor as well. As a young adult, Brad later toured with the stage version of both "West Side Story" and "The Diary of Anne Frank". When his acting days ended, he dedicated himself to the world of business management. In 1990, he became the president of CII Premium Finance in Burbank. He was forced to resign from the business in 1996 due to illness. He died on November 7, 1997.

Claire Carleton was born on 28 September 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Mickey Rooney Show (1954), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and Death of a Salesman (1951). She was married to Fred Sherman and Walter Lewis Beadle. She died on 11 December 1979 in Northridge, California, USA.

Judson Pratt was born on 6 December 1916 in Hingham, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Horse Soldiers (1959), Vigilante Force (1976) and Kid Galahad (1962). He was married to Roberta Jonay. He died on 9 February 2002 in Northridge, California, USA.

Forever etched in our minds as the bully with the protruding lip who gave beloved Alfalfa plenty of angst in the "Our Gang" serial shorts, actor Tommy Bond was actually a gentle, benign soul off the set. Born Thomas Ross Bond on September 16, 1926, in Dallas, Texas, he was discovered by a Hal Roach talent scout at the age of five simply walking hand-in-hand down a Dallas street with his mother. Asked to interview in Hollywood, Tommy made the exhausting Depression-era trek by car with his grandmother and was not disappointed. He debuted in the short Spanky (1932), billed simply as "Tommy" and enjoyed a two-year stay. He was released from his initial contract after appearing in Washee Ironee (1934), then struggled with unbilled bits and minor roles in features and in one- and two-reelers for Charley Chase and Monte Collins for the next few years. Roach happened to spot Tommy again in a bratty film role and re-signed him for the popular series, this time as the mean little kid Butch. Starting with Glove Taps (1937), Tommy immortalized himself as every schoolboy's nightmare, the perpetually scowling young thug purposely looking for fights.

Once Tommy outgrew the "Butch" role at age 14, he was left to fend for himself again, taking whatever jobs he could scrape up. He played one of the "Little Peppers" in a series of mild comedies of the early 1940s and rejoined Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer (although playing his constant nemesis on the "Our Gang" series, the two were friends in real life) with the low-budget "Gas House Kids" film series in the early 1950s. In between Tommy served in the Navy during WWII and found "B" feature work with Man from Frisco (1944), which was one of his best roles, The Beautiful Cheat (1945) and Big Town Scandal (1948), among others. Another highlight of his career was playing cub reporter Jimmy Olson in the Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) cliffhangers that starred Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill.

With acting jobs getting scarce, Tommy decided to focus instead on TV production. Avoiding the heartache and serious troubles (i.e., unemployment and substance abuse) suffered by many of his spurned child star alumni (including Switzer), Tommy wisely prepared for his future by attending Los Angeles City College and earning a degree in theater arts from Cal State L.A. in 1951. He worked over two decades as a stage manager and head of props for KTTV-TV in Los Angeles, and another two as stage manager and assistant director at KFSN-TV in Fresno before finally retiring. He was long married (52 years) to wife Polly Bond and had a son, Thomas R. Bond II. He died at age 79 of complications from heart disease. His autobiography "You're Darn Right It's Butch" came out in 1993 detailing his kiddie fame.

Composer, conductor, arranger and flautist, educated at the Manhattan School of Music (BA, MA) and Juilliard (on scholarship) (MM). He was first flautist for Radio City Music Hall from 1934 to 1936, the Detroit Symphony from 1936 to 1941, the NBC Toscanini Orchestra from 1942 to 1948 and staff arranger for Radio City Music Hall from 1948 to 1956, and the opera conductor for the Brooklyn Academy of Music from 1948 to 1955.

He was music director for the Broadway stage production of "Once Upon a Mattress" and the touring companies of "Kismet" and "La Plume de Ma Tante". He joined ASCAP in 1952.

X Brands was born on 24 July 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Yancy Derringer (1958), The Virginian (1962) and Laredo (1965). He was married to Pamela McInnes and Jean Dorothy Merriam. He died on 8 May 2000 in Northridge, California, USA.

David Bellisario was born on 18 July 1957 in Mojave, California, USA. He was a producer, known for Quantum Leap (1989), JAG (1995) and NCIS: Los Angeles (2009). He died on 24 July 2020 in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Robert Stevenson was born on 10 October 1915 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Get Smart (1965), Zero Hour! (1957) and State Department: File 649 (1949). He was married to Margaret (Peggy) Constance. He died on 4 March 1975 in Northridge, California, USA.

Matt McHugh was born Mathew O. McHugh on January 22, 1894 in Connellsville, PA. He was born into a show business family, joining his parents, brother Frank and sister Kitty on the stage as soon as he learned to talk. When Matt was fourteen, he performed an act with Kitty, but by 1930, the family had abandoned show business altogether. McHugh had already made his Broadway debut as Vincent Jones in Elmer Rice's Street Scenes (1929), and in 1931, he would come to Hollywood and repeat that stage role. He appeared with Edward Brophy as one of the Rollo Brothers in Tod Browning's Freaks (1932), and continued to get sizable film assignments, most notably the bourgeois Italian bridegroom Francesco in Laurel and Hardy's Fra Diavolo (The Devil's Brother) in 1933.

Matt strongly resembled his more-famous brother, Frank, who had previously signed a contract in 1930 with the Warner Brothers Stock Company. Frank portrayed a variety of wise-cracking sidekicks with a sly wit and charming laugh, becoming a very popular character actor well into the 1950's. Matt approached his screen image differently, projecting an abrasive, sardonic screen image, despite his Pennsylvania origins. He usually performed his roles with a Brooklyn accent, and was often cast as rough-edged characters that were explicitly from Brooklyn, like cab drivers, bartenders and mechanics. For example, in the film Star Spangled Banner (1941), his one scene is an extended monologue during the climactic "Old Glory" sequence, in which he plays a character who literally embodies the spirit of Brooklyn.

McHugh eventually appeared in over 200 films between 1931 and 1955, primarily in small cameo parts, but his best opportunities came in the 1940's with supporting roles in the numerous two-reel short comedies of Andy Clyde, Hugh Herbert, Walter Catlett, The Three Stooges and many others, usually cast as a lazy or caustic brother-in-law.

Matt McHugh died of a heart attack on February 22, 1971 in Northridge, CA

Mary Lansing was born on 10 June 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Happy Days (1929) and Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). She was married to Frank Nelson. She died on 30 September 1988 in Northridge, California, USA.

Abigail Shelton was born on 3 May 1932 in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) and Target (1958). She was married to William S. Baker, John T. Kelley, Brandon Carroll and Hubert Allen Clarke Jr.. She died on 11 December 2006 in Northridge, California, USA.

William Bronder was born on 12 June 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Stand by Me (1986), Return to Me (2000) and Cannery Row (1982). He was married to Tona Dodd. He died on 6 May 2015 in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA.