Doug McClure
Encyclopedia
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure (May 11, 1935 – February 5, 1995) was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. Born in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...

, to Donald Reed McClure and the former Clara Clapp, he is best known for his appearances as Trampas in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

 series The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...

.

Career

One thing that stood in McClure's favor with directors was that he was so easygoing and fun to be with. James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...

 (his Virginian co-star) once said of him, "Anytime I laid eyes on Doug, I couldn’t help smiling. He was the finest guy I ever knew." As quoted in Trail Dust magazine, ""He will always remain a very special and gutsy man. A man who brought his version of "Trampas" into the living rooms every week. A boyish cowhand with a devil-may-care attitude. Doug playing Doug." McClure was also great with horses, which was a factor in his later success as Trampas in The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...

. To put it in his own words, "I love being around horses and the kind of guys who work in westerns. I guess I’ve done so much of it it’s like being home." McClure's acting career included such movies as The Enemy Below
The Enemy Below
The Enemy Below is a 1957 war film which tells the story of the battle between the captain of an American destroyer escort and the commander of a German U-boat during World War II. It stars Robert Mitchum, Curt Jürgens, David Hedison and Theodore Bikel. The movie was directed and produced by Dick...

, South Pacific
South Pacific (film)
South Pacific is a 1958 musical romance film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and based on James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific...

, The Unforgiven, and Because They're Young
Because They're Young
Because They're Young is a 1960 film from Columbia Pictures, starring Dick Clark as Neil Hendry, an American high school teacher who tries to make a difference in the lives of his students. The film co-starred Tuesday Weld, Warren Berlinger, Roberta Shore, Doug McClure, and Victoria Shaw. It was...

, before landing the part of Trampas on The Virginian - a part that would make him famous. He also starred in three other series: (1) as Frank "Flip" Flippen on NBC's western, Overland Trail
Overland Trail (TV series)
Overland Trail is a short-lived American Western series which aired on NBC from February 7 to June 6, 1960. The series starred William Bendix and Doug McClure,-Synopsis:...

(1960), with co-star William Bendix
William Bendix
William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...

, (2) as Jed Sills on the CBS detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 series Checkmate
Checkmate (TV series)
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...

(1960–1962) opposite Anthony George
Anthony George
Anthony George was an American actor mostly seen on television. He is best known for roles of Don Corley in Checkmate, Burke Devlin and Jeremiah Collins on Dark Shadows, and Dr. Will Vernon on One Life to Live....

 as Don Corey and Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...

 as Dr. Carl Hyatt, and finally in the sci-fi/detective series Search
Search (TV series)
Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe...

(1972-73) in which he rotated the lead with Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...

 and Tony Franciosa as a high-tech PROBE agent. In 1958 and 1959, McClure appeared in three episodes of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 western series 26 Men
26 Men
26 Men is a syndicated American western television series about the Arizona Rangers, an elite group commissioned in 1901 by the legislature of the Arizona Territory and limited, for financial reasons, to twenty-six active members. Russell Hayden was the producer of the series and the co-composer of...

, stories of the Arizona Rangers
Arizona Rangers
The Arizona Rangers is an Arizona law enforcement agency modeled on the Texas Rangers. The Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, disbanded in 1909, and subsequently reformed in 1957. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws in the sparsely...

. He appeared as Adam Davis in 1959 in the episode "The Court Martial of Trooper Davis" of the syndicated series Mackenzie's Raiders
Mackenzie's Raiders
Mackenzie's Raiders is an American Western television series starring Richard Carlson that aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959. The series was narrated by Art Gilmore.-Synopsis:...

starring Richard Carlson. He was in the third episode of The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...

, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday
Mr. Denton on Doomsday
"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is the third episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. This is the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun.-Plot summary:...

". Then in 1962, he got the part of Trampas in NBC's The Virginian. McClure's The Virginian co-stars throughout the series were James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...

, Roberta Shore
Roberta Shore
Roberta Jymme Schourop , better known as Roberta Shore, is an American actress and performer, most famous for her youthful television and movie roles in the 1950s and early 1960s....

, Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...

, Randy Boone
Randy Boone
Clyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone , is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip...

, Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke
Gary Clarke is an American actor best known for his role as Steve Hill in the NBC western television series The Virginian with James Drury. Clarke appeared on the program only for its first three seasons, 1962—1964...

, Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...

, Diane Roter
Diane Roter
Diane Roter is an American actress best known for her appearances in the long running TV western The Virginian in its fourth season which ran from 1965 to 1966. She then appeared in an episode of Laredo which was a spin off from The Virginian series in 1966 and later appeared in an episode of the...

, Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...

, and John McIntire
John McIntire
John McIntire was an American character actor.-Career:The craggy-faced film actor was born in Spokane in eastern Washington State but reared in Montana, growing up around ranchers and cowboys, an experience that would later inspire his performances in dozens of westerns.A graduate of USC, McIntire...

.

After the show ended in 1971, McClure starred in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s such as At the Earth's Core
At the Earth's Core (film)
At the Earth's Core is a 1976 science fiction film produced by Britain's Amicus Productions. It was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Philippa Herring and Doug McClure. It was filmed in Technicolor...

, The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot
The People That Time Forgot (film)
The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions, all directed by Kevin Connor...

, all three based on the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

. In 1967, he played the Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...

 role in a re-make of Against All Flags titled The King's Pirate. He also played the lead in two World War II adventures, The Longest Hundred Miles and The Birdmen. In the 1970s and 80s McClure appeared in commercials for Hamms Beer.

In 1994, McClure was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

 for Television at 7065 Hollywood Blvd. It was unveiled in what proved to be his final public appearance.

Death

On February 5, 1995, McClure died from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

 in Sherman Oaks, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. He was 59 and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery. In addition to his fifth wife, he is survived by three daughters, including Valerie and Tane McClure
Tane McClure
Tané McClure is an American singer, actress and film producer.McClure was born in Los Angeles County, California and raised in Hawaii. She is the daughter of actor Doug McClure. She sang in a Latin jazz band, Sweet Honesty, in the mid-1970s, and moved to San Francisco towards the end of the decade...

, who is an actress. (A popular misconception is that fellow actor Marc McClure
Marc McClure
Marc A. McClure is an American actor. McClure was born in San Mateo, California. He is not, despite a popular misconception, related to the late Doug McClure.-Superman film series:...

, who portrayed Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...

 in the Superman movies, is Doug's son; actually, the two are not related.)

Other Information

The character of Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...

 on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

was designed after him along with Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...

. Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...

, executive producer of The Simpsons, said that Doug McClure's daughter informed him that Doug was a big fan of The Simpsons. She said that while watching an episode Doug saw the character Troy McClure on the show and said, "Are they making fun of me?" Doug said he thought the parody was funny and his kids would call him Troy McClure behind his back as a joke.

Filmography

  • The Enemy Below
    The Enemy Below
    The Enemy Below is a 1957 war film which tells the story of the battle between the captain of an American destroyer escort and the commander of a German U-boat during World War II. It stars Robert Mitchum, Curt Jürgens, David Hedison and Theodore Bikel. The movie was directed and produced by Dick...

    (1957)
  • South Pacific
    South Pacific (film)
    South Pacific is a 1958 musical romance film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and based on James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific...

    (1958)
  • Gidget
    Gidget
    Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...

    (1959)
  • The Unforgiven
    The Unforgiven (1960 film)
    The Unforgiven is a 1960 American western film filmed in Durango, Mexico released in 1960. The film was directed by John Huston and starred Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford and Lillian Gish...

    (1960)
  • Because They're Young
    Because They're Young
    Because They're Young is a 1960 film from Columbia Pictures, starring Dick Clark as Neil Hendry, an American high school teacher who tries to make a difference in the lives of his students. The film co-starred Tuesday Weld, Warren Berlinger, Roberta Shore, Doug McClure, and Victoria Shaw. It was...

    (1960)
  • The Lively Set
    The Lively Set
    The Lively Set is a 1964 film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars James Darren, Pamela Tiffin and Doug McClure.-Plot:Young mechanic Casey Owens designs a turbine engine that could lead to an automotive land-speed record...

    (1964)
  • Shenandoah
    Shenandoah (film)
    Shenandoah is a 1965 American Civil War film starring James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, and Katharine Ross. The picture was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Though set during the American Civil War, the film's strong antiwar and humanitarian themes resonated with audiences...

    (1965)
  • Beau Geste
    Beau Geste
    Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It has been adapted for the screen several times.-Plot summary:Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist. The main narrator , by contrast, is his younger brother John...

    (1966)
  • The King's Pirate (1967)
  • Nobody's Perfect (1968)
  • Backtrack (1969)
  • Terror in the Sky (1971)
  • Playmates (1972)
  • The Judge and Jake Wyler
    The Judge and Jake Wyler
    The Judge and Jake Wyler is an American television movie directed by David Lowell Rich. The teleplay was written by Richard Levinson, William Link, and David Shaw. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on December 2, 1972....

    (1972)
  • State of Division aka Death Race (1973
  • Die blutigen Geier von Alaska (Germany, 1973)
  • The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
  • At the Earth's Core
    At the Earth's Core (film)
    At the Earth's Core is a 1976 science fiction film produced by Britain's Amicus Productions. It was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Philippa Herring and Doug McClure. It was filmed in Technicolor...

    (1976)
  • SST: Death Flight
    SST: Death Flight
    SST Death Flight is a 1977 made-for-TV movie produced by ABC Circle Films. It featured an all-star television cast and was directed by David Lowell Rich, who went on to direct The Concorde ... Airport '79...

    (1977)
  • The People That Time Forgot
    The People That Time Forgot (film)
    The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions, all directed by Kevin Connor...

    (1977)
  • Warlords of Atlantis
    Warlords of Atlantis
    Warlords of Atlantis is a 1978 British science fiction, fantasy film. As the title suggests, the film is about a trip to the lost world of Atlantis. The movie was directed by Kevin Connor from a screen play by Brian Hayles. It was filmed in color with monaural sound and English dialogue, and runs...

    (1978)
  • Wild and Wooly
    Wild and Wooly
    Wild and Wooly is a 1978 comedy/western TV movie about four turn-of-the-century women who break out of prison to foil an Irish assassin out to kill the President. It starred Charles Siebert, David Doyle, Elyssa Davalos, Vic Morrow, and Doug McClure. It was directed by Philip Leacock....

    (1978)
  • The Rebels - Pt. 2 of the Kent Family Chronicles (1979)
  • Humanoids from the Deep
    Humanoids from the Deep
    Humanoids from the Deep is a 1980 science fiction monster movie, starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's Executive Producer, and the film was distributed by his New World Pictures. It was directed by Barbara Peeters...

    (1980)
  • Firebird 2015 A.D. (1981)
  • The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
  • Cannonball Run II
    Cannonball Run II
    See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Run II comedy film featuring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest...

    (1984)
  • 52 Pick-Up
    52 Pick-Up
    52 Pick-Up is a 1986 crime thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer. The film stars Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret and is based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name.-Plot:...

    (1986)
  • Omega Syndrome (1986)
  • Prime Suspect (1988)
  • Tapeheads
    Tapeheads
    Tapeheads is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman. The film stars John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Sam Moore, and Junior Walker. The movie was produced by Michael Nesmith, who is seen briefly in the film as a bottled water delivery man.-Plot:...

    (1988)
  • Dark Before Dawn (1988)
  • Battling for Baby (1992)
  • Dead Man's Revenge (1993)
  • Maverick
    Maverick (film)
    Maverick is a 1994 Western comedy film based on the 1950s television series of the same name, created by Roy Huggins. The film was directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by William Goldman and features Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, as well as several cameo appearances...

    (1994)
  • Riders in the Storm (1995)

Television

  • Twilight Zone
    Twilight zone
    -Television series and spinoffs:*The Twilight Zone, the anthology television series and its franchise:**The Twilight Zone , the 1959–1964 original television series***Twilight Zone: The Movie, a 1983 film based on the original series...

    -plays a gunslinger " doomsday (1959)
  • COronado 9
    COronado 9
    Coronado 9 is a syndicated crime drama set in San Diego, California, starring Rod Cameron as Dan Adams, a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned private detective. Coronado 9 is Adams's address; the numeral 9 on a rock shown near his front door in the opening credits denotes the...

    - Jimmy Hoke in "The Widow of Kill Cove" (1960)
  • Johnny Midnight
    Johnny Midnight (TV series)
    Johnny Midnight is an American crime drama that aired for one season in syndicated from January to December 1960. The series stars Edmond O'Brien as the title character.-Synopsis:...

    - Rice in "Mother's Boy" (1960)
  • Overland Trail
    Overland Trail (TV series)
    Overland Trail is a short-lived American Western series which aired on NBC from February 7 to June 6, 1960. The series starred William Bendix and Doug McClure,-Synopsis:...

    - Frank Flippin (1960)
  • Checkmate
    Checkmate (TV series)
    Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...

    - Jed Sills (1960–1962)
  • The Virginian
    The Virginian (TV series)
    The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...

    - Trampas (1962–1971)
  • The Longest Hundred Miles (1967)
  • Escape of the Birdmen (1971)
  • Barbary Coast - Cash Conover (1975)
  • Satan's Triangle - Lt. J. Haig (1975)
  • Search
    Search (TV series)
    Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe...

    - C. R. Grover (1972–1973)
  • Roots
    Roots (TV miniseries)
    Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...

    - Jimmy Brent (1977)
  • Out of This World
    Out of This World (TV series)
    Out Of This World is an American fantasy sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. It first aired in U.S. syndication on September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991. It was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV network on April 9, 1990, usually at...

    - Mayor Kyle Applegate (1987–1991)
  • In The Heat Of The Night:Time's Long Shadow (1994)
  • The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1994)

External links

  • http://www.movies.com/actors/doug-mcclure/doug-mcclure-biography/p281785
  • http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/dougmcclure.html
  • http://www.buckskins.com/McClures_Trampas.htm
  • Doug McClure at Find A Grave
    Find A Grave
    Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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