Doug McClure

Doug McClure
McClure's picture on his grave at Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica
Born	Douglas Osborne McClure May 11, 1935(1935-05-11) Glendale, California
Died	February 5, 1995 (aged 59) Sherman Oaks, California
Years active	1956–1996
Spouse(s)	Faye Brash (1957 1961) (divorced) Barbara Luna (1961-1963) (divorced) Helen Crane (1965-1968) (divorced) Diane Soldani (1970-1979) (divorced) Diane Furnberg (1979-1995) (his death)

Douglas Osborne 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, to Donald Reed McClure and the former Clara Clapp, he is best known for his appearances as Trampas in the NBC western series The Virginian.

Career

McClure's The Virginian costars were James Drury, Roberta Shore, Lee J. Cobb, Randy Boone, Gary Clarke, and Tim Matheson in the later seasons. Before The Virginian, McClure costarred in two other series: (1) as Frank "Flip" Flippen on NBC's western, Overland Trail (1960), with co-star William Bendix, and (2) as Jed Sills on the CBS detective series Checkmate (1960-1962) opposite Anthony George as Don Corey and Sebastian Cabot as Dr. Carl Hyatt. In 1958 and 1959, McClure appeared in three episodes of the syndicated western series 26 Men, stories of the Arizona Rangers. He appeared as Adam Davis in 1959 in the episode "The Court Martial of Trooper Davis" of the syndicated series Mackenzie's Raiders starring Richard Carlson. He was in the third episode of The Twilight Zone, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday".

He also starred in science fiction films such as At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot, all three based on the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In 1967, he played the Errol Flynn role in a re-make of Against All Flags titled The King's Pirate. He co-starred on the sitcom Out of This World later in his career. Along with Troy Donahue, he gave his name to the character of Troy McClure on The Simpsons.

On February 5, 1995, McClure died from lung cancer in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 59 and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery. In addition to his fifth wife, he was survived by two daughters, Valerie and Tane McClure, who is an actress.

McClure has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7065 Hollywood Blvd. That star was unveiled in what proved to be his final public appearance in 1994.

Filmography

• The Enemy Below (1957)
• Gidget (1959)
• The Unforgiven (1960)
• Because They're Young (1960)
• The Lively Set! (1964)
• Shenandoah (1965)
• Beau Geste (1966)
• The King's Pirate (1967)
• Playmates (1972)
• The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972)
• "Die blutigen Geier von Alaska" (Germany, 1973)
• The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
• At the Earth's Core (1976)
• The People That Time Forgot (1977)
• Warlords of Atlantis (1978)
• Wild and Wooly (1978)
• The Rebels - Pt. 2 of the Kent Family Chronicles (1979)
• Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
• Firebird 2015 A.D. (1981)
• The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
• Cannonball Run II (1984)
• 52 Pick-Up (1986)
• Omega Syndrome (1986)
• Prime Suspect (1988)
• Dark Before Dawn (1988)
• Battling for Baby (1992)
• Dead Man's Revenge (1993)
• Maverick (1994)
• Riders in the Storm (1995)

Television

• COronado 9 - Jimmy Hoke in "The Widow of Kill Cove" (1960)
• Johnny Midnight - Rice in "Mother's Boy" (1960)
• Overland Trail - Frank Flippin (1960)
• Checkmate - Jed Stills (1960-1962)
• The Virginian - Trampas (1962-1971)
• Barbary Coast - Cash Conover (1975)
• Satan's Triangle - Lt. J. Haig (1975)
• Search (TV series) - C. R. Grover (1972-1973)
• Roots - Jemmy Brent (1977)
• Out of This World - Mayor Kyle Applegate (1987-1991)
• The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1994)

Doug McClure's gravestone

External links

• Doug McClure at the Internet Movie Database
• http://movies.go.com/doug-mcclure/f1010224
• http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/dougmcclure.html
• Doug McClure at Find a Grave