FT
Forrest Tucker
Actor
Died October 25, 1986 (67 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films.
Tucker described himself as a farm boy. He was born in Plainfield, Indiana, on February 12, 1919, a son of Forrest A. Tucker and his wife, Doris Heringlake. His mother has been described as an alcoholic. Tucker began his performing career at age 14 at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, pushing the big wicker tourist chairs by day and singing "Throw Money" at night. After his family moved to Washington, D.C., Tucker attracted the attention of Jimmy Lake, the owner of the Old Gaiety Burlesque Theater, by winning its Saturday night amateur contest on consecutive weeks. After his second win, Tucker was hired there at full time as Master of Ceremonies, but left when it was soon discovered that he was underage. He graduated from Washington-Lee High School, Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., in 1938, and, joining the United States Cavalry, was stationed at Fort Myer in Arlington County, Virginia, but discharged for, once again, being underage. He returned to work at the Old Gaiety after his 18th birthday.
When Lake's theatre closed for the summer in 1939, Tucker was helped by a wealthy mentor to travel to California and try to break into film acting. He made a successful screen test, and began auditioning for movie roles. In his own estimation, Tucker was in the mold of large "ugly guys" such as Wallace Beery, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen, rather than a matinee idol. His debut was as a powerfully built farmer who clashes with the hero in The Westerner (1940), which starred Gary Cooper.
Like many other movie actors at the time, Tucker enlisted in the United States Army during World War II; he earned a commission as a second lieutenant.
Tucker married four times:
Sandra Jolley (1919–1986) in 1940, divorced in 1950, daughter of the character actor I. Stanford Jolley (who also died of emphysema) and the sister of the Academy Award-winning art director Stan Jolley. They had a daughter, Pamela "Brooke" Tucker.
Marilyn Johnson on March 28, 1950 (died on July 19, 1960).
Marilyn Fisk on October 23, 1961. They had a daughter, Cindy Tucker, and son, Forrest Sean Tucker.
Sheila Forbes on April 15, 1986.
Tucker, who had battled lung cancer for more than a year, as well as having a series of minor illnesses, collapsed and was hospitalized, for the second time in a week, on his way to the ceremony for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 21, 1986. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital on October 25, 1986, a few months after the theatrical release of Thunder Run and Outtakes. He was interred in Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. CLR
Filmography
| 1993 | La Classe américaine · as The Fax Man (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1985 | Thunder Run · as Charlie Morrison |
| 1984 | Katy Caterpillar · as Additional Voices |
| 1984 | Rare Breed · as Unknown |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Tom Cassidy |
| 1982 | Filthy Rich (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1980 | Flo (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1978 | A Real American Hero · as Carl Pusser |
| 1977 | Final Chapter: Walking Tall · as Grandpa Pusser |
| 1977 | Incredible Rocky Mountain Race · as Mike Fink |
| 1977 | Fantasy Island (TV Series) · as Jake Gordon |
| 1977 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Tom Preston |
| 1976 | The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West · as Wagonmaster Callahan |
| 1976 | Alice (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1976 | The Bionic Woman (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1975 | The Wild McCullochs · as J. J. McCulloch |
| 1975 | S.W.A.T. (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1975 | Ellery Queen (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1974 | Police Woman (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1974 | Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1973 | Jarrett · as Rev. Vocal Simpson |
| 1973 | Kojak (TV Series) · as Det. Paul Zachary |
| 1973 | Dusty's Trail (TV Series) · as Wagonmaster Callahan |
| 1972 | Cancel My Reservation · as Reese |
| 1971 | Columbo (TV Series) · as Bo Williamson |
| 1971 | Alias Smith and Jones (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1970 | Barquero · as Mountain Phil |
| 1970 | Chisum · as Lawrence Murphy |
| 1969 | Night Gallery (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1969 | Love, American Style (TV Series) · as Horton (segment "Love and the Arctic Station") |
| 1969 | Marcus Welby, M.D. (TV Series) · as Officer Andrew Stewart |
| 1969 | Doc · as Dr. Jason Fillmore |
| 1968 | The Night They Raided Minsky's · as Trim Houlihan |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game (TV Series) · as Sheriff Ed Walsh |
| 1967 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1967 | Ironside (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | F Troop (TV Series) · as Sergeant. Morgan O'Rourke |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as Joe Snag |
| 1963 | Hollywood: The Great Stars · as Wade Harper |
| 1962 | The Virginian (TV Series) · as Martin Evers |
| 1959 | Counterplot · as Brock Miller |
| 1959 | Rawhide (TV Series) · as Dan Carlock |
| 1959 | |
| 1958 | Auntie Mame · as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside |
| 1958 | The Strange World of Planet X · as Gil Graham |
| 1958 | Fort Massacre · as McGurney |
| 1958 | Gunsmoke in Tucson · as John Brazos |
| 1958 | The Crawling Eye · as Alan Brooks |
| 1957 | The Abominable Snowman · as Tom Friend |
| 1957 | The Deerslayer · as Harry March |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Rex Montana |
| 1956 | Three Violent People · as Deputy Commissioner Cable |
| 1955 | Rage at Dawn · as Frank Reno |
| 1955 | Break in the Circle · as Baron Keller |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Will Donavan |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Chips Murphy |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Turkey-Neck |
| 1953 | Pony Express · as James Butler aka Wild Bill Hickok |
| 1953 | Laughing Anne · as Jem Farrell |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Frank Marlowe |
| 1952 | Bugles in the Afternoon · as Donavan |
| 1952 | Hurricane Smith · as Dan McGuire |
| 1952 | Flaming Feather · as Lt. Tom Blaine |
| 1952 | Ride the Man Down · as Sam Danfelser |
| 1952 | Death Valley Days (TV Series) · as Bob Dalton |
| 1951 | Crosswinds · as 'Jumbo' Johnson |
| 1951 | Warpath · as Sgt. O'Hara |
| 1951 | The Red Skelton Show (TV Series) · as Dr. Hudson |
| 1950 | The Nevadan · as Tom Tanner |
| 1950 | Rock Island Trail · as Reed Loomis |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as William Patterson |
| 1949 | The Big Cat · as Gil Hawks |
| 1949 | Hellfire · as Marshall Bucky McLean |
| 1949 | Sands of Iwo Jima · as PFC Al J. Thomas |
| 1948 | Coroner Creek · as Ernie Combs |
| 1948 | The Plunderers · as Whit Lacey |
| 1947 | Gunfighters · as Ben Orcutt |
| 1946 | The Yearling · as Lem Forrester |
| 1946 | Never Say Goodbye · as Cpl. Fenwick 'Wicky' Lonkowski |
| 1942 | My Sister Eileen · as Sandhog (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Keeper of the Flame · as Geoff Midford |
| 1942 | Counter-Espionage · as Anton Schugg |
| 1941 | Emergency Landing · as Jerry Barton |
| 1940 | The Westerner · as Wade Harper |