 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "John McIntire" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
John McIntire | |
|---|---|
 McIntire as Chris Hale inWagon Train (1961) | |
| Born | (1907-06-27)June 27, 1907 Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | January 30, 1991(1991-01-30) (aged 83) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Tobacco Valley Cemetery,Eureka, Montana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1932–1989 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Holly Wright Tim McIntire |
John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an Americancharacter actor[1] who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replacedWard Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in November 1960, as the star ofNBC'sWagon Train. He played Christopher Hale, the leader of the wagon train (and successor to Bond's character, Seth Adams) from early 1961 to the series' end in 1965. He also replacedCharles Bickford, upon Bickford's death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger (brother of Bickford's character) on NBC'sThe Virginian for four seasons.[2]
John McIntire was born inSpokane, Washington, the son of Byron Jean McIntire and Chastine Uretta Herrick McIntire.[3] He was ofIrish descent.[4] He grew up primarily inEureka, Montana, aroundranchers,[3] an experience that later inspired his performances in dozens of film and televisionwesterns.[5] Later, he lived in Santa Monica, California.[3]
McIntire studied at theUniversity of California for two years before dropping out.[3]
McIntire began acting onradio inTarzan and the Diamond of Asher and he met his future wifeJeanette Nolan through their work on radio programs.[6] McIntire played the title role in a Los Angeles radio station's production ofThe Adventures of Bill Lance[7] and was the first actor to play the title role in the CBS radio dramaCrime Doctor.[7]: 86 He played Jack Packard inI Love a Mystery[7]: 160 and Peter Carter in the radio version ofThe Lineup.[7]: 201-202 He worked on many episodes ofSuspense from the early 1940s.[8] He was the narrator for the radio programsLincoln Highway,[7]: 201 andThe March of Time.[3] He can be heard on an episode of the radio version ofGunsmoke on CBS portraying Miss Kitty's estranged father.[9]
He was active in thetheatre, before he embarked on a lengthy film and television career as a character actor. He was already 40 when he made his big-screen debut in 1947 in the movieThe Hucksters, but went on to appear in films, often portraying police figures, doctors, judges, eccentric loners or other western characters.
Some of his most memorable roles were in westerns such asThe Far Country (1955), withJames Stewart, andThe Tin Star (1957) withHenry Fonda. InAmbush (1950) he displayed lithe surprising horsemanship skills playing a Cavalry scout alongsideRobert Taylor's, and the same year a shrewdcard sharp and gun dealer inAnthony Mann'sWinchester '73. He also had an excellent, sympathetic turn as an aging detective inScene of the Crime (1949), played a police commissioner inThe Asphalt Jungle (1950), a sheriff in the 1960Hitchcock thrillerPsycho and a reverend in the 1960 dramaElmer Gantry starringBurt Lancaster, but though he technically played a supporting part, McIntire received top billing and his greatest critical acclaim for his portrayal of real-life reform politicianAlbert Patterson assassinated by the local gangsters in the fact-based crime movieThe Phenix City Story (1955).
In the mid-1950s, McIntire moved into television, appearing in anthology series, sitcoms and dramas. He guest-starred as Judson in the episode "Chinese Invasion" of NBC's one-season western series,Cimarron City, withGeorge Montgomery andJohn Smith.[10]
McIntire procured a regular role onABC'sNaked City,[11]: 740 before his character was killed off (in the episode; 'The Bumper' done at his own suggestion as he found the New York based filming was not to his liking with him living on the west coast then and asked to be released from the show). McIntire was cast from January to May 1961 in the supporting role of Pa Canfield in the NBCAmerican Civil War dramaThe Americans.[11]: 39 .
He was a guest star playing a dogged investigative radio newsman 'Lauren Hall' (a figure not unlike show narrator Walter Winchell) inThe Untouchables episode; 'A Seat On The Fence'
Though McIntire had never played the lead in a theatrical film, television provided him with his most prominent and long-running role when in 1961 he replaced the lateWard Bond in the NBC/ABC seriesWagon Train, playing trail master Chris Hale[11]: 1147 in more than 150 episodes between 1961 and 1965. His co-stars wereRobert Horton,Robert Fuller,Denny Scott Miller,Terry Wilson,Frank McGrath, andMichael Burns. Previous to this, in 1959, he had played the title character in the Wagon Train episode, "The Andrew Hale Story", and curiously, he temporarily was made trail master in this episode while trail master Ward Bond's character recuperated from a brief illness. It's a good episode that in actuality foretells John McIntyre's casting of the trail Master a year later when Ward Bond passed away.
In 1960, McIntire guest-starred as William Palmer in the series finale, "The Most Dangerous Gentleman", of the short-lived NBC westernOverland Trail, starringWilliam Bendix andDoug McClure, his subsequent co-star onThe Virginian.Also in 1960 John starred in aThe Twilight Zone episode"The Chaser" where he played a mysterious purveyor of potions. McIntire guest starred twice in the western TV seriesBonanza: he played Sheriff Mike Latimer in the 1961 episode "The Bride" and he portrayed Old Charlie Conners in the 1966 episode "Old Charlie" (which also featured his wife Jeanette Nolan and their son Tim playing a young villain whom his character Charlie kills in self defense). In1967, he guest-starred in an episode of CBS's short-lived western,Dundee and the Culhane.
McIntire replaced actorCharles Bickford (who had himself replacedLee J. Cobb) on NBC'sThe Virginian in 1967 when Bickford died (the second time McIntire replaced the leading man in a television series after the lead died, the first being Ward Bond inWagon Train). McIntire played Clay Grainger,[11]: 1143-1144 the brother of Bickford's character for four seasons, a major recurring leading role in a weekly 90-minute western series similar in size and scope to his earlier work onWagon Train.
He played the supporting role ofJudge Parker inRooster Cogburn (1975), the sequel toTrue Grit starringJohn Wayne andKatharine Hepburn, and appeared as Owen Keating in the 1977 television miniseriesAspen. His final film role was inTurner & Hooch (1989).
In 1979–1980, McIntire played Ethan McHenry inShirley on NBC,[11]: 962-963 and in 1981, he played Sam Whittier on the ABC dramaThe American Dream.[11]
Starting in 1960 McIntire began appearing with his wifeJeanette Nolan. Both were inPsycho, he playing a sheriff and she voicing some of the "mother" lines. In theWagon Train episode "The Janet Hale Story" McIntire and Nolan played husband and wife Chris and Janet Hale. InThe Virginian, they also played husband and wife. They both appeared again as husband and wife inThe Fugitive (1966) season 3, episode 24, (titled; 'Ill Wind') as farm workers again appearing with their real life son, Tim.
The couple played Gloria and George Hancock in "The Love Boat" S2 E11 story "Folks From Home" 1978. In the 1979Charlie's Angels episode "Angels on Vacation" they appeared together as Chris Monroe's Uncle Paul and Aunt Lydia. They played a US senator and his wife in the TV movieGoliath Awaits (1981). In the 1984 comic spy adventureCloak & Dagger, they again played a couple. This time they portrayed sinister spies posing as harmless elderly tourists. They also played the parents ofJohn Larroquette's character, Dan Fielding - "Daddy Bob Elmore" and "Mucette Elmore" - onNight Court's season 2 episode, "Dan's Parents."
McIntire and Nolan also worked together as voice actors. In a 1969KCET television reading ofNorman Corwin's 1938 radio playThe Plot to Overthrow Christmas, McIntire playedthe Devil and Nolan playedLucrezia Borgia. In 1977 they appeared in the Disney animated filmThe Rescuers, in which he voiced the catRufus and she themuskrat Ellie Mae. Four years later, the couple worked on another Disney film,The Fox and the Hound, with McIntire as the voice of Mr. Digger, a badger, and Nolan as the voice of Widow Tweed.[12]
McIntire married actressJeanette Nolan on August 26, 1935,[3] and the couple had two children together, one of whom was actorTim McIntire. Their daughterHolly McIntire was also an actress, appearing in two episodes ofWagon Train, and later became aphotographer.
McIntire died fromemphysema andlung cancer at St. Luke's Hospital inPasadena on January 30, 1991, at the age of 83.[13]
