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Robert Horton (actor)

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Not to be confused with American hydrologist Robert E. Horton.

Robert Horton
Horton in Police Woman (1976)
Born
Mead Howard Horton Jr.

(1924-07-29)July 29, 1924
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 9, 2016(2016-03-09) (aged 91)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materUCLA
Occupations
  • Television
  • film
  • stage actor
  • singer
Years active1945–1989
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Mary Jobe
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1946; div. 1950)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1953; div. 1956)​
  • Marilynn Bradley
    ​
    (m. 1960)​
Websitewww.roberthorton.com
Horton in Wagon Train, 1957
Horton and Ward Bond in Wagon Train, 1957
Horton in A Man Called Shenandoah, 1965
Horton and Jill St. John in The Spy Killer (1969)
Horton, Angie Dickinson and Earl Holliman in Police Woman, 1976

Mead Howard "Robert" Horton Jr. (July 29, 1924 – March 9, 2016) was an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Flint McCullough in Wagon Train (1957–1962).

Early life

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One of two sons, Mead Howard Horton Jr. was born on July 29, 1924, in Los Angeles. His parents were Mead Howard Horton Sr. and Chelta McMurrin.[1]

Horton said that he never felt he fitted into his proper Latter-day Saint household because at times he was rather impetuous.[2] He survived several surgeries in childhood, including hernia repair and treatment for an enlarged kidney. Horton attended California Military Institute in Perris, where he played football.[3] After graduation in 1943 at age 19, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, but was medically discharged because of his kidney.[4]

In 1945, a chance encounter with a talent scout led to an uncredited part in Lewis Milestone's film A Walk in the Sun (1945). He first studied dramatics at the University of Miami[1] but later changed schools and graduated cum laude from UCLA.[5]

Career

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Horton's experience on stage included work with the American Theatre Wing in New York City, where he was the "resident leading man".[1] From that, he was signed to a contract with MGM Studios,[1] where he "appeared in numerous films."[6] His "first major TV role" was in Ford Theatre in the episode "Portrait of Lydia" on December 16, 1954.[7]: 297 

In his six decades of television, Horton, who became known for his voice, was most noted for his role as the frontier scout Flint McCullough in the television series Wagon Train from 1957 to 1962. His co-stars were Ward Bond, John McIntire, Terry Wilson, and Frank McGrath. He eventually quit the series to pursue a career in musical theater.[8][9]

His role on Wagon Train was taken by Robert Fuller as the scout Cooper Smith. Fuller, a veteran of the western series Laramie, resembled Horton, and the two actors coincidentally shared the same birthday, albeit nine years apart.[10]

Horton played Drake McHugh,[11] Ronald Reagan's role in the television version of Kings Row (1955), which featured Jack Kelly, and ran for seven episodes as part of the Warner Bros. Presents series, rotating with a television version of Casablanca and Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker.

The ruggedly handsome Horton made dozens of appearances in movies and television shows between 1951 and 1989, including a small role in the film Bright Road starring Dorothy Dandridge, an episode of Ray Milland's sitcom Meet Mr. McNutley and on the syndicated Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. Horton played Corporal Tom Vaughn in an episode "False Prophet" (1956) on Crossroads.

Horton appeared on seven episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including memorably as a tennis-playing insurance investigator and blackmailer opposite Betsy von Furstenberg in "The Disappearing Trick", directed by Arthur Hiller.[12] He was cast as Danny Barnes in the episode "No Place to Hide" of The DuPont Show with June Allyson as well as appeared on the interview program Here's Hollywood and NBC's anthology series The Barbara Stanwyck Show.[13] He appeared several times on The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

In the 1960s, Horton made two 45 RPM singles on the Columbia Records label: "The Very Thought of You"/"Hey There" and "King of the Road"/"Julie".[6] The former's A-side was also the title track of an album he released on the same label.[14]

Horton performed for many years in theaters and nightclubs all over America, and in Australia as a singer (sometimes with his wife, the former Marilynn Bradley). In 1963, producer David Merrick hired him as the male lead in the musical version of N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker (titled 110 in the Shade).[6] The musical, with a score by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, ran for 330 performances on Broadway.[15]

Horton is also remembered for his offbeat role as an amnesiac in the 1965–1966 television series A Man Called Shenandoah.[11]: 649 

In 1966, he starred in The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones, the first Western made specifically for television and simultaneous distribution to cinemas in Europe.[16] It was made by MGM and co-starred Sal Mineo and Diane Baker.[17]

In 1968, two years later, Horton co-starred in The Green Slime, a low-budget Japanese-American science fiction film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku and shot entirely in Japan, but with an American and European cast. His character Jack Rankin leads the crew of a space station in a battle for survival against one-eyed tentacled aliens that rapidly multiply as they feed on the station's sources of electricity.[18][19]

From 1983 to 1984, Horton took a turn in daytime soap operas, playing the part of Whit McColl on As the World Turns.[7]

Personal life

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Horton was married to Mary Jobe from 1946 until 1950, and to Barbara Ruick from 1953 until 1956; both marriages ended in divorce.[20] In 1960, he married Marilynn Bradley, and they remained married until his death in 2016.[2]

Following his 85th birthday in 2009, Horton announced, through his publicist, that he no longer would be making any personal appearances because he had tired of traveling.[21]

Horton was a licensed pilot and aircraft owner.[22]

"His three greatest thrills were his first solo flight, a performance before Queen Elizabeth II, and being featured on Ralph Edwards' This Is Your Life. His frequent co-pilot was his French poodle, "Jamie".[23]

Initially a Republican, he supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.[24]

Awards

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He was the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards for television, including the Golden Boot in 2004,[25] and also the Cowboy Spirit Award at the National Festival of the West. On his 90th birthday, he received the Western Legend Award.[26]

Death

[edit]

Horton was injured in a fall in November 2015, and was placed in hospice care.[2] He died on March 9, 2016, at the age of 91 in a Los Angeles rehabilitation clinic.[27]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1945 A Walk in the Sun Jack Uncredited
1951 The Tanks Are Coming Captain Bob Horner Uncredited
1952 Return of the Texan Dr. Jim Harris
1952 Apache War Smoke Tom Herrera
1952 Pony Soldier Jess Calhoun
1953 The Story of Three Loves Friendly Young Man on Ship (segment "Mademoiselle"), Uncredited
1953 Bright Road Dr. Mitchell
1953 Code Two Russ Hartley
1953 Arena Jackie Roach
1954 Prisoner of War Francis Aloysius Belney
1954 Men of the Fighting Lady Ensign Neil Conovan
1956 The Man Is Armed Dr. Michael Benning
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Gil Larkin Season 1 Episode 37: "Decoy"
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mason Bridges Season 2 Episode 9: "The Crack of Doom"
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents John Fenton Season 2 Episode 13: "Mr. Blanchard's Secret"
1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Wallace Donaldson Season 2 Episode 19: "A Bottle of Wine"
1958 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Walter Richmond Season 3 Episode 27: "Disappearing Trick"
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Brad Taylor Season 4 Episode 18: "The Last Dark Step"
1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ray Marchand Season 5 Episode 38: "Hooked"
1957–62 Wagon Train Flint McCullough Last onscreen episode is Season 5, Episode 36; credit only in episode 37
1965-66 A Man Called Shenandoah "Shenandoah" TV series
1966 The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones Kiowa Jones TV movie
1968 The Green Slime Commander Jack Rankin
1969 The Spy Killer John Smith TV movie
1970 Foreign Exchange TV movie
1976 Police Woman Frank Armitage
1988 Red River Mr. Melville, Cattle Buyer TV movie
1989 Murder, She Wrote Jack Hutchings

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Mail Bag". Waco Tribune-Herald. Waco, TX. January 22, 1967. p. 56. Retrieved June 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ a b c Slotnik, Daniel E. (March 15, 2016). "Robert Horton, Handsome 'Wagon Train' Star Who Wanted More, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Robert Horton, 91, Wagon Train actor". San Francisco Chronicle. March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Sage, Alyssa (March 15, 2016). "Robert Horton, 'Wagon Train' Actor, Dies at 91". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  5. ^ "Robert Horton Obituary". Legacy.com. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Leszczak, Bob (2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950–2000. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 157–58. ISBN 9781442242746.
  7. ^ a b McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.). New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 62. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  8. ^ "TV Westerns – Wagon Train". FiftiesWeb. August 4, 1998. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  9. ^ Rosen, James (2008). Wagon train : the television series. Autumn Road Co. ISBN 978-0972868440.
  10. ^ "The Official Robert Fuller Website: Biography". Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7, p. 567.
  12. ^ "Alfred Hitchcock Presents : Disappearing Trick (1958) - Arthur Hiller | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  13. ^ "Archival Television Audio - Search Results". www.atvaudio.com.
  14. ^ Watts, Randy; Callahan, Mike; Edwards, David; Eyries, Patrice. "Columbia Main Series, Part 18: CL 2200-2299/CS 9000–9099 (1964–1965)". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "110 in the Shade – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  16. ^ "The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones (1966) - Alex March | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  17. ^ "The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones (1966)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017.
  18. ^ "The Green Slime (1968) - Kinji Fukasaku | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  19. ^ "The Green Slime" – via mubi.com.
  20. ^ Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 215. ISBN 9781476628561.
  21. ^ "Whatsnew". Roberthorton.com. November 17, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  22. ^ "Robert Horton Obituary". Syracuse Post Standard. March 14, 2016.
  23. ^ "Actor-Pilot ROBERT HORTON". Plane and Pilot. July 1967.
  24. ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
  25. ^ "Golden Boot Awards 2004". Golden Boot Awards. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  26. ^ "The National Day of The Cowboy". Brownpapertickets.com. June 18, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  27. ^ "Western Movies and More". Westernclippings.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
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