Posted on 03/23/2016 7:47:32 PM PDT by EveningStar
Peter Brown, who starred as the eager young deputy Johnny McKay on the 1958-62 ABC series Lawman, has died. He was 80.
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RIP.
That was a pretty decent series.
The Marshall was the same guy who played the evil Marshall in Clint Eastwood’s “Pale Rider”.
“Laredo” started out as a really adept comedy-western mix during its first season. But by the second season, a new producer and/or writers came in, and it went off the rails pretty quickly. Brown and his “Laredo” co-star, William Smith, used to be pretty familiar guests on the western film fare circuit. In fact, the last time I saw Brown, he actually had some copies of the “Laredo” dvd-set at his table where he was signing some stills, and I bought my copy directly from him.
All four seasons of “Lawman” have also just been released, with the final season coming out just recently. Enjoyable series, if somewhat restricted by Warner Bros. cookie-cutter production style. John Russell as Dan Troop was probably one of the most uncompromisingly tough of the western tv-heroes.
I remember him from an episode of Hawaiian Eye , in which he played a young beach bum who gets hired to seduce a guy’s wife by the husband who has his eyes on another woman . The lady he seduces played the wife of the Incredible Shrinking Man in that flick . Man do I have a great memory lol .
The “Hawaiian Eye” episode that always seems to linger in my memory featured Max Baer, Jr. in the small role of a waterfront thug who is menacingly chasing guest-star Mary Tyler Moore (pre-Dick Van Dyke Show) around a run-down dive at night.
Something strangely discordant about seeing a sweaty Jethro Bodine chasing a frightened Laura Petrie around the Warner backlot.
I was too young for Lawman’s original run by decades, but yes, it was pretty good. Peggy Castle, not bad at all. John Russell was one distinctive looking dude, “Marshall Cheekbones”, pulled off a genuine badass. Peter Brown had a Ricky nelson Vibe.
Freegards
Brown was six years younger than Eastwood, but I thought he looked much older than Eastwood in "Pale Rider."
Peggy Castle proved to be a nice addition to the series, as it need some feminine charm. Shame she drank herself to death at an early age. John Russell also had an earlier series, “Soldiers of Fortune,” which was sort of a saturday-matinee type bit of hokum, a Revue production filmed at the old Republic lot. It was more than a bit corny, but I found it pretty well-written for what it was.
Brown pretty much said Russell was indeed tough as nails. It wasn’t just an act.
Sort of like Ethel (Vivian Vance) was actually younger than Lucy but portrayed a much older woman in “I Love Lucy”.
Really? I did not know that!
Oh! I hate to hear this. With Horton from Wagon Train dying a few days ago, this seems to be the beginning, with 2. Peter Brown was a favorite in those younger days. He was thought to be so good looking. RIP Peter Brown.
He was a handsome devil.
I liked Laredo. Neville Brand was pretty good as the comical sidekick, but was usually cast as the villain in other shows.
I think John Russell was the guy in Pale Rider? Russell was born in 1921. The guy that looks like Lee Van Cleef’s less evil brother?
Freegards
“Lawman” ran concurrently with McQueen’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” but I only remember the latter and cannot picture the former at all. I think it’s because I was so fascinated at age 7 by his Mare’s Leg.
Brown related a story once about a little kid visiting the set of “Laredo,” and being totally transfixed with Neville Brand’s character of Reese, telling him the series should be re-named “The Reese Show.” Somehow, it just so emotionally touched/rattled Brand, that he went into his trailer and proceeded to get drunk. (well, which he was a tad prone to doing anyway, as he was a bit of an alcoholic, but that incident just tore him apart and led to him being unable to film the episode they were working on).
In some of the later episodes, it’s apparent that Brand was likely off-the-wagon, and a similar character, played by Claude Akins, was written to fill in his absence.
Interesting, I didn’t know this. Thanks.
Ken Howard passed away also.......
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