February 17 Birthday Wishes

Arthur Hunnicutt [1910 - 1979]

Marc Lawrence [1910 - 2005]

Arthur Kennedy [1914 - 1990]

Wayne Morris [1914 - 1959]

Kathleen Freeman [1919 - 2001]

Jeremy Slate [1926 - 2006]

Jim Brown [1936 - ]

Lou Diamond Phillips [1962 - ]

Howdy Manco!!

Authur Hunnicutt first started appearing in films back in the early 40's. He always played some character that was older than he really was. The photo is from El Dorado with John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James Caan. One of his last appearances was in Moonshiners, which spun off The Dukes Of Hazard t.v. series. He was the original Uncle Jesse.

Marc Lawrence was another character actor, who usually played gangster roles. The photo is from The Oxbow Incident with Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan.

Authur Kennedy was a great supporting actor and appeared in several classic westerns like, Bend Of The River and The Man From Laramie with Jimmy Stewart. He also appeared in Elmer Gantry with Burt Lancaster and Rancho Notorious with Marlene Dietrich. He was nominated 4 times for best actor, but lost out each time.

Kathleen Freeman was another wonderful supporting actress from the late 40's until her death. I remember her best for her roles in Naked Gun, The Final Insult, Support Your Local Gunfighter and Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner. She had a flair for comedy.

Jeremy Slate was another excellent suporting actor, who appeared in a couple of films with Elvis Presley. He also made some Hell's Angel's motorcycle films, but I remember him best from The Sons Of Katie Elder and True Grit with John Wayne.

Jim Brown will always be remembered best for his career as a running back for the Cleveland Browns from 1957-1965. He is one of the greatest ever in the N.F.L. Later, he also appeared in several films, like Rio Conchos, The Dirty Dozen and 100 Rifles with Raquel Welch.

Lou Diamond Phillips has appeared in several westerns, like Young Guns and Young Guns II and recently has appeared in Lone Hero and Trail To Hope Rose, but I will alway remember him for his role in La Bamba as rock and roll singer, Ritchie Vallie.

Ed

Jeremy Slate was not only a cousin to the Goldrup brothers but one of our closest friends. Besides his two John Wayne westerns, Jeremy worked opposite David Carradine & Richard Widmark in a TV movie called "Mr. Horn," about the life of Tom Horn; as well as acting in TV shows like Gunsmoke (7 times), The Virginian, Bat Masterson, The Deputy, Bonanza, Have Gun-Will Travel & others. He was also the co-star of his own TV series, "The Aquanauts," later title changed to "Malibu Run." He also wrote the lyrics to several songs, like "Just Beyond the Moon" (Tex Ritter's last hit), and while working on "True Grit" he co-wrote with Glen Campbell, "How Come Every Time I Itch," which was released on the flip side of Campbell's hit record, "Galveston." Jeremy left Hollywood for a number of years and appeared on stage in Monterey County, and, at the time of his death, he had returned to Hollywood and worked on an episode of the TV sit-com, "My Name is Earl", and was cast in a feature where he was going to play a clown working in the rodeos, but he passed away before the picture was to be filmed (and, it turned out, the film was never made).
Us three brothers miss the many visits we had with Jeremy and the good friend & cousin that he was. Oh, he also served in the Navy during World War II and was aboard one of the ships at the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day. His first on-screen appearance was as a small bit in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" as a policeman chasing Cary Grant in a train or bus station.

I liked Arthur Hunnicutt in the episodes with the dog, Walter. Walter was the brains of the outfit! I thought he was an odd casting choice in The Last Command, in which he played Davy Crockett. But I love the homespun charm of the guy.

Wayne Morris was of the 3 French soldiers sentenced to be executed in a kangaroo court martial in Paths to Glory. Before becoming an actor, he was a Navy fighter pilot in WWII, and won 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

I love Kathleen Freeman. A great comedic actress. Besides the films Ed mentioned, she's also good as Mother Mary Stigmata (the "penguin") in The Blues Brothers, General Burkhalter's sister Gertrude Linkmeyer on Hogan's Heroes, and Mrs. Wilgus on The Donna Reed Show.

Jeremy Slate's been in a lot of stuff, but I'll always know him as Emmitt Quincey in True Grit, chopping Dennis Hopper's fingers off.

One of my favorite movies with Jim Brown (besides The Dirty Dozen) is the spoof of Blaxploitation films called I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka, where he and Isaac Hayes are retired tough guys running a rib joint. I also liked him in Mars Attacks.