Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
February 12, 1919
Place of Birth:
Plainfield, Indiana, USA
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
Year | Movie | Role |
---|---|---|
1993 | La Classe américaine | The Fax Man (archive footage) (uncredited) |
1987 | Timestalkers | Texas John Cody |
1987 | Outtakes | Himself |
1985 | Thunder Run | Charlie Morrison |
1984 | Rare Breed | |
1983 | Blood Feud | Lyndon B. Johnson |
1981 | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Duke |
1979 | The Rebels | Angus Fletcher |
1978 | A Real American Hero | Carl Pusser |
1977 | Final Chapter: Walking Tall | Carl |
1977 | The Incredible Rocky Mountain Race | Mike Fink |
1976 | The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West | Wagonmaster Callahan |
1975 | The Wild McCullochs | J. J. McCulloch |
1973 | Jarrett | Rev. Vocal Simpson |
1972 | Cancel My Reservation | Reese |
1972 | Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol | Harry McMartin |
1972 | Footsteps | Bradford Emmons |
1971 | Cat Ballou | Kid Sheleen |
1970 | Barquero | Mountain Phil |
1970 | Chisum | Lawrence Murphy |
1969 | Doc | Dr. Jason Fillmore |
1968 | The Night They Raided Minsky's | Trim Houlihan |
1967 | A Boy Called Nuthin’ | Turkeyneck |
1966 | Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title | Romantic Diner Customer (uncredited) |
1959 | Counterplot | Brock Miller |
1958 | The Crawling Eye | Alan Brooks |
1958 | Auntie Mame | Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside |
1958 | The Strange World of Planet X | Gil Graham |
1958 | Fort Massacre | McGurney |
1958 | Gunsmoke in Tucson | John Brazos |
1958 | Girl in the Woods | Steve Cory |
1957 | The Abominable Snowman | Tom Friend |
1957 | The Deerslayer | Harry March |
1957 | The Quiet Gun | Sheriff Carl Brandon |
1956 | Stagecoach To Fury | Frank Townsend |
1956 | Three Violent People | Deputy Commissioner Cable |
1955 | Rage at Dawn | Frank Reno |
1955 | Finger Man | Dutch Becker |
1955 | The Vanishing American | Morgan |
1955 | Break in the Circle | Baron Keller |
1955 | Night Freight | Mike Peters |
1955 | Paris Follies of 1956 | Dan Bradley |
1954 | Trouble in the Glen | Maj. Jim 'Lance' Lansing |
1954 | Jubilee Trail | John Ives |
1954 | The Big Moment | Uri |
1953 | Pony Express | James Butler aka Wild Bill Hickok |
1953 | Laughing Anne | Jem Farrell |
1953 | Flight Nurse | Capt. Bill Eaton |
1953 | San Antone | Lt. Brian Culver, CSA |
1952 | Hoodlum Empire | Charles A. 'Charley' Pignatalli |
1952 | Bugles in the Afternoon | Donavan |
1952 | Montana Belle | Mac |
1952 | Hurricane Smith | Dan McGuire |
1952 | Flaming Feather | Lt. Tom Blaine |
1952 | Ride the Man Down | Sam Danfelser |
1951 | Crosswinds | 'Jumbo' Johnson |
1951 | The Wild Blue Yonder | Maj. Tom West |
1951 | Warpath | Sgt. O'Hara |
1951 | Oh! Susanna | Lt. Col. Unger |
1951 | Fighting Coast Guard | Bill Rourk |
1950 | The Nevadan | Tom Tanner |
1950 | Sands of Iwo Jima | PFC Al J. Thomas |
1950 | Rock Island Trail | Reed Loomis |
1950 | California Passage | Mike Prescott |
1949 | The Big Cat | Gil Hawks |
1949 | Brimstone | Sheriff Henry McIntyre |
1949 | Hellfire | Marshall Bucky McLean |
1949 | The Last Bandit | Jim Plummer |
1948 | Coroner Creek | Ernie Combs |
1948 | The Plunderers | Whit Lacey |
1948 | Two Guys from Texas | 'Tex' Bennett |
1948 | Adventures in Silverado | Zeke Butler |
1947 | Gunfighters | Ben Orcutt |
1946 | Never Say Goodbye | Fenwick Lonkowski |
1946 | The Yearling | Lem Forrester |
1946 | Renegades | Frank Dembrow |
1946 | The Man Who Dared | Larry James |
1946 | Talk About a Lady | Bart Manners |
1946 | Dangerous Business | Clayton Russell |
1943 | Keeper of the Flame | Geoff Midford |
1942 | My Sister Eileen | Sandhog (uncredited) |
1942 | The Spirit of Stanford | Buzz Costello (uncredited) |
1942 | Submarine Raider | Pulaski |
1942 | Parachute Nurse | Lt. Tucker |
1942 | Shut My Big Mouth | Red |
1942 | Tramp, Tramp, Tramp! | Blond Bomber |
1942 | Counter-Espionage | Anton Schugg |
1942 | Canal Zone | Recruit Madigan |
1942 | Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood | Whipper |
1941 | Emergency Landing | Jerry Barton |
1941 | Honolulu Lu | Barney |
1941 | New Wine | Moritz |
1940 | The Westerner | Wade Harper |
Year | TV Show | Role |
---|---|---|
1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Tom Cassidy |
1982 | Filthy Rich | |
1982 | Matt Houston | Buck Turley |
1980 | Flo | |
1977 | Grizzly Adams | |
1977 | The Love Boat | Sam Zachary |
1977 | The Love Boat | Tex |
1977 | The Love Boat | Tom Preston |
1976 | Alice | |
1976 | The Bionic Woman | |
1976 | Once an Eagle | Col. Avery |
1975 | The Ghost Busters | |
1975 | S.W.A.T. | |
1975 | Ellery Queen | Clint McGraw |
1974 | Little House on the Prairie | |
1974 | Police Woman | O'Malley |
1973 | Kojak | Det. Paul Zachary |
1973 | Dusty's Trail | Wagonmaster Callahan |
1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | |
1971 | Columbo | Bo Williamson |
1970 | Night Gallery | Dr. Ernest Stringfellow |
1969 | Medical Center | Ollie Wayne |
1969 | Love, American Style | John |
1969 | Love, American Style | Horton |
1968 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Self |
1967 | Ironside | |
1967 | Hondo | |
1965 | F Troop | Sergeant. Morgan O'Rourke |
1964 | Daniel Boone | Joe Snag |
1963 | Burke's Law | Cyrus Smuts |
1963 | Channing | Major Don Landon |
1962 | The Virginian | Martin Evers |
1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self |
1961 | Dr. Kildare | Max Beemis |
1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
1959 | Rawhide | Dan Carlock |
1959 | Bonanza | Frank Ryan |
1957 | Wagon Train | Rex Montana |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Brad McClain |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Adam Benteen |
1955 | Gunsmoke | John Charron |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Sergeant Holly |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Sgt. Emmett Holly |
1955 | Gunsmoke | Will Donavan |
1954 | Climax! | Chips Murphy |
1953 | General Electric Theater | Frank Marlowe |
1952 | The Ford Television Theatre | Red Healey |
1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Steve MacGregor |
1950 | Lux Video Theatre | William Patterson |
1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Bob Slater |
1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Ken |
1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |