Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: July 6, 1937

Death Date: June 13, 2021

Birth Place: Louisville, Kentucky

After "Deliverance" (1972) introduced him to American film audiences as the victim of one of the most horrific and infamous incidents of onscreen violence in cinematic history, actor Ned Beatty quickly became one of Hollywood's most rock-steady supporting everymen. Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, Beatty was seemingly omnipresent in the decade's seminal films, including "Nashville" (1975), "All the President's Men" (1976), "Network" (1976) and "Superman" (1978). Never a leading a man, Beatty nonetheless earned a reputation as one of the top supporting actors in the trade. While the his later decade films were not as prominent, Beatty landed several high-quality small-screen projects, including a regular role as a member of the original cast of what many considered to be one of the best shows ever produced for television, "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-99). Though he would never match the sheer volume of hits in his first decade of film work, his myriad of roles as amicable middle-aged men, well-meaning public officials and later big-hearted grandfathers, would earn him the distinction of being the one of the busiest and most beloved actors in Hollywood.

Born July 6, 1937, in Louisville, KY, to Charles and Margaret Beatty, he grew up in nearby St. Matthew's, a small town that later become a Louisville suburb. As a boy he developed a talent for singing, first joining his church choir, then finding increased opportunities when his voice changed at age 11 by singing in weddings, a local barbershop quartet and the Louisville a cappella choir. Though his talent earned him a scholarship to Kentucky's Transylvania University, Beatty paid more attention to his singing than school work, which soon led to parts in local amateur stage productions. After a year, he left school and briefly apprenticed as a supermarket butcher before pursuing an acting career, which led to regional theater and professional summer stock productions. He did stints at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, VA; the Erie Playhouse in Erie, PA; and the Playhouse Theater in Houston, TX, and by his own estimate, performed as many as 300 days a year. Along the way, Beatty was diagnosed as being manic depressive, but has said that he managed to cope by acting his way through his down swings.

Eventually, Beatty landed at the pioneering Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where he spent eight years performing in the 1960s, including in a production of "The Great White Hope" (1968), which moved to New York for a run on Broadway. Beatty went with the show, in which he co-starred with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. Filmmaker John Boorman caught Beatty's performance and cast him in his first film role; one that would for better or worse be a courageous entrée into Hollywood. In "Deliverance" (1972), based on the novel by James Dickey, Beatty played one of the four city dwellers (also Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds and Ronny Cox) who take a weekend canoe trip through Appalachia and wind up being stalked by murderous inbred hill folk, one of whom sexually violates Beatty's character in arguably the most disturbing scene in cinema history. In the scene, Beatty's character is humiliated by an armed mountain man (Bill McKinney), who makes him "squeal like a pig" before he rapes him. Though it came to light that the actor was increasingly depressed during the shoot, especially around time to film the scene, Beatty later claimed that he came up with the famous line after Boorman encouraged the actors to ad-lib. Meanwhile, the raw, violent thriller became a huge hit, and the unassuming Beatty soon became the go-to guy for frumpy middle-aged supporting roles in some of the decade's most lauded films.

That same year, Betty was taped by director John Huston to co-star opposite Paul Newman in the revisionist Western, "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972), which was loosely based on the titular judge, who appointed himself "Law west of the Pecos" and attempted various crimes on the front porch of his saloon. In "White Lightning" (1973), he played a crooked Southern sheriff who contends with a recently released bootlegger (Burt Reynolds) working for the Feds. After co-starring opposite Jeff Bridges in "The Last American Hero" (1973), he ventured over to the small screen for a part as a priest in the acclaimed television movie, "The Execution of Private Slovik" (NBC, 1974), which starred Martin Sheen as the titular soldier who became the first to be executed during war time for desertion since the Civil War. After playing a good ole boy struggling with his marriage in Robert Altman's seminal ensemble drama, "Nashville" (1975), he was Miami private investigator, Martin Dardis, who helped Woodward and Bernstein (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) link President Nixon to the Watergate break-in, in "All the President's Men" (1976).

Beatty continued in one strong supporting role after another, appearing in Arthur Hiller's seminal action-comedy hit, "Silver Streak" (1976), starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. The actor was onscreen for a brief, but singularly stunning scene in Sidney Lumet's cinematic gem, "Network" (1976), putting his booming voice on full display as corporate chieftain Arthur Jensen, who delivers an evangelical monologue to rogue, muckraking television anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch), upbraiding him for tampering with the broader agendas of Big Business. Lumet and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's prophetic vision of corporatization of major media crystallized in Jensen's inflamed, religious oratory, in which he decried Beale for "meddling with the primal forces of nature!" Beatty's mere handful of minutes onscreen made such an impact that he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. With the limelight on him, Beatty starred in a summer replacement series called "Szysznyk" (CBS, 1977), a sitcom that saw him portray an ex-Marine running kids' recreational activities at an urban community center. The show fared well enough against summer reruns, but tanked quickly when the network brought it back later that year.

Despite the setback, Beatty went on to develop a selective presence on the small screen, appearing in a number of miniseries and television movies like the biopic of 1950s Red Scare-monger Senator Joseph McCarthy (Peter Boyle), "Tail Gunner Joe" (NBC, 1977). Following an adaptation of Thornton Wilder's classic stageplay "Our Town" (NBC, 1977), Beatty returned to the big screen with a fine comedic turn as Otis, the dimwitted henchman of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), in the classic "Superman" (1978). After playing a paranoid California homeowner preparing for a Japanese invasion in Steven Spielberg's ambitious bomb "1941" (1979), he received second billing opposite Carol Burnett in "Friendly Fire" (ABC, 1979), a landmark small-screen film that was praised for its honest examination of the United State's disastrous war in Vietnam. Beatty and Burnett played simple Midwestern parents who find the U.S. military dissembling as to how their serviceman son died, leading them to join the anti-war movement. Beatty's performance earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special.

Beatty returned as the doofus Otis for "Superman II" (1980) before playing a U.S. legislator in the fictional retelling of the Jonestown massacre, "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones" (CBS, 1980). Following a supporting turn in the Lily Tomlin comedy "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" (1981), Beatty was cast in the stirring chronicle of Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, in "A Woman Called Golda" (CBS, 1982), which starred Ingrid Bergman in her final role. He had appearances in the Richard Pryor comedy, "The Toy" (1982), and the action comedy "Stroker Ace" (1983), starring Loni Anderson and off-screen friend Burt Reynolds. Beatty next took on a major role in "The Last Days of Pompeii" (ABC, 1984), a seven-hour miniseries. He had a starring role in the British-made caper comedy, "Restless Natives" (1985), before landing a minor role in the Rodney Dangerfield vehicle, "Back to School" (1986). After supporting turns in "Midnight Crossing" (1987) and "Rolling Vengeance" (1987), Beatty gave a fine supporting role in the superlative crime thriller, "The Big Easy" (1987), a richly textured noir that harkened back to his 1970s heyday.

Beatty next co-starred alongside Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan in the Cold War thriller, "The Fourth Protocol" (1987), which he followed with a rare starring role in the thriller "Shadows of the Storm" (1988), yet another reunion with Burt Reynolds for the comedy, "Switching Channels" (1988), and the cop drama "Physical Evidence" (1989). While he had his share of B-grade films like "Time Trackers" (1989), "Big Bad John" (1990), "Captain America" (1990) and the "Exorcist" spoof "Repossessed" (1990), Beatty continued to balance out his career with distinguished supporting roles in films like the true-to-life prison drama, "Chattahoochee" (1990). The following year, he scored a rare above-the-title billing in what many considered his tour-de-force performance, playing Josef Locke, a fabled Irish tenor in the charming indie import "Hear My Song" (1991). The quirky film followed a struggling Liverpool club-owner (Adrian Dunbar) on an odyssey to find Locke, a real-life singer who fled England decades earlier, in order to help save his club. By giving Locke both a gruff authority and a grudging sweetness, Beatty was honored with some of his best reviews in years while earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

After a supporting role in the quirky romantic comedy, "Prelude to a Kiss" (1992), Beatty played the father of a young man (Sean Astin) determined to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame despite mediocre grades, little money and a small build in the heartwarming drama "Rudy" (1993). Beatty returned to series television with a recurring role on the hit sitcom "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997), as the estranged, wayward father of Dan Conner (John Goodman), whose troubled relationship played out in an extended arc of guest shots from 1989 to 1994. In 1993, he made the full commitment to the small screen after being lured by Barry Levinson, David Simon, Paul Attanasio and Tom Fontana to join the cast of "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-2000), a stark, kaleidoscopic drama depicting the overwhelming workload of Baltimore homicide detectives. Beatty played earnest, mid-life-crisis-wracked Det. Stanley Bolander, who partnered with Richard Belzer's smartass paranoiac Det. Munch in an ever-bickering oil-and-water team, just one in a talented ensemble of distinctive, memorable characters processing the tragic waste of urban America. "Homicide" was branded by critics through broad consensus as one of the best shows to ever grace the airwaves, winning it two Emmys and a Peabody Award for Best Television Drama in its first season. But with the ratings failing to follow the critical groundswell, the network insisted the producers tinker with their cast in favor of younger, prettier talent, and Beatty's character was written off following the third season.

Following his departure from "Homicide," Beatty went back to estimable roles for the balance of the 1990s, playing Judge Roy Bean himself in big-budget production of Larry McMurtry's "The Streets of Laredo" (CBS, 1995) while landing a supporting role for Spike Lee's underappreciated drama, "He's Got Game" (1997). He managed to remain unscathed after Ted Demme's lame prison comedy, "Life" (1999), starring Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy, before once again reuniting with director Robert Altman for "Cookie's Fortune" (1999). Beatty returned as Det. Bolander for the made-for-television movie, "Homicide: The Movie" (NBC, 2000), which reunited most of the cast to find the murderer of their longtime captain, after which he turned in a solid performance in the charming indie "Spring Forward" (2000). In the next century, Beatty began lightening his workload, even as he returned to his theatrical and musical roots. In 2001, he revisited one of the first roles he ever played early in his stage career, Big Daddy, in a London production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," for which he received a nomination for Best Actor at the prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards the following year.

Beatty returned to New York to reprise the role of Big Daddy on Broadway in 2003, which preceded a return to music when friend and successful songwriter Larry Bastian convinced him to record a CD, In the Beginning Was the Word (2006), a self-released gospel album that featured Beatty crooning Christian hymns such as "Down by the Riverside" and "Peace in the Valley." Along the way, he continued his film supporting-role work in such movies like the children's classic "Where the Red Fern Grows" (2003), the Mark Wahlberg actioner "Shooter" (2007), and the political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War (2007), which starred Tom Hanks as a freewheeling congressman who finds his mission in life when he helps combat invading Russians by arming a ragtag group of Afghan freedom fighters. Beatty next co-starred in the direct-to-DVD release, "In the Electric Mist" (2009), a mystery thriller about a sheriff's detective (Tommy Lee Jones) investigating the murder of a young woman by an alleged serial killer whose investigation is hampered by two Hollywood stars (Peter Sarsgaard and Kelly McDonald) who are in town making a Civil War movie. After appearing in a supporting role in the Jim Thompson noir adaptation "The Killer Inside Me, (2010), Beatty appeared in two animated hits, "Toy Story 3" (2010) and "Rango" (2011). His last film role came in the romantic comedy "Baggage Claim" (2013), after which he quietly retired. Ned Beatty died on June 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 83.

Credits

Teddy Bears

Actor
Old Man Carl
Movie
2013

RangoStream

Voice
Mayor
Movie
2011
88%

Rampart

Actor
Hartshorn
Movie
2011

Toy Story 3Stream

Voice
Lotso
Movie
2010
98%

The Killer Inside Me

Actor
Chester Conway
Movie
2010

In the Electric Mist

Actor
Twinky LeMoyne
Movie
2009

ShooterStream

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Senator Charles F. Meachum
Movie
2007
48%

The Walker

Actor
Jack Delorean
Movie
2007

Charlie Wilson's WarStream

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Doc Long
Movie
2007
82%

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

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Otis
Movie
2006

Sweet Land

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Harmo
Movie
2005

The Wool Cap

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v
Movie
2004

Where the Red Fern Grows

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Sheriff Abe McConnell
Movie
2003

Roughing It

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2002

Thunderpants

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Gen. Ed Sheppard
Movie
2002

I Was a Rat

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Mudduck
Movie
2001

CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationStream

Guest Star
Series
2000

Homicide: The Movie

Actor
Det. Stanley "The Big Man" Bolander
Movie
2000

Cookie's FortuneStream

Actor
Lester Boyle
Movie
1999
86%

LifeStream

Actor
Dexter Wilkins
Movie
1999
52%

Spring Forward

Actor
Murph
Movie
1999

He Got GameStream

Actor
Warden Wyatt
Movie
1998
80%

Inferno: Pueblo Maldito

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Moles Huddenel
Movie
1996

Crazy Horse

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Dr. McGillicuddy
Movie
1996

The Curse of Inferno

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Moles Huddenel
Movie
1996

Streets of LaredoStream

Actor
Judge Roy Bean
Miniseries
1995

Just CauseStream

Actor
McNair
Movie
1995
26%

The Affair

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Col. Banning
Movie
1995

Radioland Murders

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General Walt Whalen
Movie
1994

Replikator

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Insp. Victor Valiant
Movie
1994

The Boys

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Herbert Francis 'Bert' Greenblatt
Show
1993

Homicide: Life on the Street

Actor
Series
1993
91%

O.B. Taggart

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Sam Lawrence
Movie
1993

Ed and His Dead Mother

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Uncle Benny
Movie
1993

RudyStream

Actor
Daniel
Movie
1993
78%

Trial: The Price of Passion

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Show
1992

Prelude to a Kiss

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Doctor Boyle
Movie
1992

T Bone N Weasel

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Doc Tatum
Movie
1992

Visión Ciega

Actor
Movie
1991

Regard mortel

Actor
Movie
1991

Hear My SongStream

Actor
Josef Locke
Movie
1991
90%

Going Under

Actor
Admiral Malice
Movie
1991

Blind Vision

Actor
Sgt. Logan
Movie
1991

Law & OrderStream

Guest Star
Series
1990

El Gran John

Actor
Movie
1990

Chico y Polly

Actor
Movie
1990

A Cry in the Wild

Actor
Pilot
Movie
1990

Repossessed

Actor
Ernest Weller
Movie
1990

Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

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The Duke of Bridgewater
Movie
1990

Tom Alone

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Cornelius van Horne
Movie
1990

Captain America

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Sam Kolawetz
Movie
1990

Angel Square

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Officer Ozzie O'Driscoll/Santa Claus
Movie
1990

Big Bad John

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Charlie Mitchelle
Movie
1990

Shadows in the Storm

Actor
Thelonious Pitt
Movie
1990

Last Train Home

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Cornelius van Horne
Movie
1990

The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story

Actor
Edward C. Acker
Movie
1990

Dossier Lockerbie

Actor
Movie
1990

Physical Evidence

Actor
James Nicks
Movie
1989

Time Trackers

Actor
Harry Orth
Movie
1989

Tennessee Nights

Actor
Charlie Kiefer
Movie
1989

Chattahoochee

Actor
Dr. Harwood
Movie
1989

Spy

Actor
Thomas Ludlow
Movie
1989

Ministry of Vengeance

Actor
Rev. Bloor
Movie
1989

Noche en Tennesse

Actor
Movie
1989

B.L. Stryker: The King of Jazz

Actor
Movie
1989

RoseanneStream

Actor
Ed Conner
Series
1988
76%

RoseanneStream

Guest Star
Ed Conner
Series
1988
76%

Switching Channels

Actor
Roy Ridnitz
Movie
1988

The Unholy

Actor
Lt. Stern
Movie
1988

Midnight Crossing

Actor
Ellis
Movie
1988

The Passage

Actor
Movie
1988

The Purple People Eater

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Grandpa
Movie
1988

El Profamo

Actor
Movie
1988

Preuve matérielle

Actor
Movie
1988

Rolling Vengeance

Actor
Tiny Doyle
Movie
1987

The Trouble With Spies

Actor
Harry Lewis
Movie
1987

The Fourth Protocol

Actor
Borisov/Pavel Petrovic
Movie
1987

The Big Easy

Actor
Jack Kellom
Movie
1986

Back to SchoolStream

Actor
Dean David Martin
Movie
1986
87%

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

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1985

Robert Kennedy and His Times

Actor
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1985

Alfred Hitchcock Presenta

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Movie
1985

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

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Larry Broome
Movie
1985

Hostage Flight

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Art Hofstadter
Movie
1985

Konrad

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Mr. Thomas
Movie
1985

La Mission de Charlotte Forten

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Movie
1985

Highway to HeavenStream

Guest Star
Willy The Waver / Melvin Rich
Series
1984

The Last Days of Pompeii

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Show
1984

Charlotte Forten's Mission

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Reverend Mansfield French
Movie
1984

Kentucky Woman

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Luke Telford
Movie
1983

Stroker AceStream

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Clyde Torkle
Movie
1983
19%

Touched

Actor
Herbie
Movie
1983

A Woman Called Golda

Actor
Sen. Durward
Show
1982

Pray TV

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Rev. Freddy Stone
Movie
1982

Mixed Blessings

Actor
Rev. Freddy Stone
Movie
1982

The Toy

Actor
Mr. Morehouse
Movie
1982

A House Divided: Denmark Vessey's Rebellion

Actor
Movie
1982

All the Way Home

Actor
Movie
1981

The Violation of Sarah McDavid

Actor
Dr. Walter Keys
Movie
1981

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Actor
Dan Beame
Movie
1981

Splendor in the Grass

Actor
Ace Stamper
Movie
1981

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones

Actor
Show
1980

El Espía más Grande del Mundo

Actor
Movie
1980

Rayuela

Actor
Movie
1980

HopscotchStream

Actor
Myerson
Movie
1980
81%

Superman IIStream

Actor
Otis
Movie
1980
83%

All God's Children

Actor
Mike Naponic
Movie
1980

Fuego Amistoso

Actor
Movie
1979

1941

Actor
Ward Douglas
Movie
1979

Friendly FireStream

Actor
Gene Mullen
Movie
1979

The American Success Company

Actor
Mr. Elliott
Movie
1979

Promises in the Dark

Actor
Bud Koenig
Movie
1979

Wise Blood

Actor
Hoover Shoates
Movie
1979

1941: La Folie gagne Hollywood

Actor
Movie
1979

SupermanStream

Actor
Otis
Movie
1978
94%

A Question of Love

Actor
Dwayne Stabler
Movie
1978

Gray Lady Down

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Mickey
Movie
1978

Alambrista

Actor
Anglo Coyote
Movie
1978

The Great Bank Hoax

Actor
Julius Taggart
Movie
1977

Tail Gunner Joe

Actor
Sylvester
Movie
1977

Exorcist II: The HereticStream

Actor
Edwards
Movie
1977
11%

Lucan

Actor
Larry MacElwaine
Movie
1977

Silver Streak

Actor
Bob Sweet
Movie
1976

NetworkStream

Actor
Arthur Jensen
Movie
1976
92%

The Big Bus

Actor
Shorty Scotty
Movie
1976

All the President's MenStream

Actor
Dardis
Movie
1976
94%

Mikey and Nicky

Actor
Kinney
Movie
1976

Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan

Actor
Ollie Thompson
Movie
1975

The Deadly Tower

Actor
Allan Crum
Movie
1975

NashvilleStream

Actor
Delbert Reese
Movie
1975
91%

W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings

Actor
Country Bull
Movie
1975

The Rockford FilesStream

Guest Star
Leon Fielder
Series
1974

Petrocelli

Guest Star
Series
1974

The Execution of Private Slovik

Actor
Father Stafford
Movie
1974

Hard Driver

Actor
Hackel
Movie
1973

The Thief Who Came to Dinner

Actor
Deams
Movie
1973

The Marcus-Nelson Murders

Actor
Detective Dan Corrigan
Movie
1973

La Disparition

Actor
Movie
1973

Dying Room Only

Actor
Tom King
Movie
1973

The Last American HeroStream

Actor
Hackel
Movie
1973
75%

White LightningStream

Actor
Sheriff J.C. Connors
Movie
1973
75%

Les Bootleggers

Actor
Movie
1973

M*A*S*HStream

Guest Star
Col. Hollister
Series
1972

The Streets of San FranciscoStream

Guest Star
Eddie Boggs
Series
1972

The WaltonsStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

The RookiesStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

DeliveranceStream

Actor
Bobby Trippe
Movie
1972
89%

Footsteps

Actor
Frank Powell
Movie
1972

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

Actor
Tector Crites
Movie
1972

GunsmokeStream

Guest Star
Karp
Series
1955

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