Aldo Ray
Encyclopedia
Aldo Ray was an American actor.
, where he served as a frogman
until 1946 and saw action at Okinawa with UDT-17.
While constable of Crockett, CA, Aldo drove his brother Guido to an audition for the film "Saturday's Hero
." Director David Miller
was more interested in Aldo, because, it is rumored, of his voice, than in his brother, and hired him for the small role of a cynical soccer player opposite John Derek
and Donna Reed
. Columbia Pictures
wasted no time in signing Ray to an exclusive contract, and despite having no acting experience, Aldo soon appeared in several films under his birth name, Aldo DaRe.
in 1952’s "The Marrying Kind
," directed by George Cukor
. Cukor famously suggested that Ray go to ballet school because he walked too much like a football player. That same year, Ray appeared in "Pat and Mike," starring Spencer Tracy
and Katharine Hepburn
in the seventh of their nine films together, and again directed by Cukor.
Ray’s work in Pat and Mike led to his nomination, along with Richard Burton
and Robert Wagner
, for a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer. Burton won the award that year, but Ray’s career was launched. Columbia Pictures
head Harry Cohn
liked Ray and wanted him for the role in From Here to Eternity
that Fred Zinnemann
insisted that Montgomery Clift
have.
The following year, 1953, Aldo’s personal life didn’t go nearly as well as his professional life. Although he and first wife Shirley Green were divorced, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth
in Miss Sadie Thompson
, a remake of the W. Somerset Maugham
story Rain
. This began the most productive period of Aldo’s career, preceded by his marriage to actress Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell
in 1954, a marriage that would only last two years.
In 1955, Ray appeared in starring roles in Battle Cry
, Three Stripes in the Sun, and one of his best loved films, We're No Angels, in which he starred with Humphrey Bogart
, Peter Ustinov
, Basil Rathbone
, Leo G. Carroll
, and Joan Bennett
. By then he was firmly associated with the macho roles that would continue to characterize his work.
During 1956, in between appearances in Three Stripes In The Sun and Men in War, Ray tried his hand at radio, working as a personality and announcer at Syracuse, New York hit music station WNDR. A photo of Ray with a colleague in the WNDR studios, taken as part of a station promotional package, survives and can be found on a WNDR tribute website, although it's not known if any aircheck tapes of his radio shows still exist. By 1957, in any event, he had left WNDR and the radio business and returned to Hollywood. He would appear in 11 films during the following 11 years (1957–68), the busiest period of his film career.
On January 31, 1957, Ray appeared on NBC
's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
. He and Tennessee Ernie Ford
did a comedy skit from a foxhole.
Author Richard Matheson
said his best known work, The Incredible Shrinking Man
, was inspired by a scene in Aldo Ray's Let's Do It Again in which a character puts on someone else's hat and it sinks down past his ears; "I thought, what if a man put on his own hat and that happened?" he recounted in an interview for Stephen King
's non fiction work Danse Macabre.
This period of Ray’s career would culminate with a starring role in God's Little Acre
(1958), an adaptation of Erskine Caldwell
’s novel. The film featured Robert Ryan
, with whom Ray had also worked in Men in War
, and a young Tina Louise
in her big screen debut. He also appeared in The Naked and the Dead
, an adaptation of Norman Mailer
's novel.
In 1959 he starred in Four Desperate Men (The Siege of Pinchgut), The film was filmed on location in Sydney Harbour, Australia. 'Pinchgut' is actually 'Fort Denison' located in the Harbour. The film was the last produced by Ealing Studios
, a small British Studio which lasted from 1939 to 1959.
, as a respected casting director. They were divorced in 1967. (Johanna Ray, a long time collaborator with David Lynch
, cast Eric DaRe, her son with Aldo, in Lynch’s Twin Peaks
series, as well as the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.) Aldo’s work of this decade included The Day They Robbed the Bank of England
, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
and Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
. His best known work of the 1960s, however, was his portrayal of Sergeant Muldoon, alongside John Wayne
, in The Green Berets
.
Aldo also did two pilots for television in the 1960s. Although neither was ever picked up, one, an American adaptation of the British comedy Steptoe and Son
, was eventually reworked by Bud Yorkin
and Norman Lear
as a vehicle for Redd Foxx
as Sanford and Son
.
, accepted virtually any role that came his way in order to maintain his costly health insurance
. His SAG
membership was revoked in the 1980s when it was discovered he was acting in non-union productions. His last film was Shock 'Em Dead
in which he appeared with Traci Lords
and Troy Donahue
.
with his mother and family and friends, where he died of throat cancer on March 27, 1991 at the age of 64. He was cremated and buried in Crockett, with a majority of the residents coming out to pay their respects. Aldo Ray is still considered Crockett California's favorite son and the small Crockett Museum still displays his pictures on a wall depicting his life and times.
Life and career
Ray was born in Pen Argyl, PA, to an Italian family of five brothers and one sister. His brother Mario lettered in football at USC in the years 1952-54. In 1944, at the age of eighteen, Aldo Ray entered the NavyNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, where he served as a frogman
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
until 1946 and saw action at Okinawa with UDT-17.
Early life
Upon leaving the Navy, Ray entered the University of California at Berkeley, but his studies there were brief. Shortly after leaving Berkeley, Ray settled in Crockett, CA with his first wife Shirley Green. They had one child, a daughter named Claire DaRe, and Aldo was even elected the 12th Township Constable of Crockett, a small bedroom community just north of San Francisco.While constable of Crockett, CA, Aldo drove his brother Guido to an audition for the film "Saturday's Hero
Saturday's Hero
Saturday's Hero is a 1951 film directed by David Miller. It stars John Derek and Ann Blyth.-Cast:*John Derek as Steve Novak*Donna Reed as Melissa*Sidney Blackmer as TC McCabe*Alexander Knox as Professor Megroth*Elliott Lewis as Eddie Adams...
." Director David Miller
David Miller (director)
David Miller was an American movie director who directed such varied films as Billy the Kid with Robert Taylor and Brian Donlevy, Flying Tigers with John Wayne, and Love Happy with the Marx Brothers.-Filmography:* Bittersweet Love * Executive Action * Hail, Hero! * Hammerhead...
was more interested in Aldo, because, it is rumored, of his voice, than in his brother, and hired him for the small role of a cynical soccer player opposite John Derek
John Derek
John Derek was an American actor, director and photographer.-Career:His matinee-idol good looks quickly got him supporting roles, most notably as Broderick Crawford's son in All the King's Men , but he also enjoyed leads such as "Nick Romano" in Knock on Any Door opposite Humphrey Bogart John...
and Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
. Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
wasted no time in signing Ray to an exclusive contract, and despite having no acting experience, Aldo soon appeared in several films under his birth name, Aldo DaRe.
Hollywood stardom
Ray's husky frame, thick neck and raspy voice made him perfect for playing tough sexy roles. In his first film as Aldo Ray, he starred with Judy HollidayJudy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
in 1952’s "The Marrying Kind
The Marrying Kind
The Marrying Kind is a film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander, Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis, Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones, Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan...
," directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
. Cukor famously suggested that Ray go to ballet school because he walked too much like a football player. That same year, Ray appeared in "Pat and Mike," starring Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
in the seventh of their nine films together, and again directed by Cukor.
Ray’s work in Pat and Mike led to his nomination, along with Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
and Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
, for a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer. Burton won the award that year, but Ray’s career was launched. Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
head Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
liked Ray and wanted him for the role in From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
that Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American film director. He won four Academy Awards and directed films like High Noon, From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons.-Life and career:...
insisted that Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
have.
The following year, 1953, Aldo’s personal life didn’t go nearly as well as his professional life. Although he and first wife Shirley Green were divorced, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
in Miss Sadie Thompson
Miss Sadie Thompson
Miss Sadie Thompson is 1953 American musical 3D film starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray, José Ferrer, and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on the W. Somerset Maugham short story Miss Thompson...
, a remake of the W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
story Rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
. This began the most productive period of Aldo’s career, preceded by his marriage to actress Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell
Jeff Donnell
Jeff Donnell was an American film and television actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell, she grew up in South Windham, Maine...
in 1954, a marriage that would only last two years.
In 1955, Ray appeared in starring roles in Battle Cry
Battle Cry (film)
Battle Cry is a 1955 CinemaScope film, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, Raymond Massey, and Mona Freeman...
, Three Stripes in the Sun, and one of his best loved films, We're No Angels, in which he starred with Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
, Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
, Leo G. Carroll
Leo G. Carroll
Leo Gratten Carroll was an English-born actor. He was best known for his roles in several Hitchcock films and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Topper.-Early life:...
, and Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
. By then he was firmly associated with the macho roles that would continue to characterize his work.
During 1956, in between appearances in Three Stripes In The Sun and Men in War, Ray tried his hand at radio, working as a personality and announcer at Syracuse, New York hit music station WNDR. A photo of Ray with a colleague in the WNDR studios, taken as part of a station promotional package, survives and can be found on a WNDR tribute website, although it's not known if any aircheck tapes of his radio shows still exist. By 1957, in any event, he had left WNDR and the radio business and returned to Hollywood. He would appear in 11 films during the following 11 years (1957–68), the busiest period of his film career.
On January 31, 1957, Ray appeared on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
. He and Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
did a comedy skit from a foxhole.
Author Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
said his best known work, The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man ....
, was inspired by a scene in Aldo Ray's Let's Do It Again in which a character puts on someone else's hat and it sinks down past his ears; "I thought, what if a man put on his own hat and that happened?" he recounted in an interview for Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's non fiction work Danse Macabre.
This period of Ray’s career would culminate with a starring role in God's Little Acre
God's Little Acre (film)
God's Little Acre is a 1958 American film of Erskine Caldwell's 1933 novel. It was directed by Anthony Mann and shot in black and white by master cinematographer Ernest Haller....
(1958), an adaptation of Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Caldwell
Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South like the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was...
’s novel. The film featured Robert Ryan
Robert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
, with whom Ray had also worked in Men in War
Men in War
Men in War is a war film about the Korean War directed by Anthony Mann. It stars Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray as the leaders of a small detachment of American soldiers cut off and desperately trying to rejoin their division. The events of the film take place on one day; 6 September 1950...
, and a young Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
in her big screen debut. He also appeared in The Naked and the Dead
The Naked and the Dead (film)
The Naked and the Dead is a 1958 widescreen film based on Norman Mailer's World War II novel The Naked and the Dead. Directed by Raoul Walsh and filmed in Panama the screenplay attributed to the Sanders Brothers adds a strip tease and larger action scenes to Mailer's original narrative...
, an adaptation of Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's novel.
In 1959 he starred in Four Desperate Men (The Siege of Pinchgut), The film was filmed on location in Sydney Harbour, Australia. 'Pinchgut' is actually 'Fort Denison' located in the Harbour. The film was the last produced by Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
, a small British Studio which lasted from 1939 to 1959.
Typecasting in the 1960s
By the dawn of the 1960s Aldo was most often type-cast as the tough guy, capitalizing on his husky good looks and gravelly voice. He also married Johanna Bennet, who continues to work today, under the name Johanna RayJohanna Ray
Johanna Ray is an American casting director and film producer. She is sometimes credited as "Joanna Ray". She is a regular casting director under David Lynch.She has been nominated for five Artios Awards, and won once in 1990...
, as a respected casting director. They were divorced in 1967. (Johanna Ray, a long time collaborator with David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, cast Eric DaRe, her son with Aldo, in Lynch’s Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
series, as well as the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.) Aldo’s work of this decade included The Day They Robbed the Bank of England
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England is a 1960 British crime film directed by John Guillermin. It was written by Howard Clewes and Richard Maibaum and based upon a novel by John Brophy....
, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy film written by William Peter Blatty and directed by Blake Edwards. It stars James Coburn and Dick Shawn.-Plot:...
and Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round is a 1966 crime film written and directed by Bernard Girard, starring James Coburn and featuring Camilla Sparv, Aldo Ray, Nina Wayne, Todd Armstrong, Robert Webber and Rose Marie.-Plot:...
. His best known work of the 1960s, however, was his portrayal of Sergeant Muldoon, alongside John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, in The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
.
Aldo also did two pilots for television in the 1960s. Although neither was ever picked up, one, an American adaptation of the British comedy Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
, was eventually reworked by Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin is an American film and television producer, director, writer and actor.Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin in Washington, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in engineering from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania...
and Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
as a vehicle for Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
as Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
.
Career decline in the 1970s
Hollywood’s appetite for Ray’s machismo continued to wane in the 1970s. He was typically cast as gruff and gravelly rednecks. Ray appeared in a pornographic movie, Sweet Savage, in a non-sexual role. This decline continued in the 1980s. Aldo, diagnosed with throat cancerHead and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
, accepted virtually any role that came his way in order to maintain his costly health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
. His SAG
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
membership was revoked in the 1980s when it was discovered he was acting in non-union productions. His last film was Shock 'Em Dead
Shock 'Em Dead
Shock ‘Em Dead , is a 1990 comedic horror film directed by .-Plot:Angel Martin has just made the deal of a lifetime. Fame, fortune and beautiful women will all be his - for a price. To become a rock star Martin must give his soul, and to survive he must feed on the souls of others...
in which he appeared with Traci Lords
Traci Lords
Traci Lords , also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, film director, writer and singer...
and Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
.
Return to Crockett, California and death
In his last years he remained in Crockett, CaliforniaCrockett, California
Crockett is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2010 census...
with his mother and family and friends, where he died of throat cancer on March 27, 1991 at the age of 64. He was cremated and buried in Crockett, with a majority of the residents coming out to pay their respects. Aldo Ray is still considered Crockett California's favorite son and the small Crockett Museum still displays his pictures on a wall depicting his life and times.
Filmography
- Saturday's HeroSaturday's HeroSaturday's Hero is a 1951 film directed by David Miller. It stars John Derek and Ann Blyth.-Cast:*John Derek as Steve Novak*Donna Reed as Melissa*Sidney Blackmer as TC McCabe*Alexander Knox as Professor Megroth*Elliott Lewis as Eddie Adams...
(1951) - My True StoryMy True Story"My True Story" is a 1961 single by, The Jive Five. The single was the biggest hit for the group on both the R&B and pop charts. "My True Story" made it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was number one on the R&B Sides chart for three weeks.. The song has remained popular on "Oldies...
(1951) - The Marrying KindThe Marrying KindThe Marrying Kind is a film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander, Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis, Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones, Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan...
(1952) - Pat and MikePat and MikePat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
(1952) - Miss Sadie ThompsonMiss Sadie ThompsonMiss Sadie Thompson is 1953 American musical 3D film starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray, José Ferrer, and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on the W. Somerset Maugham short story Miss Thompson...
(1953) - Let's Do It Again (1953)
- Battle CryBattle Cry (film)Battle Cry is a 1955 CinemaScope film, starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Tab Hunter, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, Raymond Massey, and Mona Freeman...
(1955) - We're No Angels (1955)
- Three Stripes In The Sun (1955)
- Men in WarMen in WarMen in War is a war film about the Korean War directed by Anthony Mann. It stars Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray as the leaders of a small detachment of American soldiers cut off and desperately trying to rejoin their division. The events of the film take place on one day; 6 September 1950...
(1957) - NightfallNightfall (1957 film)Nightfall is a film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur. It features Aldo Ray, Brian Keith, and Anne Bancroft. The low-budget film is remembered today for camera work by cinematographer Burnett Guffey...
(1957) - God's Little AcreGod's Little AcreGod's Little Acre is a 1933 novel by Erskine Caldwell, which was made into a film of the same name in 1958.The novel was so controversial that the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice attempted to censor it, leading to the author's arrest and trial for obscenity...
(1958) - The Naked and the DeadThe Naked and the Dead (film)The Naked and the Dead is a 1958 widescreen film based on Norman Mailer's World War II novel The Naked and the Dead. Directed by Raoul Walsh and filmed in Panama the screenplay attributed to the Sanders Brothers adds a strip tease and larger action scenes to Mailer's original narrative...
(1958) - Four Desperate Men (The Siege of Pinchgut) (1959)
- Johnny NobodyJohnny NobodyJohnny Nobody is a 1961 UK drama film brought to the screen by Viceroy Films Limited under the production of John R. Sloan with executive production from Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli. The original story was by Albert Z. Carr with the screenplay by Patrick Kirwan. It was directed by the...
(1961) - Suicide Commando (1966)
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy film written by William Peter Blatty and directed by Blake Edwards. It stars James Coburn and Dick Shawn.-Plot:...
(1966) - Riot on Sunset StripRiot on Sunset StripRiot on Sunset Strip is a 1967 low-budget exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures, and filmed and released within six weeks of the actual late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots....
(1967) - Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
- The Green BeretsThe Green Berets (film)The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
(1968) - The PowerThe Power (film)The Power is a 1968 film based on the science fiction novel The Power by Frank M. Robinson. It stars George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette.-Plot:...
(1968) - Dynamite BrothersDynamite BrothersDynamite Brothers, also known by its alternate title East Meets Watts, is a 1974 martial arts and blaxploitation film.It was filmed on location in Watts, Los Angeles, and San Francisco...
(East Meets Watts) (1974) - Seven Alone (1974)
- Inside OutInside Out (1975 film)Inside Out is a 1975 British action thriller film directed by Peter Duffell and starring James Mason, Robert Culp and Telly Savalas. The movie aired on television in the United States on NBC on January 1, 1978 under the alternate title Hitler's Gold...
(1975) - Black SamuraiBlack SamuraiBlack Samurai is a 1977 American blaxploitation film directed by Al Adamson, starring Jim Kelly. The script is credited to B. Readick, with additional story ideas from Marco Joachim...
(1977) - The Haunted (1979)
- Don't Go Near the ParkDon't Go Near the ParkDon't Go Near the Park is a 1981 American horror film directed by Lawrence D. Foldes...
(1981) - The Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMHThe Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
(1982) - Evils of the NightEvils of the NightEvils of the Night is a 1985 low-budget science fiction/"porno horror" film starring Aldo Ray, Neville Brand, Tina Louise, John Carradine, and Julie Newmar.-Plot:...
(1985) - Prison ShipPrison shipA prison ship, historically sometimes called a prison hulk, is a vessel used as a prison, often to hold convicts awaiting transportation to penal colonies. This practice was popular with the British government in the 18th and 19th centuries....
(1988) - Shooters (1988)
- Crime of Crimes (1989)
- Blood RedBlood RedBlood Red is a 1989 American Western drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, and Dennis Hopper. It was filmed in 1986, but released only three years later....
(1989) - Shock 'Em DeadShock 'Em DeadShock ‘Em Dead , is a 1990 comedic horror film directed by .-Plot:Angel Martin has just made the deal of a lifetime. Fame, fortune and beautiful women will all be his - for a price. To become a rock star Martin must give his soul, and to survive he must feed on the souls of others...
(1991)