September 7 Birthday Wishes

Roy Barcroft [1902 - 1969]

Howdy Manco!!

It is impossible to describe all of Roy Barcroft's accomplishments in film, in a short space. Barcroft saw action and was wounded in WW I. He then became a seaman for a while, tunnel digger and various other jobs, before getting a small part in the 1931 film, Mata Hari and he was bitten by the acting bug. From 1931-1953, Barcroft worked for Columbia and other studios, until signing a 10 year contract with Republic studios and was on his way to becoming the most famous"badman" of them all. Cranking out an average of 10 films a year, for 30 years, Barcroft appeared in hundreds of B-westerns and sci-fi films during his career, including My Pal Trigger, The Attack Of The Purple Monster, the Flash Gordon series, and innumerable others. He was the most well known villain of them all. As soon as the kids saw his face, they knew who the bad guy was, even though it took the hero another hour to figure it out!! After 1953, Barcroft began a career in television. He appeared on the Hopalong Cassidy series, The Adventures Of Kit Carson, The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp, all the way through the 60's, with appearances on Laramie, Colt .45, Trackdown, The Virginian and just about every western series on t.v.. He once said that he learned everything he knew about being a villain from actor Harry Woods. It is only fitting, that his last appearance was in the 1970 Lee Marvin, Jack Palance film, Monte Walsh. Monte Walsh must have been filmed in 1969, because Roy Barcroft " the greatest badman of them all" died in 1969.

Ed

I was 7 when Walt Disney's The Adventures of Spin and Marty came to TV. This was my first encounter with not only Roy Barcroft but with Harry Carey Jr. Later, when I began to watch westerns of the 30's and 40's, imagine my surprise in finding that kindly Col. Logan had been one of the most prolific villains in western history.

Also today:

Peter Lawford (1923-1984), while not usually associated with Western, did appear in episodes of The Wild Wild West and The Virginian, as well as the Western/comedy film 3 Sergeants with his "Rat Pack" pals Frank, Dean, and Sammy. His first wife was Patricia Kennedy, sister of JFK. His second wife was the daughter of Dan Rowen. His 4th and last wife was 17 yrs. old when they married (he was 61!) just months before he died of kidney and liver failure.

John Milford (1929-2000) appeared in a boatload of TV shows from the 1950s to the late 1990s, including most of the Western series.

William Katt (1951-) is also not known as a Western actor, but did play the Sundance Kid in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. He's probably best known for playing unlikely superhero Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero.