October 5 Birthday Wishes

John Hoyt [1905 - 1991]
Woodrow Parfrey [1922 - 1984]
Skip Homeiier [1930 - ]
Peter Brown [1935 - ]

Howdy Manco!!

John Hoyt was one of the journeyman character actors in Hollywood from 1946-1987. He made his screen debut in O.S.S. and went on to appear in Blackboard Jungle, Spartacus and Duel At Diablo. His career was mostly in t.v. and he guest starred on hundreds of series throughout his career. His trademark silver hair and righteous demeanor made him a staple in t.v. westerns. He often played pious judges, ranchers or military, who wanted to hang the hero. A bit of trivia about Hoyt. He was also on the set of The Conqueror with John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz and many others, who contracted cancer later in life. The Film was shot in St George, Utah, a former atomic testing site. Hoyt also died of cancer, but lived to the ripe ole age of 85.

Woodrow Parfrey saw action at the Battle Of The Bulge in WW II, was wounded and captured by the Germans. Parfrey began his career in 1950 and for 34 years, he made his living as a niche actor in both films and t.v. He appeared in both of the Planet Of The Apes films, the orignal and the remake. He most frequently played a nervous, edgy person like a crooked bank teller or salesperson. He became a member of the Clint Eastwood stock of actors and appeared in Dirty Harry, Bronco Billy, and The Outlaw Josey Wales. 2 of his many roles will help you recall his face. As Thorston Bromley, the Treasury inspector, who Angie Dickinson gets drunk and steals his credentials in Sam Whisky and as the carpetbagging salesman, who Clint Eastwood spits tobacco juice on his white suit in The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Skip Homeier began his film career as a 14 year old in the 1944 film, Tomorrow The World. He would go on to play arrogant, obnoxious young men in both film and t.v. for many years. He appeared in The Tall T, Day Of The Badman and Commanche Station as well as the star of the 50's t.v. series, Dan Raven. He will be best remembered as the hippie leader in the original Star Trek episode, Space Seed and even more famous as the young, punk gunfighter, who kills Johnny Ringo( Gregory Peck) in the 1950 western, Gunfighter. During the 70's, Homeier's career bogged down and in 1982, he retired from acting.

Peter Brown was discovered pumping gas at a service station by none other that Jack.L.Warner and Warner signed him to a contract. He first appeared on the t.v. western Colt .45, followed by an appearance on Maverick, which led to his first co-starring role on the Warner Bros. t.v. series, as Deputy Johnny McKay on the 1958 t.v. series Lawman with John Russell. After the series cancelled, Brown continued to appear in t.v. series during the 60's, including a role in Ride The Wild Surf as a blonde. In the mid 60's, he snagged the role of Ranger Chad Cooper in the western series, Laredo, with Neville Brand and William Smith. With westerns winding down, Brown began to appear in regular roles in daytime soaps like One Life To Live, The Young And The Restless, and The Bold And The Beautiful. A bit of trivia about Peter Brown. During the 50's and 60's, because of all the western t.v. series and the fast draw fad, a magazine sponsored a celebrity fast draw contest and many of the stars of the western series showed up for the contest. When all the leather slapping was done, Brown emerged as the fastest of the fast. As I've mentioned before, one of the fastest draws I've ever seen, was done by Brown on the series Laredo, using a 5 & 1/2 inch barreled Colt out of a steel lined, Andy Anderson hand tooled rig. He literally drew, cocked and leveled the Colt .45 before you could blink.

Ed

Ed, you mention Skip Homeier being in an episode of Star Trek. John Hoyt was cast as the ship's doctor in the original pilot The Cage, which was later used in the 2 part episode The Menagerie. And a few months ago I was watching Helter Skelter, the movie about Charles Manson and the Tate-LaBianca murders, and Skip Homeier played trial judge Charles Older.

Also today:

Gail Davis (1925-1997) appeared in 3 dozen movies in the late 1940s, and all but 3 were Westerns, including 20 either with Gene Autry or for his production company. She went into television in the 1950s, appearing on The Cisco Kidd, The Lone Ranger, The Gene Autry Show, and starring as Annie Oakley from 1954-56.

Duncan Regehr (1952-) is a man of many talents: actor, artist, and former Olympic boxer. He's appeared in several movies and TV shows including V, The Blue and the Grey, Star Trek;The Next Generation, and Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid (as Pat Garrett), but is best known as Zorro from the Family Channel series in the early 1990s.

Howdy Tinhorn!!

Pard, I'm glad that we didn't miss Gail Davis' birthday. This little 5 foot 2 inch beauty first appeared back in the late 40's, in westerns like Death Valley Gunfighter, Trail Of The Rustlers and Six Gun Mesa, along with appearing with both Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in film. She also appeared on The Cisco Kid and The Adventures Of Kit Carson t.v. series. Her role of the perky, pigtailed Annie Oakley was always one of my favorites, although she did use double action revolvers, with an ejector rod attached to make them resemble single actions. One of her last appearances was on the Andy Griffith Show, as the cousin of Barney Fife's girlfriend, Thelma Lou, in the episode, The Perfect Female, in which she outshot Andy and Barney with both shotgun and pistol. Gail was awarded The Golden Boot Award in 1994, for her contributions to the western genre. She was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall Of Fame after she passed away. The Golden Boot award was her last public appearance before her death.

Ed