Andrew V. McLaglen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrew Victor McLaglen (1920-07-28)July 28, 1920 London, England |
| Died | August 30, 2014(2014-08-30) (aged 94) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom,United States[citation needed] |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television director |
| Years active | 1945-1991 |
| Spouse(s) | Margarita Harrison (m. 1943;div. 194?) |
| Children | 4 |
Andrew Victor McLaglen (July 28, 1920 – August 30, 2014) was a British-born American film and television director, known for Westerns and adventure films, often starringJohn Wayne orJames Stewart.[1]
According to one obituary "His career in many ways mirrored that ofTed Post, another inexhaustible director of series television and undemanding movies: reliable rather than stylish, both were nimble soldiers of fortune renowned for bringing work in on time and on budget... Like the best journeymen, he took us on some heroic, enjoyable excursions. "[2]
McLaglen was born inLondon, the son of British-American actorVictor McLaglen and his wife, Enid Lamont, who had moved toHollywood in the early 1920s, shortly after his birth. From a film family that included eight uncles and an aunt, McLaglen grew up on movie sets with his parents as well asJohn Wayne andJohn Ford. He attended theBlack-Foxe Military Institute, the Carl Curtis School, theCate School in Santa Barbara and theUniversity of Virginia.[3]
He was rated4-F during hisWorld War II enlistment exam. McLaglen explained "I was as good as in the Army, you know, except when it came to my height. I stood on a scale during the induction physical and the little guy who was taking my height had a stool he had to stand on ...I was six feet seven. ...The little guy didn't know what to do. I'll always remember that he didn't say a word. He just got down and took a little yellow pad, and he wrote "4F" (unfit for military service because of a physical handicap) on it and gave it to me. ...instead of being in the Army, I spent four years chasing ring corrugations for theP38 all over the factory atLockheed.[3]
When the war ended, he wrote toRepublic Pictures asking for a job and was made an assistant onLove, Honor and Goodbye (1945). He worked for two years as a general clerk at Republic on movies such asDakota (1945) then became a secondassistant director.[3]
He was an assistant on twoBudd Boetticher films,Killer Shark (1950) andBullfighter and the Lady (1951); on the latter he was promoted to first assistant director. He was 2nd AD onJohn Ford'sThe Quiet Man (1952) with his father, and 1st AD onWild Stallion (1952),Here Come the Marines (1952),Big Jim McLain (1952) withJohn Wayne,Hellgate (1952),Kansas Pacific (1953), andFort Vengeance (1953).
He was assistant director on a series of films for John Wayne's companyBatjac:Plunder of the Sun (1953),Island in the Sky (1954),The High and the Mighty (1954),Track of the Cat (1954) andBlood Alley (1954).[3]
After several more assistant director jobs, McLaglen directed his first film,Man in the Vault (1956), written byBurt Kennedy.
It was followed byGun the Man Down (1956), a westernB movie withJames Arness, whom McLaglen got to know makingBig Jim McLain; it also starredAngie Dickinson andHarry Carey Jr. He was going to directSeven Men from Now (1956) but the job went to Boetticher; McLaglen was credited as a producer. McLaglen had impressed James Arness who arranged for the director to start helming episodes ofGunsmoke. McLaglen directedThe Abductors (1957) starring his father Victor.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s McLaglen focused ontelevision directing, prolifically directing episodes ofThe Lineup,Hotel de Paree,Perry Mason (7),Gunslinger (5),Everglades!,Rawhide (6), 116 episodes ofHave Gun – Will Travel withRichard Boone,The Lieutenant (4),The Virginian (2),The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters,Wagon Train, and 96 episodes ofGunsmoke. He directed his father in episodes ofRawhide andHave Gun will Travel.[4]
During this time he directed two low budget children's films forRobert Lippert released through 20th Century Fox,Freckles (1960) andThe Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1960).[5][6] In 1960, McLaglen said he was earning between $57,000 and $59,000 a year (equivalent to $616,470 in 2024).[7]
His first big budget feature film as director wasMcLintock! (1963) starringJohn Wayne andMaureen O'Hara. McLaglen later said " that put me in the big time."[3] The movie, his first of five starring Wayne, was a big success and led to McLaglen being offered another studio feature,Shenandoah (1965), starringJames Stewart. It was another success. McLaglen followed it withThe Rare Breed (1966), again with Stewart. That year he said that now he was "supposed to be an outdoor specialist. I'm not knocking it if that's the course fate has allowed I'm to following the course of course but I but personally I don't feel relegated to that kind of picture.[4]
He directedMonkeys, Go Home! (1967), a Disney movie;The Way West (1967) an epic Western withKirk Douglas;The Ballad of Josie (1967), a comic Western withDoris Day, made at Universal; the war storyThe Devil's Brigade (1968) withWilliam Holden, for producerDavid Wolper; and the westernBandolero! starring Stewart,Raquel Welch, andDean Martin at Fox.[8]
McLaglen then made three films in a row with John Wayne:Hellfighters (1969), a biopic ofRed Adair, for Universal;[9]The Undefeated (1969), a Western withRock Hudson; andChisum (1970), a Western for Batjac and Warners.[3][10]
McLaglen continued to specialise in Westerns. He didOne More Train to Rob (1971) withGeorge Peppard, under the director's contract with Universal, thenFools' Parade (1971) with James Stewart andGeorge Kennedy, which McLaglen made for his own company through Columbia and said was his favourite film[3]
He didSomething Big starring Dean Martin; andCahill U.S. Marshal (1973) with Wayne and Kennedy. "I don't really have any formula," he said in 1971. "I just use myself as a guide."[11]
McLaglen says "Then I had a little bit of a lapse" in his career.[3] He returned to television doing episodes ofBanacek with Peppard,Hec Ramsey with Richard Boone andAmy Prentiss. He made some TV moviesThe Log of the Black Pearl (1975) andStowaway to the Moon (1975) then returned to features withMitchell (1975) withJoe Don Baker, andThe Last Hard Men (1976) withCharlton Heston andJames Coburn.
McLaglen made some more TV movies,Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free (1976),Royce (1976),Murder at the World Series (1977), andTrail of Danger (1978). He also directed episodes ofCode R,The Fantastic Journey, andNashville 99,
McLaglen was hired to make an adventure film,The Wild Geese (1978), withRichard Burton,Roger Moore andRichard Harris. McLaglen said the film " was a whole new start for my career".[3] It was a huge success, and McLaglen then madeBreakthrough (1979), a war film with Burton;North Sea Hijack (1979), an action film with Moore;The Sea Wolves (1980), a war movie fromEuan Lloyd, the producer ofThe Wild Geese, with Moore andGregory Peck.
McLaglen returned to television to makeThe Shadow Riders (1982) withTom Selleck;The Blue and the Gray, an elaborate mini series about the Civil War; andTravis McGee (1983) starringSam Elliott asTravis McGee, a pilot for a proposed series.[12]
He directedBrooke Shields inSahara (1983), then did two works for TV:The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985) andOn Wings of Eagles (1986).[13]
His last feature films wereReturn from the River Kwai (1989) andEye of the Widow (1991). McLaglen then retired and moved to San Juan Island, where he directed for the San Juan Island Community Theater.[3]
McLaglen later moved toFriday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington State, directing plays for San Juan Island Community Theater.[citation needed]
McLaglen and his first wife, Margarita Harrison, had one child: Sharon McLaglen Lannan (born 1944).
He and his second wife, actressVeda Ann Borg were married in 1946 and separated in 1954, divorcing in 1957. They had one child: Andrew Victor McLaglen II (August 3, 1954 – January 16, 2006).[14]
He and his third wife, Sally Pierce, had two children, Josh McLaglen, an assistant director, and Mary McLaglen, a production manager and producer.
Andrew V. McLaglen died August 30, 2014, age 94, inFriday Harbor, Washington.[15]
