Forrest Tucker

Not to be confused with Chris Tucker or Forest Whitaker, Forrest Tucker was a 20th century film and television actor who will be most remembered for his role as Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke on "F Troop": the mid-1960s, post-Civil War-era cavalry sitcom. The legacy is not inappropriate since Tucker appeared in westerns throughout the '40s and '50s, making his film debut in the 1940 romance "The Westerner," starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan. Though he made mainly B-movies with Columbia Pictures during that period (e.g., the crime drama "Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood" in 1942), he also managed to work with the big-time stars of the era, including John Wayne in "Sands of Iwo Jima" and Charlton Heston in "Pony Express." Tucker first appeared on TV in 1950's "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre," and he participated in several more TV playhouse productions throughout the decade before branching out into guest parts on dramas and westerns, including "Death Valley Days." Back on-screen, he secured a lead role opposite Rosalind Russell in the multiple Oscar-nominated 1958 comedy "Auntie Mame," which was among the best films in which Tucker appeared; this comedic role foreshadowed his success on the sitcom "F Troop." His other big TV jobs included his co-starring role with Bob Denver, post-"Gilligan's Island," on the western comedy "Dusty's Trail," and reuniting with "F Troop" alum Larry Storch on the family comedy "The Ghost Busters" (not to be confused with the 1984 blockbuster "Ghost Busters").