December 9 Birthday Wishes

Robert Livingston [1904 - 1988]
Broderick Crawford [1911 - 1986]
Kirk Douglas [1916 - ]
William Reynolds [1931 - ]

Howdy Manco!!

Robert Livingston made his screen debut in 1921, but it was the mid 30's before he found his niche as Stony Brook in the matinee westerns, The Three Mesquiteers and as Zorro in The Gay Callabaro. He made more appearances( 29) in the Mesquiteer series than any of the other stars, which included Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune and Syd Taylor in films like, The Vigilantes Are Coming, Hit The Saddle, Call Of The Mesquiteers etc. Livingston had a brother, billed as Jack Randall, who also had a promising career in film, but was killed when his horse smashed into a tree, during a chase scene. Back in the 30's and 40's, most of these stars did their own stunts. During the 50's, Livingston made appearances on several of the western t.v. shows like The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, The Adventures Of Wild Bill Hickok, Stories Of The Century and others. He made a brief comeback during the 70's and his last appearance was in the film, The Blazing Stewardesses in 1978. He was presented with The Golden Boot Award for his contributions to the western genre in 1987, by his friend Gene Autry just months before Livingston died.

Broderick Crawford first appeared in flm in 1937 and did bit parts and small roles in westerns until being cast as Willie Stark in the 1949 film, All The Kings Men, for which he won the Best Actor Academy Award. In 1955 he took on the role of Chief Dan Matthews in the 1955-1959 t.v. series Highway Patrol. With his burly physicque and grating voice, and his signature call sign, 10-4, he became a fixture on t.v. In 1961, he was cast in the series King Of Diamonds as Johnny King which ran through 1962. Afterwards, he occassionally appeared in films like The Fastest Gun Alive with Glenn Ford and The Texican with Audie Murphy, in which he played the villain, but for the remainder of his career, he chose t.v. over film. in later years, he was often cast as Sheriff's, Deputies and assorted heavies in popular t.v. series like Rawhide, The Virginian, Cade's Country and Alias Smith And Jones. Crawford continued to act until 1982.

After serving in the military during WW II, Kirk Douglas began doing radio and at the insistance of Lauren Bacall did a screen test, which resulted in his being cast in the 1946 film, The Strange Loves Of Martha Ivers. Next up was Young Man With A Horn and Along The Great Divide. Then came 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, His favorite film, ( Man Without A Star) and Last Train From Gun Hill. He was next paired with Burt Lancaster in Gunfight At The O.K. Corral. Douglas would go on to appear in 7 films with Lancaster including 7 Days In May and Tough Guys. Much has been made about the "friendship" between Lancaster and Douglas, but most of it was publicity as Lancaster really didn't like Douglas and viewed him as a competitor. He also appeared with the Duke in the films, In Harm's Way and The War Wagon. In 1960, Douglas formed his own production company and not only starred in, but produced the hit film Spartaus. An all around actor and true superstar, Douglas has been in many excellent westerns like, There Was A Crooked Man, The strange film, A Gunfight, Draw and the whimsical, The Villain. Voted the number 53 best actor of all time, in 1995 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his contributions to film. It was Kirk that was responsible for procuring the rights to the book, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, for which his son, Michael made into an Oscar winning film. At the age of 96 and in a career that has spanned over 50 years, Douglas not only served in WW II, he has been injured in a helicopter crash, survived several strokes and 2 knee replacements and continued to act through 2008 and keeps right on keepin on!!
Thanks for all the great memories, Pard!!

William Reynolds is one of those actors, who we've all watched over the years, but can never remember their face. Reynolds made his film debut in 1951 and acted until 1978. He was cast in small roles in Cimarron Kid, The Battle Of Apache Pass, Cult Of The Cobra, ect and has been cast in several t.v. series, like the 1959 Pete Kelly's Blues, the 1961-1962, The Islanders, the 1962-1963 series, The Gallant Men as Capt. Jim Benedict and the 1966-1974 series, The F.B.I. as special agent Tom Colby. By his own admission, his good looks and talent were responsible for his success, but he never really had the ambition. Reynolds did his last acting in 1978.

Ed

Ed, you forgot to mention that Robert Livingston played The Lone Ranger in the 12 part 1939 Republic Serial The Lone Ranger Rides Again.

Broderick Crawford was nicknamed "Ol' 502" by the California Highway Patrol, because of the numerous times he was stopped for driving under the influence, which was a Code 502.

Also today:

Joe Lando (1961-) was a soap opera actor before being cast as frontiersman Byron Sully on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. He appeared in 143 of the 150 episodes, and reprised the roll in 2 TV movies.