Myron Healey

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Myron Healey
Healey in the TV series Stories of the Century, episode "The Dalton Gang"
Born
Myron Daniel Healey

(1923-06-08)June 8, 1923
Petaluma, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 21, 2005(2005-12-21) (aged 82)
Simi Valley, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1943–1994
Spouses
Dorothy Ann Pemberton
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1948)​
Leslie Wright Hall
​
​
(m. 1961, divorced)​
Elizabeth Mary D'Errico
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1968)​
Adair Jameson
​
​
(m. 1971; div. 1972)​
Children2

Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career spanning more than half a century.

Early years[edit]

Healey was born in Petaluma in Sonoma County, California,[1] the son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert D. Healey.[2] He served in World War II as an Air Corps navigator and bombardier,[3] flying in B-26 Martin Marauders in the European Theatre. After the war he continued military duties, retiring in the early 1960s as a captain in the United States Air Force Reserve.

Acting career[edit]

Healey's film debut came in 1943 with Young Ideas.[3] Returning to film work after WWII, he played villains and henchmen in low-budget Western films. He also did some screenwriting. In the post-war period he was frequently seen in Westerns from Monogram Pictures, often starring Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely and Whip Wilson.

In the 1950s Healey moved to more "bad guy" roles in other films, including the Bomba and Jungle Jim series, crime dramas and more westerns. He portrayed the bandit Bob Dalton in an episode of the syndicated television series Stories of the Century, starring and narrated by Jim Davis. In 1955 he played a "good guy" for a change as Phyllis Coates' partner in the 1955 Republic Pictures serial Panther Girl of the Kongo.

Earlier in 1952, Healey was cast in one of the first episodes of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by the "Old Ranger" (Stanley Andrews).

Healey appeared seven times as Capt. Bandcroft in The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951–55). He was cast twice in 1957-58 as Becker in two episodes of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series Colt .45 starring Wayde Preston, seven times (1950–57) in the long-running The Lone Ranger, and ten times (1952–55) in The Roy Rogers Show television series.

Healey played the outlaw Johnny Ringo in the western television series Tombstone Territory, with Pat Conway as Sheriff Clay Hollister, in the episode "Johnny Ringo's Last Ride" with a teleplay by Sam Peckinpah. He appeared in an episode of the children's western series Buckskin, which aired on NBC from 1958 to 1959. He was a semi-regular on programs produced by Gene Autry's Flying A production company: Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Jr., The Range Rider, and The Gene Autry Show. He also guest-starred on the crime drama with a modern Western setting, The Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield, and in the Western set in the 1840s, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin. He also appeared in an episode of the second season of Zorro.

Between 1960 and 1963, Healey appeared five times on the NBC western Laramie, starring John Smith and Robert Fuller. He appeared ten times on another NBC western, The Virginian, and four times on Laredo. He also made appearances on Gunsmoke.

From 1959 to 1961, he played Maj. Peter Horry, top aide to Leslie Nielsen, in the miniseries Swamp Fox on Walt Disney Presents, based on the American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion.[4]

In 1970 Healey appeared as Wardlow in the TV western "The Men From Shiloh" (the rebranded name of The Virginian) in the episode titled "Jenny".

The television role that Healey may be best remembered is that of "Doc Holliday" in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp TV series which starred Hugh O'Brian. He played that role for one season when Douglas Fowley, the regular Doc Holliday on the series, was away on a movie job

Collectively, Healey appeared in some 140 films, including 81 westerns and three serials. Among his non-western pictures, he appeared in at least two horror films: the Americanized version of the Japanese giant-monster movie Varan the Unbelievable (1958) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977).

Death[edit]

In 2005, Healey broke his hip in a fall and never recovered. He died at the age of 82 at a hospital near his home in Simi Valley, California.[3]

Recognition[edit]

In 2000, Healey received a Golden Boot Award for his contributions to Western films and television programs.[5]

Selected filmography[edit]

Feature films include
Other western appearances include
  • The Cisco Kid (1951-1954) - Jim Gault / Don White / E.B. Johnson / Sloan / Drake - Henchman
  • The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1955-1956) - Morrel / Odds-On O'Connor / Jesse Harkness
  • Cheyenne (1955-1961) - Tully / Wesley Mason / Chip Claney / Lew Lattimer / Carl Thompson
  • Sheriff of Cochise (1956) - Dillon
  • Judge Roy Bean (1956) - John Gorman / Hurley / Jake Winters / Bert Reno
  • State Trooper (1957-1959) - Big Nels / Ed Benson / Red Shawn
  • Maverick (1958-1961) - Frank Mercer / Jed Benedict / Jim Mundy
  • Wagon Train (1958-1964) - Wayne Rossen / Sergeant Bob Rollins / Doc Curley / Mr. O'Neal / Deputy Sheriff / Sergeant Oakes / Steve Wilson / Bill Miller
  • Cimarron City (1959) - Clayton Buckley
  • Bat Masterson (1959) - Colonel Marc James in “To The Manner Born” and Jack Latigo in “Lottery of Death”.
  • The Texan (1959-1960) - Gait Gaylor / Clay Calder / Sheriff Ed Courtney
  • Rawhide (1959-1962) - Willie / Lou Calvert / Jeb / Gun Guard
  • Zane Grey Theater (1960) episode "Seed of Evil" as Sam Brady
  • The Alaskans (1960) - Fred Simmons
  • Laramie (American TV series) (1961) Episode "Handful of Fire" as Army Lt. Paul Harmon. He gets wounded but not killed!
  • The Rebel (1961) - Mac McGowan
  • Whispering Smith (1961) - Jim Conley
  • Gunsmoke (1962) - Mike / Jake Moseley
  • Have Gun - Will Travel (1963) - Stennis
  • The Dakotas (1963) - Sheriff
  • The Virginian (1963-1970) - Wardlow / Lt. Mike Buehl / 2nd Drifter / Potts / Blue / Lomax / Sergeant Cohane / Jack Slauson / Yance Cooper / Martin Croft
  • Bonanza (1964-1968) - Zeb Williams / Johannsen / Sam / Buck
  • Daniel Boone (1964 TV series) - S2/E12 "The First Beau" - (1965) - Mike Kravic
  • Daniel Boone (1965-1969) - James Burns / Lynch / Mike Kravic
  • The Road West (1967) - Big Foot
  • The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967-1969) - Jack Curson / Sheriff Flagg / Lank Turner
  • Kung Fu (1973) - Captain Malachy
Non-western appearances include

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2006). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 164. ISBN 9780786424894. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Myrton D. Healey In Picture At California". The Petaluma Argus-Courier. Petaluma, California. March 7, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b c Mayer, Geoff (February 9, 2017). Encyclopedia of American Film Serials. McFarland. pp. 148–149. ISBN 9780786477623. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 1043. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. ^ "The Golden Boot Awards". The Old Corral. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

External links[edit]

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