Godspeed Elliott Reid

Elliott Reid, who appeared in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and shows such as The Wild Wild West, died 21 June 2013 at the age of 93.

Elliott Reid was born Edgeworth Reid on 16 January 1920 in New York City. He was a veteran of Old Time Radio, making his debut on The March of Time in 1935. He was one of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre troupe, and appeared on their radio show The Mercury Theatre on the Air. He also appeared on the radio shows The Cavalcade of America, Theatre Guild on the Air, Suspense, and CBS Radio Mystery Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar in 1937. In 1938 he appeared in a production of The Shoemakers' Holiday on Broadway. Mr. Reid made his film debut in The Ramparts We Watch in 1940.

In the Forties Mr. Reid appeared in the films Young Ideas (1943), The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944), A Double Life (1947), and Sierra (1950). He made his television debut on Kraft Theatre in 1947. On Broadway he appeared in a production of Macbeth in 1948 and in Two Blind Mice in 1949 and The Live Wire in 1950. In the Fifties he appeared in the films The Whip Hand (1951), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Vicki (1953), Woman's World (1954), and Inherit the Wind (1960). He guest starred on such on such shows as Robert Montgomery Presents, Campbell Summer Soundstage, Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Climax!, The Ford Television Theatre, I Love Lucy, Lux Video Theatre, Our Miss Brooks, The Phil Silvers Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, The U. S. Steel Hour, Perry Mason, and Make Room For Daddy.  He appeared on Broadway in Two in the Aisle and From A to Z.

In the Sixties Mr. Reid was a regular on the American version of That Was the Week That Was. He guest starred on such shows as The Roaring 20's, Surfside 6, Margie, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Defenders, The Munsters, The Lucy Show, The Wild Wild West, The Governor & J.J., The Good Guys, Here's Lucy, and Love American Style. He appeared in the movies The Absent Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963), The Thrill of It All (1963), The Wheeler Dealers (1963), Move Over, Darling (1963), Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), Follow Me, Boys! (1966), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), and Some Kind of a Nut (1969).

In the Seventies Elliott Reid was a regular on Miss Winslow and Son. He guest starred on such shows as The Odd Couple, The New Temperatures Rising, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Lotsa Luck, Barney Miller, Doc, All in the Family, James at 16, Rosetti and Ryan, and One in a Million. He appeared in the film Heaven Can Wait (1978). From the Eighties into the Nineties he appeared on such shows as Tales of the Unexpected, After MASH, Designing Women, It's a Living, Murder She Wrote, Seinfeld, and Maybe This Time. He appeared in the film Young Einstein (1988).

Elliott Reid could perhaps best be described as a character actor with the looks of a leading man. This is perhaps why he so often played what could be best described as sophisticated authority figures. Over the years Mr. Reid played a number of journalists, TV newsmen, professors, doctors, and similar types. He played the private detective investigating Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe), Ernie Malone, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. He played the press agent accused of murder,  Steve Christopher, in the film noir Vicki. On I Love Lucy episode "The Ricardos Are Interviewed" he played a TV journalist named Edward Warren who was obviously based on Edward R. Murrow. Playing these various roles was perhaps made all the more easier for Elliott Reid was his incredibly versatile voice. Indeed, he was a great impressionist who could mimic such diverse individuals as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and radio personality Paul Harvey. Few actors ever possessed the talent or voice or Elliott Reid, and few ever will.

American TV Writer & Proucer Gary David Goldberg Passes On

Gary David Goldberg, creator of the television shows Family Ties, Spin City, and Brooklyn Bridge, died 23 July 2013. The cause was brain cancer.

Gary David Goldberg was born on 25 June 1944 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, but did not graduate. He then attended Hofstra University in New York for a time, before finally graduating from San Diego State University. It was while at San Diego State that he took an interest in writing for television. It was in 1976 that he made his first sales in the medium. That year he wrote episodes of The Dumplings, Phyllis, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Tony Randall Show. He would go on to serve as a producer on The Tony Randall Show. For the rest of the Seventies he wrote episodes of Alice, M*A*S*H, and Lou Grant (on which he also served as a producer). He created the show The Last Resort, which ran from 1979 to 1980.

It was in 1982 that Family Ties debuted. The show was created by Gary David Goldberg and proved to be a hit. It ran for six years and transformed actor Michael J. Fox into a star. He also wrote for and produced the short lived show Making the Grade. Gary David Goldberg also created and produced the short lived show The Bronx Zoo. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie Dad (1989).

In the Nineties Gary David Goldberg created the show Brooklyn Bridge. Although the loosely autobiographical show received relatively good notices, it only lasted two seasons. He wrote the screenplay for the film Bye Bye Love (1995), as well as episodes of Champs and Sugar Hill. In 1996 the show Spin City, which he created with Bill Lawrence, debuted. The show proved to be a hit and ran six seasons. His last work was the screenplay for the film Must Love Dogs (2005).

Gary David Goldberg created one of the most successful shows of the Eighties, Family Ties, as well as one of the more successful shows of the Nineties, Spin City. While I liked Family Ties when I was younger, I don't remember it well enough to say how good it was. I did really like Spin City and I adored Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, while it did not run as long as Brooklyn Bridge or Spin City, I think Brooklyn Bridge was his greatest achievement as a writer and producer.  It was decidedly different from any show on at the time--a well written low key comedy about a Jewish family in Brooklyn in the Fifties. And I think in many respects it was much funnier than Spin City. Regardless, Mr. Goldberg created memorable shows that should really be seen more today than they currently are.

The Late Great Richard Matheson

Richard Matheson died 23 June 2013 at the age of 87. Although often called a science fiction writer, he is perhaps better described as a fantasist, as his works span the gamut from science fiction to fantasy to horror. He was the author of such novels as I Am Legend and Hell House, the screenwriter of such films as Master of the World (1961) and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), and one of the writers on the classic television show The Twilight Zone (including the episode as  "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet").  Quite simply, he was arguably one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century.

Richard Matheson was born on 20 February 1926 in Allendale, New Jersey. He grew up in Brooklyn. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943 before serving in the United States Army during World War II. After the war he attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, from which he graduated with a degree in journalism in 1949. He made his first professional sale only a year later, in 1950. That sale was the short story "Born of Man and Woman", published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Summer 1950.

Richard Matheson was not long in establishing himself as a writer. The year 1950 saw the publication of two more of his short stories, "Third from the Sun (later adapted as an episode of The Twilight Zone) and "The Waker Dreams". The year 1953 would see the release of his first two published novels, Someone is Bleeding and Fury on Sunday. It was in 1954 that the novel that would make him famous was published. I Am Legend proved to be a success upon its initial publication, and has been adapted to film three times (The Last Man on Earth in 1964, The Omega Man in 1971, and I Am Legend in 2007).  While Mr. Matheson referred to the monsters in I Am Legend as "vampires", the novel would inspire the entire genre of "living dead" movies that began with Night of the Living Dead (1968). 

Throughout his lifetime Richard Matheson would see the publication of many more of his short stories, including "Death Ship (adapted as an episode of The Twilight Zone)"; "Little Girl Lost (adapted as an episode of The Twilight Zone)", and "Button, Button (adapted as an episode of the Eighties Twilight Zone revival and the 2009 film The Box). He wrote many more novels, including The Shrinking Man (adapted as the film The Incredible Shrinking Man in 1957), A Stir of Echoes (adapted as the film A Stir of Echoes in 1999); Hell House (adapted as the film The Legend of Hell House in 1973);  What Dreams May Come (adapted as What Dreams May Come in 1998), The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok, and Generations (his final novel).

While Richard Matheson was well known for his novels and short stories, he may be equally well known for his work in television. His first written work for television was an episode of Studio 57, "Young Couples Only", in 1955. In the late Fifties he wrote episodes of such shows as Buckskin, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Have Gun--Will Travel, Bourbon Street Beat, Cheyenne, and Lawman. His stories "Disappearing Act (under the title "And When the Sky Was Opened") and "Third From the Sun" were both adapted as episodes of The Twilight Zone in its first season. It was that same season that Richard Matheson would write his first episode of The Twilight Zone, "The Last Flight (based on his own story "Flight"). He would go onto become one of the show's most prolific writers, contributing 15 more episodes. Among the episodes he wrote was "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", one of the best known episodes of the show.

In the Sixties Richard Matheson continued writing for The Twilight Zone, in addition to writing episodes of such shows as Thriller, Combat, Star Trek (the episode "The Enemy Within", in which Kirk is split into good and evil halves), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and Journey into the Unknown. The Seventies saw his stories adapted for The Night Gallery and he also wrote episodes of the show. He also developed the short lived show Circle of Fear and wrote many of its episodes. He wrote segments of the TV movies Trilogy of Terror (1975) and Dead of Night (1977), as well as episodes of the mini-series The Martian Chronicles. His best known television work of the Seventies may have been the teleplays for the TV movies The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973) which would lead to the TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker (in which Richard Matheson had no involvement). The Eighties into the Nineties saw Richard Matheson write episodes of the Eighties version of The Twilight Zone as well as Amazing Stories.

Richard Matheson also worked extensively in film, and often he was the one who adapted his own novels and short stories. He also wrote original screenplays, as well as adapted the works of others. The first screenplay ever written by Richard Matheson was The Incredible Shrinking Man, based on his novel The Shrinking Man. In the late Fifties he followed it with The Beat Generation (1959) and House of Usher (1960). In the Sixties he wrote the films Master of the World (1961--based on the work by Jules Verne), Pit and the Pendulum (1961--based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe), Burn, Witch, Burn (1962--based on Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963--based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem), The Comedy of Terrors (1963--based on his novel of the same name), The Last Man on Earth (1964--based on I Am Legend), Fanatic (1965), The Young Warriors (1967--based on his novel The Beardless Warriors), The Devil Rides Out (1968--based on the novel by Dennis Wheatley), and De Sade (1969).

In the Seventies he wrote the screenplays for the films Duel (1971--based on his story of the same name), The Legend of Hell House (1973--based on his novel Hell House), and Somewhere in Time (1980-based on his novel Bid Time Return). Several of Richard Matheson's works were adapted with screenplays not written by him, including Cold Sweat (1970--based on his novel Ride the Nightmare), The Omega Man (based on I Am Legend), Les seins de glace (1974-based on his novel "Someone is Bleeding"), What Dreams May Come (1998--based on his novel  of the same name) , Stir of Echoes (1999--based on his novel of the same name), I Am Legend (based on the novel of the same name), The Box (2009--based on the story "Button, Button"), and Real Steel (2011--based on his short story "Steel").

 There can be no doubt that Richard Matheson was one of the most influential writer of the 20th Century. His novel I Am Legend alone would have a tremendous impact on Anglo-American pop culture. As Stephen King was quoted in Mr. Matheson's obituary in The New York Times, "Matheson fired the imaginations of three generations of writers. Without his I Am Legend, there would have been no Night of the Living Dead; without Night of the Living Dead, there would have been no Walking Dead, 28 Days Later or World War Z."

That having been said, Mr. Matheson's influence went well beyond the "living dead" genre of horror movies. Alongside Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson pioneered combining the fantastic with the everyday. In Richard Matheson's world a man might see a gremlin tearing up the wing of something as common as an aeroplane (in his Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet") or someone in their car might be stalked by a mysterious and clearly malevolent 1955 Peterbilt 281 Tanker (as in Duel) or someone might be offered millions of dollars for simply pressing a button, but at an enormous cost (the story "Button, Buttton").

Not only did Mr. Matheson pioneer combining the fantastic with everyday life, but his works often dealt with the angst of the post-war world. The Shrinking Man saw a suburban male shrunk by a combination of pesticides and radioactivity to the point that even a spider is a real threat to him. In his short story "Prey" a New York apartment dweller found herself stalked by a murderous Zuni doll. In the novel A Stir of Echoes an ordinary man suddenly finds himself endowed with psychic abilities, not only learning secrets of people that he would rather not know, but even hearing from those who were dead and gone. Given that Mr. Matheson seamlessly blended the fantastic and the everyday, and further imbued his stories and novels with modern day angst, it should be little surprise that writers from Stephen King to Anne Rice count him as an influence. 

Many of the news stories on Richard Matheson's death described him as a "science fiction writer", and I suspect the average person probably associated him more with the genre of horror, but neither description was quite accurate. Although both I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man can be described as science fiction, they can also be described as horror as well. Yet other works by Richard Matheson belong to other genres. The film The Beat Generation was an odd combination of an examination of beatniks and film noir. His novel The Beardless Warriors was a World War II novel centred on young infantrymen. What Dreams May Come can be considered fantasy. Indeed, while not as well known as his other works, Richard Matheson even wrote Westerns. In the Fifties he published several Western short stories and in the Nineties he wrote several Western novels. Richard Matheson worked in several genres, and often blended genres in ways other writers would not. Bid Time Return was a science fiction novel, a romance novel, and a period piece.

In the end Richard Matheson was not simply a science fiction writer. He was actually a writer who defied genre categorisation, one adept at exploiting the anxieties of the present day and blending the fantastic with the ordinary. There should be little doubt as to why he not only achieved the success that he did, but that he proved to have an impact far larger than most of the writers of his era.

James Gandolfini R.I.P.

James Gandolfini, best known for playing Tony Soprano on The Sopranos, died 19 June 2013 at the age of 51. The cause was a heart attack.

James Gandolfini was born on 18 September 1961 in  Westwood, New Jersey, but grew up in  Park Ridge, New Jersey. He acted in school plays while attending Park Ridge High School. He attended Rutgers University, from which he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies. After graduating from college, he worked a variety of jobs including driving a truck and managing a night club. It was in 1985 that he became interested in acting after going with a friend to an acting class.

 James Gandolfini made his film debut in a bit part in the horror movie Shock! Shock! Shock! in 1987. In 1992 he made his debut on Broadway in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1995 he appeared on Broadway in a revival of On the Waterfront. In the Nineties Mr. Gandolfini appeared in such The Last Boy Scout (1991), A Stranger Among Us (1992), True Romance (1993), Mr. Wonderful (1993), Terminal Velocity (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), Get Shorty (1995), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Fallen (1998), and 8MM (1999). He made his television debut in an episode of Gun and appeared in a new television adaptation of 12 Angry Men. It was in 1999 that he began his 6 season run as gangster Tony Soprano on The Sopranos.

In the Naughts  James Gandolfini appeared in such films as The Mexican (2001), The Last Castle (2001), Lonely Hearts (2006), All the King's Men (2006), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), and Mint Julep (2010).  He provided the voice of Carol in Where the Wild Things Are (2009).  He appeared on Broadway in God of Carnage. In the Teens he appeared in such films as Killing Them Softly (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013). His final film Animal Rescue will be released in 2014. He is due to appear on an episode of the television show Criminal Justice later this year.

James Gandolfini was an extremely talented actor. After all, it was not simply David Chase's writing that made Tony Soprano a four dimensional character, but Mr. Gandolfini's talent as an actor as well. In a lesser actor's hands Tony Soprano might have simply been a violent sociopath, but Mr. Gandolfini made him a much more complicated character. Not only was he believable when killing a rival, but he was believable when attending his children's school events as well.

While Mr. Gandolfini played more than his share of mobsters before and after Tony Soprano, he certainly was not limited to those roles and actually had great range. Perhaps no role was further from Tony Soprano than Carol in Where the Wild Things Are. Carol can be violent, like Tony, but at the same time there is a childishness and tenderness in him that was totally lacking in Tony Soprano. Quite simply, Carol is a kid in a wild thing's body. He also played a very different role in In the Loop, that of  Lieutenant General Miller. Not only does Lieutenant General Miller appear to have little to no ego (unlike every other character in the film), but he seems to treat the whole possibility of war in the Middle East as a game. In the Loop demonstrated Mr. Gandolfini's gift for comedy. James Gandolfini played a wide range of other roles, from sensitive hit man Winston Baldry in The Mexican to hopeless romantic iron worker Nick Murder in Romance & Cigarettes. He was a talented actor whose life ended all too soon.

From TV to Film: Classic Television Stars who Became Movie Stars Part Three

Today it is a rare thing for a television star to make the successful transition to film. Those who do are few and far between. While it is uncommon today for a TV star to become a movie star, there was a time when it was not so rare. In fact, from the late Fifties into the Sixties several television stars made the transition to film, including James Garner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and Tuesday Weld, among others. In fact, some of the biggest stars of the Sixties and Seventies rose to stardom on television.

One of these stars would not only become a movie star, but a critically acclaimed film director as well. Clint Eastwood worked a variety of jobs before he decided to go into acting. Eventually he was signed to Universal-International. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in Revenge of the Creature (1955). Over the next few years he appeared in small roles in such films as Francis in the Navy (1955), Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955), and Tarantula (1955). Universal-International terminated their contract with Clint Eastwood not long after his television debut on the special Allen in Movieland in 1955. He would  not be without work, however, as he appeared in such shows as Highway Patrol, Death Valley Days, West Point, and Navy Log. He also received small roles in motion pictures, even receiving credit on some. These included The First Travelling Saleslady (1956), Escapade in Japan (1957), Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958), and Lafayette Escadrille (1958).

It was in 1958 that Clint Eastwood was cast in the role of Rowdy Yates, the ramrod on a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri on the TV Western Rawhide. Among his competition for the role had been Bing Russell, who would later go onto a long run in the recurring role of Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza. Rawhide debuted on 9 January 1959 on CBS. The show would prove to be a hit. In its second season (the 1959-1960 season) it ranked #20 out of all the shows on the air. For its third season it ranked #6 for its year.  and for its fourth season #13 for the year. Although Clint Eastwood's role as Rowdy Yates would not be particularly big early in the show's run, it grew as time passed. This was particularly the case after the show's creator and original producer, Charles Marquis Warren, left after its first season. His successor  Endre Bohem did not get along particularly well with Eric Fleming (who played trail boss Gil Favor) and as a result Rowdy took on a larger role.

As early as the third season of Rawhide, the press theorised that Clint Eastwood might want to leave the show. Indeed, in the early seasons of Rawhide Mr. Eastwood's only work outside of that show were guest appearances on Maverick and Mister Ed. All of this would change in 1963. That year a Western entitled The Magnificent Stranger was being made in Italy. The film was essentially an unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and was being directed by the then unknown Sergio Leone. Several different actors were considered for the lead role, including Charles Bronson, Richard Harrison, Frank Wolfe, and Rawhide star Eric Fleming. Mr. Leone watched an episode of Rawhide and instead found himself interested in casting Clint Eastwood in the lead of what would soon be called A Fistful of Dollars. The role was offered to Mr. Eastwood, who was initially hesitant to do it. After reading the script, however, he decided to take the lead role in A Fistful of Dollars. It would prove to be a career changing decision.

A Fistful of Dollars was released in September 1964 proved to be very successful in Europe, grossing $3 million (about 3 billion lire) in Italy alone. Despite this, it would not be released in the United States or the United Kingdom until 1967. The reason for the delay was quite simply the fact that neither Sergio Leone nor his producers had secured the rights to remake Yojimbo. This resulted in a lawsuit from Akira Kurosawa and Toho Co., Ltd. that delayed the release of A Fistful of Dollars in North America (and perhaps the United Kingdom as well) for nearly three years.

In the meantime Sergio Leone would make two sequels starring Clint Eastwood, For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966).  Rawhide also came to an end after seven and a half years. The ratings for the show had been in decline for the last several seasons. The final season saw Eric Fleming leave the show, so that Clint Eastwood then became its star and Rowdy Yates the new trail boss. Sadly, Rawhide lasted only one more season. Not that it mattered, as Clint Eastwood soon be a verified film star in the United States as well as the rest of the world.

A Fistful of Dollars was released in the United States on 18 January 1967. It was followed by its two sequels: For a Few Dollars More on 10 May 1967 and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly on 29 December 1967. As hard as it is to believe given they are now considered classics, all three films in "the Dollars trilogy (as they came to be known) generally received bad reviews from American critics at the time. Regardless, they did very well at the American box office, particularly The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.  Clint Eastwood was established as a movie star in the United States.

From the late Sixties into the Seventies he appeared in such films as Hang 'Em High (1968), Coogan's Bluff (1968), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Paint Your Wagon (1969),Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Play Misty for Me (1971), Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Eiger Sanction (1975), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Enforcer (1976),  and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).  Mr. Eastwood also took up directing, his first feature film as director being Play Misty for Me (1971). Clint Eastwood's career as an actor has continued into the Teens, as has his career as a director. Over the years he starred in such films as Tightrope (1984), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), The Dead Pool (1988), In the Line of Fire (1993), and The Bridges of Madison County (1995). He directed such films (and starred in many of them as well) as Sudden Impact (1983), Pale Rider (1985), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), White Hunter Black Heart (1990), Unforgiven (1992), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and Gran Torino (2008).

While Clint Eastwood primarily appeared in bit parts before he achieved the television stardom that would lead to his film stardom, Charles Bronson actually had one leading role in a motion picture before he achieved television stardom, although it was only by a few months. That having been said, there can be little doubt that it was the TV show Man with a Camera that would help turn him into a household name.

After having served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Charles Buchinsky (who had not yet taken the name "Charles Bronson") worked a variety of jobs before he finally joined a theatrical troupe in Philadelphia. He later moved to California where he enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse. He made his television debut in an episode of Fireside Theatre in 1949 and his film debut in a small role in You're in the Navy Now in 1951. Over the next few years he appeared in such films as The People Against O'Hara (1951), The Mob (1951), Red Skies of Montana (1952), The Marrying Kind (1952), and Pat and Mike (1952). Over time he began getting much more visible roles, including Igor in House of Wax (1953), Hondo in Apache (1954), and Captain Jack in Drum Beat (1954). He also appeared on television in such shows as The Red Skelton Show, Biff Baker, U.S.A., and The Roy Rogers Show. By the mid-Fifties Charles Bronson was a frequent guest star on television shows, including such shows as Lux Video Theatre, Treasury Men in Action, Gunsmoke, Medic, Warner Brothers Presents, Studio 57, The Millionaire, Richard Diamond Private Detective, Studio One, M Squad, Have Gun - Will Travel, and Sugarfoot. He also had substantial roles in such films as Target Zero (1955), Jubal (1956), and Run of the Arrow (1957).

It was the year 1958 that would mark a major turning point in his career. It was in that year that Charles Bronson had his first starring role in a film, as Deputy US Marshal Luke Welsh in the minor Western Showdown at Boot Hill.  That same year he played the lead role in the American International Pictures gangster movie Machine-Gun Kelly, directed by Roger Corman. It would not be starring roles in two B-movies that would make Charles Bronson a household name, however, but rather a very short lived television show. On Man with a Camera Charles Bronson played freelance photographer Mike Kovacs, who worked for everyone from insurance companies to the police. Man with a Camera did not prove particularly successful. The show ran for only half a season from October to January in the 1958-1959 season. It returned in October for the 1959-1960, but only ran until February 1960. Despite running two season, Man with a Camera produced a meagre 29 episodes.

While Man with a Camera was not a roaring success, it did give Charles Bronson a higher profile than he had before. Indeed, it would be in 1960 that Mr. Bronson appeared in one of his best known roles of all time, that of gunfighter Bernardo O'Reilly in The Magnificent Seven. While The Magnificent Seven was a phenomenal success and certainly helped Charles Bronson's career a good deal, he had not quite achieved film stardom yet. He still made guest appearances on television, on such shows as The Loretta Young Show, Laramie, Hennesey, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Dr. Kildare. He would even have regular roles in two more short lived shows, Empire and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. And while Charles Bronson was the protagonist in the 1961 film Master of the World (opposite Vincent Price, no less), he played lesser roles in such films as A Thunder of Drums (1961) and the Elvis Presley vehicle Kid Galahad (1962).

The turning point for Charles Bronson would come in 1963, when he appeared in two films that would largely aid in his transition from television star to movie star. The first was directed by Magnificent Seven director John Sturges, The Great Escape. In the film Charles Bronson played Danny, the Tunnel King who must overcome a growing case of claustrophobia. The second was 4 for Texas, in which he played the antagonist, the outlaw Matson. In Mr. Bronson's next few films he would play bigger roles, including the lead in Guns of Diablo (1965) and major roles in The Sandpiper (1965), Battle of the Bugle (1965), and This Property is Condemned (1966). He also continued to appear frequently on television, guest starring on Bonanza, Combat, The Big Valley, Rawhide, The F.B.I., and The Fugitive.

The year 1967 saw the film that would finally turn Charles Bronson into a full fledged movie star. In The Dirty Dozen Mr. Bronson received third billing (top billing went to another TV star turned film star, Lee Marvin) and played Joseph Wladislaw, a one time coal miner who had been convicted of shooting his squad's medic. He also happened to be the only member of the Dozen to survive. The Dirty Dozen proved phenomenally successful. Afterwards it is rare that Charles Bronson received less than third billing and, more often than not, he had lead roles in his film. After The Dirty Dozen Charles Bronson made only two more guest appearances on television shows, on The Virginian and Dundee and the Culhane.

Mr. Bronson spent the rest of the Sixties appearing in such films as Guns for San Sebastian (1968), Farewell, Friend (1968), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Lola (1970), Rider on the Rain (1970), and The Family (1970). In the Seventies he would see even more success, particularly after the controversial but highly successful Death Wish (1974). In addition to Death Wish, in the Seventies he appeared in such films as Red Sun (1971), Chato's Land (1972), The Mechanic (1972), Mr. Majestyk (1974), Breakheart Pass (1975), The White Buffalo (1977). Telefon (1977), and Borderline (1980).  The Eighties would see his career decline a bit from what it had been in the Seventies. From the Eighties into the Nineties he would appear in sequels to Death Wish, as well as such films as Death Hunt (1981), The Evil That Men Do (1984), Murphy's Law (1986), Assassination (1987), Messenger of Death (1988), Kinjite (1989), and The Indian Runner (1991).

Sadly, in Mr. Bronson's later years he suffered from Alzheimer's disease. He died of pneumonia at the age of 81 on 30 August 2003.

At least in comparison to a period from about the mid-Fifties to the early Sixties, relatively few movie stars have emerged from American television in the ensuing decades. Certainly it does still happen, as Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Will Smith, George Clooney, and Johnn Depp certainly prove, but it does not seem to happen with the frequency it did in the Fifties and Sixties. What is more, television in the Fifties and Sixties did not simply produce movie stars, but arguably superstars. With regards to film in the late Twentieth Century, it is very hard to find bigger movie stars than Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Clint Eastwood.

Of course, the question is why these particular actors succeeded in making the transition from television to film when so many before and since them have failed. Certainly there are some factors common to most or all of them. It is notable that, except for Tuesday Weld (who as a woman would not have been expected to do so at the time), nearly all of them served in the military in some form or another.  Indeed, both Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson served in World War II. Although it may only be coincidence, it could also be that the military gave them the discipline necessary to not only succeed in acting, but to make the transition from television to film.

Another factor in the success these particular actors had in going from TV to film may have been the fact that they played what many have called anti-heroes, but what I prefer to call non-traditional heroes. This was true even of the characters many of them played on television. Indeed, James Garner came to fame as Bret Maverick, a professional gambler who preferred using his wits to his guns and was not below scamming his opponents (who always deserved it, of course). Steve McQueen played a bounty hunter, often a villainous figure in Westerns, albeit one with a soft heart. Even Tuesday Weld played a very non-traditional character on television. On Dobie Gillis Thalia was not the typical, sweet girl next door type of  most sitcoms of the time, but a girl whose primary concern in life was money. Beginning in the late Fifties and continuing into the early Seventies was a period of immense, cultural change. It was the time of the Sexual Revolution, the Civil Rights movement, feminism, and the beginnings of the Gay Rights movement. With such change in the air, actors who regularly played non-traditional heroes would be more inclined to see success than those of the more traditional variety.  The time had come for James Coburn as Derek Flint.

Of course, regardless of any other factors, the most pivotal one may have been the simple fact that American, prime time, broadcast television may well have been at its height from about the mid-Fifties to the early Seventies. The broadcast networks had little in the way of competition for viewers' time. After all, there was nothing in the way of cable channels, the World Wide Web, personal computers, or video games. It should not be surprising, then, that even a low rated, network programme might well draw more attention at that time than it would now. This naturally allowed many actors on television shows as the time to become household names. I rather suspect most people in 1960 knew who Tuesday Weld was. How many people can name any of the actors on even moderately successful network sitcoms today? In the end, television stars were simply much bigger then than they are now. If more of them became movie stars back then, it may have been because they were closer to movie stars to begin with.

Regardless, I doubt we will ever see another period when quite so many television stars successfully make the transition to film. It is an era long past. It would seem, to paraphrase Norma Desmond, that television has gotten small. While there can be no doubt that more television actors will make the transition to film, I seriously doubt that they will do so in large numbers.

From TV to Film: Classic Television Stars who Became Movie Stars Part Two

Today it is a relatively rare thing for a television star to spin that success off into motion picture stardom. At one time, however, it was not quite so rare. In fact, in the Sixties and Fifties there would be several actors who would go from the small screen to the silver screen. James Garner, Steve McQueen, and James Coburn were three of the television stars of the era who would become movie stars as well.

James Garner and Steve McQueen emerged as stars of highly successful television Westerns (Maverick and Wanted: Dead or Alive respectively), while James Coburn was a frequent guest star in shows from the same genre. That having been said, not every star to move from television to film were veterans of Westerns. In fact, there were two soon to be movie stars who appeared on the same sitcom. What is more remarkable, is that neither of them was the star of the show. In fact, one of them was a relatively minor character. Both Warren Beatty and Tuesday Weld appeared on the first season of Dobie Gillis before going onto movie stardom.

It could be said that acting was in Warren Beatty's blood. His mother was a drama teacher. His older sister, Shirley. would achieve movie stardom under the name Shirley MacLaine before  Mr. Beatty even received his first television credit. It was her success that largely encouraged Mr. Beatty to go into acting. In the summer between his junior and senior years in high school he worked as a stagehand  at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. After high school he attended Northwestern University for a year, but dropped out to move to New York City to pursue acting. There he studied under actress and acting teacher Stella Adler.

Warren Beatty made his television debut in an episode of Studio One in 1957. Over the next few years he appeared in episodes of Suspicion and Playhouse 90. It was in 1959 that Warren Beatty was cast in the recurring role of handsome, rich, and snobbish Milton Armitage on Dobie Gillis. Although he was only a semi-regular on Dobie Gillis, the show did draw attention to young Mr. Beatty. In fact, it was after his appearance on the show that MGM signed him to a contract. In the end Warren Beatty left Dobie Gillis in the middle of the first season, having appeared in six episodes including the pilot.

Having left Dobie Gillis, Warren Beatty would not have to wait long for film stardom. His film debut would be in the film that would make him a star, Splendour in the Grass in 1961. In the Sixties he would appear in such films as The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), Promise Her Anything (1965), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and The Only Game in Town (1970). It was in 1965 that he received his first "producer" credit, on the film What's New Pussycat. In the Seventies he appeared in such films as McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), The Parallax View (1974), Shampoo (1975), and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He also took up directing, his first film as director being Heaven Can Wait. Since the Eighties he has appeared in the films Reds (1981), Ishtar (1987), Dick Tracy (1990), Bugsy (1991), Bulworth (1998), and Town & Country (2001).  He has directed Reds, Dick Tracy, and Bulworth.

Unlike Warren Beatty, her co-star on Dobie Gillis, Tuesday Weld had already appeared in films prior to her stint as beautiful, spoiled, and money hungry Thalia Menninger on the show. It was following her father's death that Tuesday Weld's mother started hiring her out as a child model to make ends meet. Her career as a model would lead young Miss Weld into acting. at the age of twelve she  made her film debut in  Rock Rock Rock! (1956). In the same year she appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man. A mixture of film and television appearances would follow. On television she appeared on such shows as Goodyear Television Playhouse, The Red Skelton Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and 77 Sunset Strip. She appeared in such films as Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) and The Five Pennies (1959).

It was in 1959 that Tuesday Weld was cast as Thalia Menninger, the self absorbed, egotistical object of Dobie Gillis' desire. It was one of the more prominent roles on the show, and as a result Dobie Gillis generated a good deal of attention for Miss Weld. In fact, she received a good deal of press coverage from the show and it was not unusual for her to be mobbed by the press when she went out. She even won a Golden Globe award for "Most Promising Newcomer - Female".  It has often claimed that Tuesday Weld was dismissed from Dobie Gillis because she was "too sexy" for a TV sitcom (keep in mind she was only 16 at the time), but it seems likely that with the attention she was receiving Miss Weld left the show for bigger things.

Tuesday Weld would indeed go onto bigger things. She appeared prominently in two B-movies, Because They're Young (1960) and the famous Mamie Van Doren vehicle Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) before appearing in the Bing Crosby film High Time (1960). Thereafter she started receiving somewhat better roles in such films as The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960), Return to Peyton Place (1961), Wild in the Country (1961), Bachelor Flat (1962), and Soldier in the Rain (1963). Although it could be argued that by this point in her career Tuesday Weld was already a film star, she continued to appear on television, including guest shots on such shows as The Tab Hunter Show, Bus Stop, Naked City, Route 66,  Ben Casey, The Eleventh Hour, and The Fugitive.

It was perhaps in the mid to late Sixties that Tuesday Weld's movie stardom was at its height. In fact she actually turned down roles in films that would prove be hits, including Bonnie & Clyde and Rosemary's Baby. Regardless, she appeared in such films as I'll Take Sweden (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966),  Pretty Poison (1968), and I Walk the Line (1970). In the Seventies her career slowed, but she appeared in A Safe Place (1971), Play It As It Lays (1972), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Who'll Stop the Rain (1978), and Serial (1980). For Looking for Mr. Goodbar she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Including and following the Eighties Miss Weld has appeared in very little. She appeared in the films Thief (1981), Author! Author! (1982), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Heartbreak Hotel (1988), Falling Down (1993), Feeling Minnesota (1996), Chelsea Walls (2001), and Intimate Affairs (2002).  She also appeared infrequently on television, in several TV films, a presentation of The Hallmark Hall of Fame, and episode of Chillers. She more or less retired in the Naughts.

While James Garner and Steve McQueen achieved television stardom in Westerns, and Tuesday Weld achieved television stardom on a sitcom, Lee Marvin would achieve television stardom on a police drama, M Squad. He would be further set apart from James Garner and Steve McQueen in the sorts of roles he played. While James Garner and Steve McQueen often played heroes (although often with a good deal of moral ambiguity thrown into the mix), Lee Marvin often played heavies. Indeed, in Cat Ballou (1965) he would play both a morally ambiguous hero (washed up gunfighter Kid Shelleen) and a brutal outlaw (Tim Strawn).

Lee Marvin came into acting through rather unlikely circumstances. Following his service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, Mr. Marvin worked as a plumber's apprentice in Woodstock, New York. It was while he was performing repairs at a local theatre that he was asked to take the place of an actor who had gotten sick during a rehearsal. Lee Marvin decided he liked acting and moved to New York City to pursue an acting career there.

Lee Marvin made his television debut in an episode of Escape in 1950. For the next several years he would appear in episodes of such shows as  The Big Story, Fireside Theatre, Biff Baker U.S.A., Dragnet, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Medic, Studio One, and Climax. Unlike some other actors who achieved stardom on television, Lee Marvin actually had a rather impressive film resume before becoming a TV star, albeit it was mainly in supporting roles rather than lead roles. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in You're in the Navy Now (1951). He played similar bit roles in Teresa (1951), Cave of Outlaws (1951), Hong Kong (1952), Diplomatic Courier (1952), We're Not Married! (1952), The Duel at Silver Creek (1952). Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953), and Seminole (1953). He started getting more substantial roles with The Glory Brigade (1953), afterwards appearing in The Big Heat (1953), Gun Fury (1953), The Wild One (1953), The Caine Mutiny (1954) Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), and Raintree County (1957). Lee Marvin then had a very substantial film career before he played Lt. Frank Ballinger on M Squad.

That having been said, it was M Squad that would make Lee Marvin a star. The show essentially did what six years of appearing in supporting roles in movies had not--it made Lee Marvin a household name. M Squad ran for a total of three years, from 1957 to 1960. While on M Squad Lee Marvin continued to make appearances on other TV shows, including Climax, Schlitz Playhouse, and Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. He also appeared in the film The Missouri Traveller (1958).

After M Squad Lee Marvin continued to appear on television for some time, on such shows as Wagon Train, Checkmate G.E. Theatre, Route 66, Combat, Bonanza, The Virginian, The Untouchables, and The Twilight Zone. While Mr. Marvin continued to appear frequently on television, he had much more substantial roles in films, receiving fourth, third, and even second billing in films. He appeared in such films as The Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and Donovan's Reef (1963). If he couldn't be considered a movie star in the years immediately following M Squad, it can certainly be said he achieved it with Cat Ballou in 1965. For his dual role as Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn he received the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Arguably, the period following Cat Ballou saw Lee Marvin's career at its peak. He appeared in such films as Ship of Fools (1965), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Point Blank (1967), Sergeant Ryker (1968), Hell in the Pacific (1968), and Monte Walsh (1970)

While the height of Lee Marvin's career was arguably the late Sixties, his career was still going quite strong in the Seventies. During the decade he appeared in such films as Pocket Money (1972), The Iceman Cometh (1973), The Spikes Gang (1974), Shout at the Devil (1976), The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976), and The Big Red One (1980).  His career slowed a bit in the Eighties, although he appeared in such films as Death Hunt (1981), Gorky Park (1983), Dog Day (1984), and The Delta Force (1986). He also appeared in a made-for-TV sequel to The Dirty Dozen entitled The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission.

While Lee Marvin had a film career prior to his starring role in M Squad, it was arguably the television show that was responsible for him becoming a film star. Prior to M Squad the highest billing Lee Marvin received was third (in both Attack and Seven Men From Now) and that was a rare occurrence. More often than not Mr. Marvin was fourth or fifth bill, or even lower, in the films he made before M Squad. In the first film Lee Marvin made after M Squad had started its run, The Missouri Traveller, he received second billing. After M Squad Lee Marvin was almost always among the top billed in his films, sometimes even playing the lead role. Quite simply, he was a supporting actor in film he was transformed into a lead actor in film by becoming a television star!

Lee Marvin would not be the last television star who made the transition to film in the Sixties. There would be others who would follow him from the small screen to silver screen I will cover them in the third and final part of this series.

From TV to Film: Classic Television Stars who Became Movie Stars Part One

In the early days of television, even into the Seventies, many movie stars made the transition to the new medium. Loretta Young hosted her own anthology show, The Loretta Young Show. Donna Reed had her own sitcom, The Donna Reed Show. Barbara Stanwyck hosted her own anthology show, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, and in the Sixties was the star of the Western The Big Valley. Even Jimmy Stewart would eventually make the transition to television, starring in the sitcom The Jimmy Stewart Show and the mystery series Hawkins in the Seventies.

It has been somewhat rarer for television stars to make the transition to film. At best it seems most television stars could hope for a career in B-movies or, as the case seems to be today, poorly made rom coms. Even today it is rare for a television star to become a movie star. In the past few years George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Will Smith (who also had a music career in addition to being a TV star) have been among the lucky few who have made the transition.

Indeed, it actually seems to me as if it was much more common in the Fifties and Sixties for an actor to make the transition from television to film. From the late Fifties into the mid-Sixties alone James Garner, Steven McQueen, Lee Marvin, and Clint Eastwood went from successful television shows to film roles.  Charles Bronson and James Cobun made the transition from television to film without the benefit of a hit TV programme. It would seem that if there was ever a time for an actor to make the move from television to film, it was the Fifties and Sixties.

When it comes to television stars who later became movie stars, James Garner could have possibly been the first. He had a somewhat auspicious acting debut. A friend convinced him to take a non-speaking part in the Broadway production The Caine Mutiny Court Martial in 1954. He made his television debut in the Warner Brothers Presents episode "Explosion," in which he appeared opposite fellow future movie star Charles Bronson in 1956. That same year he made his film debut in Toward the Unknown (1956). The same year he appeared in the film The Girl He Left Behind (1956). Mr. Garner went onto make guest appearances on the shows Zane Grey Theatre, Conflict, and Cheyenne. He also appeared in the films Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) and Sayonara (1957).

It was in 1957 that James Garner was cast in the role that would make him a star, that of gambler  Bret Maverick on the television show Maverick. The tongue in cheek Western proved highly successful. In its second season (1958-1959) the show ranked #6 in the ratings out of all the shows on the air for the year. For its third season Maverick ranked #20 in the ratings for the year.  Of course, James Garner was not the only star of Maverick. With the demanding shooting schedule of the show (it could take over a week to film just one episode), the producers realised the need for another lead. Jack Kelly then joined the show as Bret's brother Bart Maverick. Bart Maverick first appeared in the eighth episode of the show, "Hostage!", and then rotated with Bret as the lead character of the show, with a few episodes that featured both. While Jack Kelly as Bart developed his own following, there was no doubt that James Garner as Brett remained the star of the show.

 Given the success of Maverick, James Garner became an actor who was very much in demand. When Charlton Heston refused the lead role in the film Darby's Rangers (1958), it went to James Garner. Mr. Garner followed Darby's Rangers with the films Up Periscope (1959) and Cash McCall (1960). Although not smash hits, both films did well at the box office, enough to show that James Garner could play the lead in a feature film. While Maverick was still on the air, then, James Garner had become a movie star.

James Garner left Maverick in its third season because of a dispute with Warner Brothers. Thereafter the role of co-lead role on the show was assumed by other members of the Maverick family, first Beau Maverick (played by Roger Moore) and  then Brent Maverick (played byRobert Colbert). Without James Garner Maverick fell in the ratings. It ended its run in 1962. As to James Garner, after Maverick he continued to be a bona fide movie star. Throughout the Sixties he appeared in such films as The Children's Hour (1961), Boys' Night Out (1962), The Great Escape (1963), The Thrill of It All (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), and Marlowe (1969).

James Garner would return to television. He stared in the short lived Seventies series Nichols and then the much more successful Rockford Files. He appeared as Bret in the pilot for the Maverick spin off Young Maverick, which centred on Beau Maverick's son Ben. In the Eighties he would even return to the role of Bret Maverick in the short lived show Bret Maverick. Despite having returned to television, however, James Garner would remain a movie star. Over the years he appeared in such films as Skin Game (1971), Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), Space Cowboys (2000) , and The Notebook (2004).

While James Garner may have been the first film star to emerge from a television series, he would not be the only one for long.   Steve McQueen would achieve film stardom not long after James Garner, Indeed, the two would even appear together in The Great Escape (1963).  In 1952, following a stint in the Marines, Steve McQueen studied acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. It was also in 1952 that Mr. McQueen reportedly said his first line of dialogue on stage, in a production staged by Yiddish star Molly Picon. It was in 1953 that Steve McQueen made his film debut, as an extra in Girl on the Run (1953).

It was in 1955 that Steve McQueen made his television debut in an episode of Goodyear Television Playhouse, "The Chivington Raid". The next few years he would make some very high profile appearances on television, including such shows as The United States Steel Hour, Studio One, The 20th Century Fox Hour, and Tales of Well Fargo. Mr. McQueen also appeared in movies, most notably in the cult classic The Blob (1958).  He also had an uncredited role in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and a somewhat larger part in Never Love a Stranger (1958). It would be the Western television series Trackdown that would lead to Steve McQueen receiving his own television show and hence achieving stardom.

Trackdown starred Robert Culp as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman. It was one of an number of Westerns, including Tales of Wells Fargo and The Rifleman, produced by Four Star Television. It was during the first season of Trackdown that its producer, Vincent M. Fennelly, decided he wanted a companion series for the show. He developed the idea for a show that would centre upon a bounty hunter who generally tried to bring criminals alive. It was also decided that the pilot for the new show, eventually titled Wanted: Dead or Alive, would air as an episode of Trackdown. It was the star of Trackdown, Robert Culp, who suggested Steve McQueen for the role of bounty hunter Josh Randall. The pilot for Wanted: Dead or Alive, simply entitled "The Bounty Hunter", aired on CBS on 7 March 1958. Audience reaction to Steve McQueen as Josh Randall was overwhelmingly positive, and CBS placed Wanted: Dead or Alive on its fall schedule for the 1958-1959 schedule.

Wanted: Dead or Alive proved extremely popular. In its first season it ranked #16 in the ratings out of all the shows on the air. In turn, Steve McQueen became one of the most popular and recognisable new stars of the 1958-1959 season. The money made from Wanted: Dead or Alive reflected this. Initially he was paid $750 an episode. In no time this rose to $100,000 a year. Mr. McQueen's popularity would also lead to film roles. He appeared in a major role in Never So Few (1959) with Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida. He played the lead in The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959). In addition to these two movie roles, Steve McQueen also made memorable guest appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the episodes "Human Interest Story" and "Man From the South".

It would be Steve McQueen's next film that would not only establish him as a movie star. The Mirisch Company had bought the rights to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and offered director John Sturges to remake the samurai movie as a Western. Having worked with Steve McQueen on Never So Few, Mr. Sturges offered the role of Vin to Steve McQueen. Although he was given third billing after lead actor Yul Brynner and villain Eli Wallach, there can be no doubt that Steve McQueen was the star of The Magnificent Seven. In fact, Mr. Brynner was a bit annoyed that Mr. McQueen seemed to be able to steal virtually any scene that he was in. If Wanted: Dead or Alive had made Steve McQueen a television star, The Magnificent Seven (1960) turned him into a movie star.

Steve McQueen returned to Wanted: Dead or Alive for a third season, but he was pleased with it. He had become unhappy with the show, particularly with its current scripts and the directors it was employing. He was eager to get off the show and back into major motion pictures. Fortunately for Mr. McQueen, Wanted: Dead or Alive had been scheduled in a new time slot on Wednesday night between a new show, a Sea Hunt rip off entitled The Aquanauts, and the comedy My Sister Eileen. Having ranked #9 in the ratings out of all the shows on the air for its second season, its ratings crashed in its third. The once successful Wanted: Dead or Alive was cancelled in its third season after 94 episodes.

This was fortunate for Steve McQueen, who would go onto a highly successful film career. He starred in such films as The Honeymoon Machine (1961) and Hell Is for Heroes (1962) before starring in another iconic motion picture, again directed by John Sturges. If The Magnificent Seven had not made Steve McQueen a star, The Great Escape (1963) most certainly would have. Indeed, his role as Hilts "The Cooler King", may be his best known role. For the rest of the Sixties Mr. McQueen starred in such films as Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and Bullitt (1968). He career continued to prosper in the Seventies, when he starred in such films as The Getaway (1972), Papillon (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Tom Horn (1980). Had he not died in 1979, it seems quite possible that his career as a film star could have continued well into the Naughts and the Teens.

 Both James Garner and Steve McQueen starred in highly successful television shows before they achieved stardom in film. This was not the case with James Coburn. While James Coburn also started in television, he never starred in a hit series, with most of his television career spent as a guest star on several different shows. He studied acting at  Los Angeles City College and made his acting debut at the he La Jolla Playhouse in a production of  Billy Budd.  He made his television debut in the episode of Studio One, "The Night America Trembled".

Afterwards James Coburn appeared frequently on television. He guest starred on such shows as Suspicion, G.E. Theatre, and Wagon Train. He made his film debut in Budd Boetticher's Ride Lonesome, playing the sidekick to an actor who would soon achieve television stardom (Pernell Roberts, who played Adam Cartwright on Bonanza). Following Ride Lonesome he appeared on many more television shows, including Black Saddle, The Restless Gun, M Squad (starring Lee Marvin), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bat Masterson, Peter Gunn, Have Gun--Will Travel, Bonanza, and Wanted: Dead or Alive (on which he befriended Steve McQueen). He also appeared in the film Face of a Fugitive (1959).

James Coburn would eventually receive his own series, starring in Klondike in the 1960-1961 season. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, the show did not prove successful. It ended its run in less than a season, going off the air on 13 February 1961. Despite the failure of Klondike, 1960 would be a very good year for James Coburn. He learned from his friend Robert Vaughn that Mr. Vaughn had been cast in The Magnificent Seven, a remake of a film with which Mr. Coburn had been particularly impressed, Seven Samurai. Told by Robert Vaughn that some of the roles had not yet been cast, he visited director John Sturges and within hours found him cast as master knife thrower Britt. With only 11 lines James Coburn made a strong impression on viewers, so that Britt easily became one of the most popular characters in The Magnificent Seven. While the film would not turn James Coburn into a movie star, it certainly set the stage for his ascent to film stardom.

Following The Magnificent Seven James Coburn made yet more guest appearances on television, including such shows as Lawman, The Detectives, The Untouchables, and Laramie. During the 1960-1961 television season he had yet another show, Acapulco, which even starred his co-lead from Klondike, Ralph Traeger. If anything, however, Acapulco proved even less successful than Klondike. It only lasted eight episodes. James Coburn guest starred on yet more shows, including more appearances on Bonanza and appearances on shows such as Perry Mason and Naked City.

Having appeared in The Magnificent Seven, however, James Coburn was not longer simply a television star. He appeared in the film Hell is for Heroes in 1962. In 1963 he would appear in no less than three films: The Great Escape, Charade, and The Man From Galveston.  Also directed by John Sturges, like The Magnificent Seven would be a star making film, with Mr. Coburn playing Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick RAAF, "The Manufacturer". He also had large roles in Charade and The Man From Galveston. These roles would be followed by large parts in The Americanization of Emily (1964), Major Dundee (1965), and A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), as well as a cameo in The Loved One (1965).

It would be James Coburn's role as Derek Flint in the 1966 spy spoof Our Man Flint that would arguably turn him into a bona fide film star. It was Mr. Coburn's first leading role and the film proved to be a smash hit. James Coburn's days as a frequent guest star on television were over. For the remainder of the Sixties he appeared in such films as What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966), Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966), In Like Flint (1967), The President's Analyst (1967), Duffy (1968), Candy (1968), and Hard Contract (1969). In the Seventies he appeared in such films as Duck, You Sucker (1971), The Carey Treatment (1972), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), Jackpot (1975), The Last Hard Men (1976), Midway (1976), Cross of Iron (1977),  and The Baltimore Bullet (1980). On television he appeared in the mini-series The Dain Curse.

 By the Eighties James Coburn's career would transition from leading man to character actor. He appeared in such films as High Risk (1981), Looker (1981), Martin's Day (1985), Call from Space (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), The Hit List (1993), Maverick (1994), The Nutty Professor (1996), Keys to Tulsa (1996), The Good Doctor (2000), Intrepid (2000), Snow Dogs (2002), and American Gun (2002). He also returned to television, appearing in various TV movies (Draw! and Silverfox among them), as well as the TV shows The Fifth Corner, Murder She Wrote, and Arli$$. James Coburn died of a heart attack on 18 November 2002, still very much a movie star.

James Garner, Steve McQueen, and James Coburn were hardly the only television stars who made the transition from television to film. What is more, some of them were like James Coburn, in that they did not have the benefit of a hit series to help promote their career. It would seem that the Fifties and Sixties were an ideal time for an actor to move from television to film. In Part Two I'll explore more such stars.