George Peppard | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Peppard in 1964 | |
| Born | (1928-10-01)October 1, 1928 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 1994(1994-05-08) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Purdue University Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–1994 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
George Peppard (October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He secured a major role as struggling writer Paul Varjak when he starred alongsideAudrey Hepburn inBreakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and later portrayed a character based onHoward Hughes inThe Carpetbaggers (1964). On television, he played the title role of millionaire insurance investigator and sleuth Thomas Banacek in the early-1970s mystery seriesBanacek. He playedCol. John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-smoking leader of a renegadecommando squad in the 1980s action television seriesThe A-Team.[1]
George Peppard Jr. was born October 1, 1928, inDetroit, the son ofbuilding contractor George Peppard Sr and music voice teacher Vernelle Rohrer Peppard.[1] His mother had five miscarriages before giving birth to George. His family lost all their money in the Depression, and his father had to leave George and his mother in Detroit while he went looking for work.[2] Peppard grew up in the Detroit suburb ofDearborn, Michigan. He graduated fromDearborn High School in 1946.[3]
Peppard enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps on July 8, 1946, and rose to the rank ofcorporal, leaving the Corps at the end of his enlistment in January 1948.[4]
During 1948 and 1949, he studied civil engineering atPurdue University where he was a member of the Purdue Playmakers theatre troupe andBeta Theta Pi fraternity.[1] He became interested in acting, being an admirer ofWalter Huston in particular. "I just decided I didn't want to be an engineer," he said later. "It was the best decision I ever made."[5][6]
Peppard then transferred to Carnegie Institute of Technology (nowCarnegie Mellon University) inPittsburgh, where he earned hisbachelor's degree in 1955. (It took longer than normal because he dropped out for a year when his father died in 1951 and he had to finish his father's jobs.)[7] He also trained at thePittsburgh Playhouse.[8] While living in Pittsburgh, Peppard worked as a radio DJ at WLOA inBraddock, Pennsylvania. While giving a weather update, he famously called incoming snow flurries "flow snurries". This was an anecdote he repeated in several later interviews, including one with former NFL playerRocky Bleier for WPXI.[9]
In addition to acting, Peppard was a pilot. He spent a portion of his 1966 honeymoon training to fly hisLearjet inWichita, Kansas.[10][11]
Peppard made his stage debut in 1949 at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. After moving to New York City, Peppard enrolled in theActors Studio, where he studiedthe Method withLee Strasberg. He did a variety of jobs to pay his way during this time, such as working as a disc jockey, being a radio station engineer, teaching fencing, driving a taxi and being a mechanic in a motorcycle repair shop.[12]
He worked in summer stock in New England and appeared at the open airOregon Shakespeare Festival inAshland, Oregon for two seasons.
In August 1955, he appeared in the playThe Sun Dial.[13]
He worked as a cab driver until getting his first part inLamp Unto My Feet.[14] He appeared withPaul Newman, inThe United States Steel Hour (1956), as the singing, guitar-playing baseball player Piney Woods inBang the Drum Slowly, directed byDaniel Petrie.
He appeared in an episode ofKraft Theatre, "Flying Object at Three O'Clock High" (1956).
In March 1956, Peppard was on stage, off Broadway, inBeautiful Changes.[15]
In April 1956, he appeared in a segment of an episode of "Cameras Three" performing fromThe Shoemaker's Holiday;The New York Times called his performance "beguiling".[16]
In July 1956, he signed to make his film debut inThe Strange One directed byJack Garfein, based on the playEnd as a Man.[17] It was the first film from Garfein as director andCalder Willingham as producer, plus for Peppard,Ben Gazzara,Geoffrey Horne,Pat Hingle,Arthur Storch andClifton James. Filming took place in Florida. "I wouldn't say I was nervous," said Peppard, "just excited."[18]
On his return to New York, he performed in "Out to Kill" on TV forKraft.[19] In September he joined the cast ofGirls of Summer directed byJack Garfein withShelley Winters, Storch and Hingle, plus a title song byStephen Sondheim. This reached Broadway in November.[20]Brooks Atkinson said Peppard "expertly plays a sly, malicious dance teacher."[21] It had only a short run.[22][23]
The bulk of his work around this time was for television:The Kaiser Aluminum Hour ("A Real Fine Cutting Edge", directed byGeorge Roy Hill),Studio One in Hollywood ("A Walk in the Forest"),The Alcoa Hour ("The Big Build-Up" withE. G. Marshall[24]),Matinee Theatre ("End of the Rope" withJohn Drew Barrymore, "Thread That Runs So True", "Aftermath"),Kraft Theatre ("The Long Flight"),Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("The Diplomatic Corpse", withPeter Lorre directed byPaul Henreid), andSuspicion ("The Eye of Truth" withJoseph Cotten based on a script byEric Ambler).The Strange One came out in April 1957 but despite some strong reviews –The New York Times called Peppard "resolute".[25] – it was not a financial success.
In September 1957, he appeared in a trial run of a play byRobert Thom,The Minotaur, directed bySidney Lumet.[26][27]
Peppard played a key role inLittle Moon of Alban (1958) alongsideChristopher Plummer for theHallmark Hall of Fame. TheLos Angeles Times called him "excellent".[28][29]
In May 1958, Peppard played his second film role, a support part in the Korean War moviePork Chop Hill (1959) directed byLewis Milestone.[30] He was cast in part because he was unfamiliar to moviegoers.[31]
In May 1958, he appeared in stock inA Swim in the Sea.[32]
In October 1958, Peppard appeared on Broadway inThe Pleasure of His Company (1958) starringCyril Ritchard, who also directed. Peppard played the boyfriend who wants to marryDolores Hart who was Ritchard's daughter;The New York Times called Peppard "admirable".[33] The play was a hit and ran for a year.
During the show's run, Peppard auditioned successfully for MGM'sHome from the Hill (1960) and the studio signed him to a long-term contract – which he had not wanted to do but was a condition for the film.[34] In February 1959,Hedda Hopper announced Peppard would leaveCompany to make two films for MGM:Home from the Hill andThe Subterraneans.[35]
Home from the Hill was a prestigious film directed byVincente Minnelli and starringRobert Mitchum, who played Peppard's father. It featured several young actors MGM were hoping to develop, including Peppard,George Hamilton, andLuana Patten.[36] During filming, Peppard said "Brando is a dead talent – I saw him inThe Young Lions" – but said Peck is "a man of integrity as a star and a person.Lee Strasberg is the only person I know who is brilliant."[37]
"I want to be an actor and proud of my craft", said Peppard. "I would like to be an actor who is starred but being a star is something you can't count on whereas acting is something I can work on."[37] It was a success at the box office, although the film's high cost meant that it was not profitable.
Peppard's next film for MGM wasThe Subterraneans, an adaptation ofthe 1958 novel byJack Kerouac co starringLeslie Caron. It flopped and Peppard said "I couldn't get arrested" afterwards.[14]
He had meant to followThe Subterraneans by returning to Broadway with Julie Harris inThe Warm Peninsular but this did not happen.[5] In April 1959 Hedda Hopper said he would be inChatauqua[38] but that was not made until a decade later, starringElvis Presley, asThe Trouble with Girls (1969). At the end of 1959 Hopper predicted Peppard would be a big star saying "he has great emotional power, is a fine athlete, and does offbeat characters such as James Dean excelled in."[39] Sol Siegel announced he would play the lead inTwo Weeks in Another Town.[40] (Kirk Douglas ended up playing it.) He was also announced for the role ofArthur Blake in a film about the first Olympics calledAnd Seven from America which was never made.[41]
Peppard returned to television to star in an episode of the anthology seriesStartime, "Incident at a Corner" (1960) under the direction ofAlfred Hitchcock alongsideVera Miles.[42]
He playedTeddy Roosevelt on television in an episode ofOur American Heritage, "The Invincible Teddy" (1961).[43][44]
His good looks, elegant manner and acting skills landed Peppard his most famous film role as Paul Varjak inBreakfast at Tiffany's withAudrey Hepburn, based on thenovella of the same name byTruman Capote. DirectorBlake Edwards had not wanted Peppard, but was overruled by the producers.[45] He was cast in July 1960.[46] During filming Peppard did not get along with Hepburn orPatricia Neal, the latter calling him "cold and conceited".[47]
In November 1961, a newspaper article dubbed him "the next big thing". Peppard said he had turned down two TV series and was "concentrating on big screen roles." His contract with MGM was for two pictures a year, allowing for one outside film and six TV appearances a year, plus the right to star in a play every second year. "In a series you don't have time to develop a character," he said. "There's no build up; in the first segment you're already established."[48]
He was meant to appear inUnarmed in Paradise which was not made.[49] He bought a script by Robert Blees calledBaby Talk but it was also unmade.[50]
Instead, MGM cast him in the lead of their epic westernHow the West Was Won in 1962.(His character spanned three sections of the episodicCinerama extravaganza.) It was a massive hit.[51]
He followed this with a war story forCarl Foreman,The Victors (1963), made in Europe. He was offered $200,000 to appear inThe Long Ships but did not want to go to Yugoslavia for six months.[52] He was going to doNext Time We Love withRoss Hunter but it was never made.[53]
He starred inThe Carpetbaggers, a 150-minute saga of a ruthless, Hughes-like aviation and film mogul based on the best-sellingnovel of the same name byHarold Robbins. The cast included Elizabeth Ashley, who had an affair with Peppard during filming and later married him. She described him as "some kind of Nordic god – six feet tall with beautiful blond hair, blue eyes and a body out of every high school cheerleader's teenage lust fantasy."[54] Ashley claimed Peppard "was never late on set and he had nothing but scorn for actors who weren't professional enough to keep that together."[55]
She added that Peppard:
Never was one of those actors who believes his job is to take the money, hit the mark and say the lines and let it go at that. He felt that as an above-the-title star he had the responsibility to use his muscle and power to try and make it better and that has never stopped in him. He was unrelenting about it, to the point where a lot of executives and directors came to feel he was a pain in the ass. But the really talented people loved working with him because of all his wonderful creative energy.[56]
"My performances bore me", said Peppard in a 1964 interview, adding that his ambition was to deliver "one great performance. And I must say I feel a little presumptuous to shoot for that. But that's the goal, like a hockey goal. I figure I've got a choice ... not of the outcome but of the objective. And my objective is that one performance."[57]
Peppard returned to television to doBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, "The Game with Glass Pieces". In March 1964 he tried to break his MGM contract to makeThe Great Adventure for Anthony Mann.[58]
For MGM, he appeared inOperation Crossbow (1965), a war film withSophia Loren. It was the first film he made under a new contract with MGM to do one movie a year for three years.[59]
He was meant to follow this with an adaptation of the playMerrily We Roll Along but it was never made.[60]
"I'm an actor not a star," he said around this time, adding that he looked for "three things" in a film, "a good director, a good part and a good script. If I get two out of three of those I'm satisfied."[61]
Peppard starred in a thriller,The Third Day (1965) with Ashley who had become his second wife. The film was directed byJack Smight who claimed Warner Bros only agreed to finance it because they had a deal with Peppard.[62] Peppard said when he made the film "I wasn't just broke I was up to my ears in debt."[14]
He was announced forThe Last Night of Don Juan for Michael Gordon but it was not made.[63] He was cast as the lead inSands of the Kalahari (1965) at a fee of $200,000 but walked off the set after only a few days of filming in March 1965 and had to be replaced byStuart Whitman.[64] Paramount sued Peppard for $930,555 in damages and he countersued.[65]
Ashley later wrote:
What tormented George so badly was that he was caught between being an actor and a movie star. He did not start off as an untalented pretty nothing who had to be grateful for any piece of meat that was thrown his way. He was intelligent and talented but because he was six foot tall with blond hair and blue eyes he had been put in the slot of being a movie star at a time when the movie studios were still very powerful and expected you to play the game by their rules ... I don't think it was possible to be a male movie star who looked like he did and got hot when he did and not be trapped by it.[66]
He had a huge hit withThe Blue Max (1966), playing a German World War One ace, alongsideJames Mason andUrsula Andress, directed byJohn Guillermin.[61]
Film criticDavid Shipman writes of this stage in his career:
"With his cool, blond baby-face looks and a touch of menace, of meanness, he had established a screen persona as strong as any of the time. He might have been theAlan Ladd or theRichard Widmark of the sixties: but the sixties didn't want a new Alan Ladd. Peppard began appearing in a series of action movies, predictably as a tough guy, but there were much tougher guys around — likeCagney,Bogart andRobinson, whose films had now become television staples."[64]
Peppard played a German Jew fighting for the Allies inTobruk (1967) alongsideRock Hudson.[67] "It's a big mistake to think I'm making a lot of money and turning out a lot of crap," he said in a 1966 interview.[14]
Seeking to ensure his financial security, Peppard bought a cattle ranch. The funding required by this venture prompted Peppard to sign a multi-million-dollar, five-picture contract with Universal in August 1966 – two films for the first year, then one each in the following three.[68] Ashley claimed this ultimately hurt Peppard's career.[69]
The first two films under the contract wereRough Night in Jericho (1967), a Western withDean Martin, andWhat's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), a comedy directed byGeorge Seaton withMary Tyler Moore; these were followed by a detective film directed by Guillermin,P.J. (1968), andHouse of Cards (1968), a thriller directed by Guillermin and shot in Europe. None of these films was particularly successful at the box office. Ashley says that doing these films caused Peppard to start drinking.[70] She also claimed Peppard turned downThe Heart Is a Lonely Hunter because he did not want to play a weak or possibly homosexual character.[71]
In 1967, he bought the scriptMidnight Fair by Sheridan Greenway, to produce.[72] In 1968, he announced that he had co-written a script,Watch Them Die, which he planned to direct, but not play a starring role in.[73] It was never made. Neither was a version ofThe Most Dangerous Game for MGM, announced in 1967.[74]
Peppard starred in the crime dramaPendulum (1969), directed byGeorge Schaefer withJean Seberg, and traveled to England to star inThe Executioner (1970) opposite Joan Collins. InCannon for Cordoba (1970), Peppard played the steely Captain Rod Douglas, who has been put in charge of gathering a group of soldiers on a dangerous mission into Mexico. His fees for these were $400,000 plus a percentage. He was scheduled to makeThe Plot at Fox but this does not seem to have been made.[75]
Peppard instead was inOne More Train to Rob (1971), another Western, at Universal. Ashley wrote "he became more and more frustrated and disillusioned from hating the kind of pictures he had to do. There were no good scripts, no good directors and at some point it became icily clear that there weren't going to be any."[76]
In September 1970, he toured Vietnam with a USO show.[77]
In March 1971, Peppard announced that his company, Tradewind Productions, had optioned a novel by Stanley Ellin,The Eighth Circle, but it was not made.[78]
Peppard starred in a Western TV movieThe Bravos (1972) withPernell Roberts. He returned to features withThe Groundstar Conspiracy (1972) co-starringMichael Sarrazin, shot in Canada for Universal; Peppard's fee was $400,000.[79]
In August 1971, Peppard signed to star inBanacek (1972–1974), part ofThe NBC Mystery Movie series, starring in 90-minute whodunits as a wealthy Boston playboy who solves thefts for insurance companies for a finder's fee.[80][81] Sixteen regular episodes were produced over two seasons. Peppard also did some second unit directing. "Ever sinceThe Carpetbaggers I've played the iron-jawed cold-eyed killer and that gets to be a goddamned bore," he said in 1972. "Acting is not the most creative thing in the world and when you play a man of action it gets to be a long day. Banacek is the best character I've played in a long time."[82]
In February 1972, Peppard stood trial in Boston, accused of attempting to rape astripper in his hotel room. He was cleared of the charges.[83][84][85] The same year, he and Ashley were divorced, with Peppard to pay her $2,000 per month alimony plus $350 per month child support for their son Christian.[86]
Peppard starred inNewman's Law (1974), an action film originally calledNewman.[87] WhenBanacek ended Peppard wanted to take time off to focus on producing and directing, including a project calledThe Total Beast. However alimony and child support obligations forced him back to acting. He made some TV moviesOne of Our Own (1975), a medical drama, andGuilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975), asSam Sheppard, for which his fee was $100,000.[88]One of Our Own had been a pilot for a TV series which was picked up –Doctors' Hospital (1975) lasted 15 episodes.[89]
Peppard starred in the science-fiction filmDamnation Alley (1977), which has gone on to attain a substantial cult following in the years since. Peppard's role in the film was reportedly turned down bySteve McQueen because of salary issues. The movie cost $8.5 million. Peppard saidJack Smight's originaldirector's cut was "wonderful" but claimed many of the key scenes in the film were cut when it was re-edited by executives.[90]
With fewer interesting roles coming his way, he acted in, directed and produced the dramaFive Days from Home in 1979.
Peppard later said the low point of his career came over a three-year period around the time ofFive Days from Home. "It was a bad time", he said in 1983. "I was heavily in debt. My career seemed to be going nowhere. Not much work over a three-year period. Every morning I'd wake up and realize I was getting deeper and deeper into debt".[91]
He had to sell his car and take out a second mortgage on his home to financeFive Days from Home. Eventually, he got his money back and was able to concentrate on his career.[91]"I'm quite proud of it", he said in 1979. "I sold many assets to help make it but I don't mind. It was the best time of my life."[92]
He had the lead in the TV moviesCrisis in Mid-air (1979) andTorn Between Two Lovers (1979) and went to Europe forFrom Hell to Victory (1979).[93]
In a rare game show appearance, Peppard did a week of shows onPassword Plus in 1979, in which he could often be seen smoking cigarettes while filming. Out of five shows, the first was never broadcast onNBC, but aired much later onGSN andBuzzr, because of on-camera comments made by Peppard regarding personal dissatisfaction he felt related to his treatment by the NBC officials who supervised the production ofPassword Plus. As a result of this, Goodson-Todman banned Peppard from appearing on any of their game shows ever again for that incident, which cost them a lot since they had to film an extra episode two weeks later to make up for the pulled episode.[94]
In April 1979, Peppard said "I want to act again – and I need a good role. The Sam Shepherd story I did for TV was the only good role I've had in the last seven to ten years."[95] He added he was developing two movies and a TV drama series plus an educational series.[95]
In 1980, Peppard was offered, and accepted, the role ofBlake Carrington in the television seriesDynasty. During the filming of the pilot episode, which also featuredLinda Evans andBo Hopkins, Peppard repeatedly clashed with the show's producers,Richard and Esther Shapiro; among other things, he felt that his role was too similar to that ofJ. R. Ewing in the seriesDallas. Three weeks later, before filming of additional episodes was set to begin, Peppard was fired and the part was offered toJohn Forsythe; the scenes with Peppard were re-shot and Forsythe became the permanent star of the show.[96]Joan Collins says she was pleased he didn't get the role as she "hated him" following an alleged sexual assault incident.[97]
"It was a big blow," Peppard noted subsequently, adding he felt Forsythe ultimately did "a better job (as Blake Carrington) than I could have done."[91] Ironically, this led to his being available to be cast in NBC'sThe A-Team, the number one rated television show in its first season in 1982.
"I'm so glad I wasn't drinking", he said later, having stopped in 1979. "I bet a lot of people thought when I did certain things, I had been drinking and now they found out it wasn't the booze at all. It was me."[98]
During that same period, Peppard also had a role as a cowboy in the science fiction filmBattle Beyond the Stars (1980). He travelled to Canada to makeYour Ticket Is No Longer Valid (1981) with Richard Harris, to New Zealand forRace for the Yankee Zephyr (1982) and Spain forHit Man (1982).
"I almost disappeared for awhile, between ages 45 and 55", he later reflected. "Nobody wants to work with someone who quits three series. They think you're insane to quit a series with all the millions of dollars to be made there. It gets to be like crossing the mob. You find out some people you thought were your friends aren't really."[99]
In 1982, Peppard auditioned for and won the role of Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in the television action adventure seriesThe A-Team, acting alongsideMr. T,Dirk Benedict andDwight Schultz. In the series, the A-Team was a team of renegade commandos on the run from the military for "a crime they did not commit" while serving in theVietnam War. The A-Team members made their collective living assoldiers of fortune, but they helped only people who came to them with justified grievances.
As "Hannibal" Smith, Peppard played the leader of the A-Team, distinguished by his cigar smoking, confident smirk, black leather gloves, disguises, and distinctive catchphrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Peppard was attracted to the role partly because Smith was a master of disguise enabling Peppard to play a variety of characters. "I love the character of Hannibal," he said. "It inspires my fantasy. And, frankly, I need the money."[100]
"I wanted to change from leading man to character actor for years now but have never been given the chance before", he added.[91]
The show started filming in late 1982 and premiered in January 1983.[101] It was an instant ratings success, going straight into the top ten most watched shows in the country. The series, which ran for five seasons onNBC from 1983 to 1987, made Peppard known to a new generation and is arguably his best-known role.[102] His fee was reportedly $50,000 an episode.[103] This went up to $65,000, making him one of the best paid stars on television.[104]
Peppard said "the first year of the show "it was kind of likeMonty Python – absolutely ridiculous. It was fresh, it was fun, it was silly – building an airplane out of a lawn-mower engine – fun stuff done very straight." After that, though "it became very boring to me and not very good."[105]
The role was reportedly written originally withJames Coburn in mind, but Coburn declined, and thus it went to Peppard. It was reported that Peppard was annoyed by Mr. T upstaging him in his public image, and at one point in their relationship, refused to speak directly to Mr. T. Instead, he sent messages through intermediaries (including at times fellow cast members, particularly Dirk Benedict), and for this, Peppard was occasionally portrayed by the press as not a team player.[106]Melinda Culea claimed it was Peppard who got her fired after the first season.[107]
"It's the first time I ever had money in the bank", Peppard said later. "Four California divorces and 25 years of alimony will see to it you have no money in the bank. It was a giant boost to my career, and made me a viable actor for other roles."[108]
During the series' run Peppard guest starred on theTales of the Unexpected episode "The Dirty Detail" (1983).
Peppard's last series was intended to be several television movie features entitledMan Against the Mob (1988) and set in the 1940s. In these TV detective films, Peppard played Los Angeles Police Detective Sgt. Frank Doakey. The second filmMan Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders was broadcast in December 1989. A third film in this series was planned, but Peppard died before it was filmed.
In his later years, Peppard appeared in several stage productions. In 1988, he portrayedErnest Hemingway in the playPAPA, which played a number of cities including Boise, Idaho; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Francisco. Peppard financed it, and played in it. In 1988, he said, "Once I saw this thing, I knew that if I was going to do it, I'd have to stick with it. I've got a couple bucks in the bank, so I'm not working on anything else. I got an adrenaline rush when I first read this play – part joy, part fear." Peppard said he understood Hemingway. "We were both married four times; that's one similarity. Up until ten years ago I used to drink a lot, as he did. And then, he had to deal with living the life of a famous person."[109]
The play was well received. Peppard said of his image, "There's a George Peppard out there that I don't know. He's been written about, and various people have interpreted him various ways. There are people who've made up stories, apocryphal, about me. There are people who didn't like me much."[110]
He appeared inSilence Like Glass (1989) andNight of the Fox (1990). In 1989, he said "I'm afraid I'm typecast. It was discouraging when it first happened. I was sad. I had hoped to do lots of different kinds of roles. But fear and insecurity guides casting decisions. Movies and TV have to make money. And people get used to you playing a part and doing certain things. If you don't do it, they get disappointed and it shows up at the box office."[99]
In 1990, he was seeking financing forThe Crystal Contract, a film about an international cocaine cartel that he would produce and in which he would star, but it was never made. "I would like to do another series because it would mean steady work – and because I would like one more hit."[99]
In 1992, he toured inThe Lion in Winter, in which he playedHenry II toSusan Clark'sEleanor of Aquitaine. "I haven't been as happy as I am for a long time," he said. "When you find a part you are right for and you love, it's a source of happiness, believe me... If I could have my wish come true, I'd spend the next two years doing nothing but this play."[105]
His last television role was guest-starring in a 1994 episode ofMatlock entitled "The P.I". The episode, co-starringTracy Nelson, was meant to serve as abackdoor pilot for a series about a father and his estranged daughter both working as private investigators. The episode aired eight days before Peppard's death.
Peppard was married five times and was the father of three children.
In 1990, he said, "Getting married and having a bad divorce is just like breaking your leg. The same leg, in the same place. I'm lucky I don't walk with a cane."[108]
Peppard resided in a Greek revival-style white cottage inHollywood Hills, California, until the time of his death. His home featured elegant porches on three sides and a guest house in the back. Later owned by designer Brenda Antin, who spent a year renovating it, the small home was purchased by writer/actressLena Dunham in 2015 for $2.7 million.[111][112]
Peppard overcame a serious alcohol problem in 1978, after which he became deeply involved in helping other alcoholics. "I knew I had to stop and I did", he said in 1983. "Looking back now I'm ashamed of some of the things I did when I was drinking."[91] He smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for most of his life, until a diagnosis of lung cancer in 1992 and an operation to remove part of one lung, after which he quit.[113] Despite health problems in his later years, he continued acting. In 1994, just before his death, Peppard completed a pilot withTracy Nelson for a new series calledThe P.I. It aired as an episode ofMatlock and was to be spun off into a new television series with Peppard playing an aging detective and Nelson his daughter and sidekick. On May 8, 1994, while battling lung cancer, Peppard died frompneumonia in Los Angeles.[1]
David Shipman published this appraisal of Peppard in 1972:
"George Peppard's screen presence has some agreeable anomalies. He is tough, assured and insolent — in a way that recalls lateDick Powell rather than earlyBogart; but his bright blue eyes and blond hair, his boyish face suggest the all-American athlete, perhaps going to seed. The sophistication is surface deep: you can imagine him inTimes Square on a Saturday night, sulky, defiant, out of his depth, not quite certain how he wants to spend the evening."[114]
In 1990, Peppard said, "An enormous amount of my film work has been spent charging up a hill saying, 'Follow me, men! This way!' Even though I didBreakfast at Tiffany's, nobody seemed to think I could do comedy. I always played the man of action. And men of action are not terribly deep characters, and not real vocal characters."[108]
He added, "I trained for seven years before I started getting screen work as a stage actor. I love working for an audience. Aside from that, despite all the uniforms and the guns, I think I am at my base a character actor... Being a star has never interested me. Stars, per say [sic], are a pain. Stars to me are in the sky. The important question is, 'How good an actor are you?' And now I have some hope, because I'm of an age where I could be considered for character roles."[108]
Shortly before he died, he said, "If you look at my movie list, you'll see some really good movies and then the start of ones that were not so good. But I was making enough money to send my children to good schools, have a house for them and give them a center in their lives."[115]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | The Strange One | Cadet Robert Marquales | Film debut |
| 1959 | Pork Chop Hill | Corporal Chuck Fedderson | |
| 1960 | Home from the Hill | Raphael "Rafe" Copley | |
| The Subterraneans | Leo Percepied | ||
| 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Paul Varjak | |
| 1962 | How the West Was Won | Zeb Rawlings | |
| 1963 | The Victors | Corporal Frank Chase | |
| 1964 | The Carpetbaggers | Jonas Cord | |
| 1965 | Operation Crossbow | Lieutenant John Curtis | |
| The Third Day | Steve Mallory | ||
| 1966 | The Blue Max | Lieutenant Bruno Stachel | |
| 1967 | Tobruk | Captain Kurt Bergman | |
| Rough Night in Jericho | Dolan | ||
| 1968 | P.J. | P.J. Detweiler | |
| What's So Bad About Feeling Good? | Pete | ||
| House of Cards | Reno Davis | ||
| 1969 | Pendulum | Captain Frank Matthews | |
| 1970 | The Executioner | John Shay | |
| Cannon for Cordoba | Captain Red Douglas | ||
| 1971 | One More Train to Rob | Harker Fleet | |
| 1972 | The Groundstar Conspiracy | Tuxan | |
| 1974 | Newman's Law | Vince Newman | |
| 1977 | Damnation Alley | Major Eugene Denton | |
| 1979 | Five Days from Home | T.M. Pryor | also director and producer |
| From Hell to Victory | Brett Rosson | ||
| 1979 | An Almost Perfect Affair | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1980 | Battle Beyond the Stars | Cowboy | |
| 1981 | Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid | Jim Daley | |
| 1981 | Race for the Yankee Zephyr | Theo Brown | |
| 1982 | Hit Man [fr] | McFadden | |
| 1989 | Zwei Frauen | Mr. Martin | |
| 1992 | The Tigress | Sid Slaughter | Final film role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | The United States Steel Hour | Piney Woods | Episode:Bang the Drum Slowly |
| 1956–1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | Various | Episodes:The Long Flight Flying Object at Three O'Clock High |
| 1957 | The Kaiser Aluminum Hour | Lynch | Episode:A Real Fine Cutting Edge |
| Studio One | Episode:A Walk in the Forest | ||
| The Alcoa Hour | Eddie Pierce | Episode:The Big Build-Up | |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Evan Wallace | Episode:The Diplomatic Corpse | |
| 1957–1958 | Matinee Theatre | Episodes:End of the Rope, Part 1 End of the Rope, Part 2 Aftermath | |
| 1958 | Suspicion | Lee | Episode:The Eye of Truth |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | Dennis Walsh | Episode:Little Moon of Alban | |
| 1960 | Startime | Pat Lawrence | Episode:Incident at a Corner |
| 1964 | Theatre of Stars | Buddy Wren | Episode:The Game with Glass Pieces |
| 1972 | The Bravos | Major John David Harkness | Television Film |
| 1972–1974 | Banacek | Thomas Banacek | |
| 1975 | The Week of Fear | Dr. Jake Goodwin | Television Film |
| Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case | Dr. Samuel Sheppard | ||
| 1975–1976 | Doctors' Hospital | Dr. Jake Goodwin | |
| 1979 | Crisis in Mid-Air | Nick Culver | Television Film |
| Torn Between Two Lovers | Paul Rasmussen | ||
| 1982 | Twilight Theatre | ||
| 1983–1987 | The A-Team | Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith | |
| 1984 | Tales of the Unexpected | Sergeant Guedo | Episode:The Dirty Detail |
| 1988 | Man Against the Mob | Frank Doakey | Television Film |
| 1989 | Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders | ||
| 1990 | Night of the Fox | Colonel Harry Martineau/Max Vogel | |
| 1994 | Matlock | Max Morgan | Episode:The P.I. (final appearance) |
Like its predecessor, Stars in the Corps is a valuable resource for scholars and aficionados of motion picture films, military buffs and historians, and students of American popular culture. This volume is the equal to and in several ways surpasses its earlier companion and is itself a valuable reference. Structurally, the volume contains a preface and introduction, two parts comprising 28 short biographies, four appendices, and 101 black-and-white images. A very useful Bibliography lists 92 books and periodicals, thirteen reference works, twelve interviews or correspondence, five major official records or archives, and five other sources. A six-page double column index lists, in the main, proper nouns and is an appropriate finding aid.
