George Peppard

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George Peppard
George Peppard with actress Victoria Principal
Born	George Peppard, Jr. October 1, 1928(1928-10-01) Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died	May 8, 1994 (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse(s)	Helen Davies (1954-1964) Elizabeth Ashley (1966-1972) Sherry Boucher (1975-1979) Alexis Adams (1984-1986) Laura Taylor (1992-1994)

George Peppard, Jr. (October 1, 1928–May 8, 1994) was an American film and television actor.

He secured a major role early in his career when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and he played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in the early-1970s television series Banacek, but he is probably best known to younger audiences for his role as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-chomping leader of a renegade commando squad, in the 1980s television show The A-Team.

Biography

Early life

George Peppard, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of building contractor George Peppard, Sr. and opera singer Vernelle Rohrer. He was graduated from Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Michigan.

Peppard enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 17 and rose to rank of acting Gunnery Sergeant in the artillery, leaving the Marines at the end of his first tour. From 1948 to 1949, he studied Civil Engineering at Purdue University where he was a member of the Purdue Playmakers theatre troupe and Beta Theta Pi. He then transferred to Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1955.

Acting career

Peppard made his stage debut in 1949 at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. After moving to New York, Peppard enrolled in The Actors Studio, where he studied the Method with Lee Strasberg. His first work on Broadway led to his first television appearance, with a young Paul Newman, in The United States Steel Hour (1956). Peppard’s Broadway appearance in The Pleasure of His Company (1958) led to an MGM contract. Prior to a strong film debut in The Strange One (1957), he was discovered playing the illegitimate son of Robert Mitchum's character in the popular melodrama Home from the Hill (1960).

His good looks, elegant manner and superior acting skills landed Peppard his most famous film role as Paul Varjak in Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. This role boosted him briefly to a major film star. His leading roles in that film's wake included How the West Was Won in 1962, The Victors in 1963, The Carpetbaggers in 1964 and The Blue Max in 1966.

Peppard developed a tendency to choose tough guy roles in big, ambitious pictures where he was somewhat overshadowed by ensemble casts; for example, his role as German pilot Bruno Stachel, an obsessively competitive officer from humble beginnings who challenges the Prussian aristocracy during World War I in The Blue Max (1966). For this role, Peppard learned to fly, earned a private pilot's license and did much of his own stunt flying, although stunt pilot Derek Pigott was at the controls for the famous under-the-bridge scene.

Due to Peppard's tendencies toward alcohol, his career devolved into a string of B films, except for a brief moment of notable success with the highly successful TV series Banacek (1972-74), (part of the NBC Mystery Movie series), and one of his most critically acclaimed, though rarely seen, performances in the TV movie Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975).

Among the disappointing films was the 1970 Western, Cannon for Cordoba, in which Peppard played the steely Captain Rod Douglas, who has been put in charge of gathering a group of soldiers on a dangerous mission into Mexico, and 1967's Rough Night in Jericho in which he co-starred with Dean Martin. Peppard appeared in the short-lived (half a season) Doctors' Hospital (1975) and several other television films. He was in the science fiction film Damnation Alley in 1977. With fewer interesting film roles coming his way, he acted in, directed and produced the drama Five Days from Home in 1979.

In a rare game show appearance, Peppard did a week of shows on Password Plus in 1979. Out of five shows, one was never broadcast on NBC (but aired much later on GSN) due to a rant where he expressed dissatisfaction with NBC executives watching "as if you're some sort of crook." Peppard was never asked to return to the show again.

Dynasty

In 1981, Peppard was offered, and accepted, the role of Blake Carrington in the TV series Dynasty. During the filming of the pilot episode, which also featured Linda Evans and Bo Hopkins, Peppard repeatedly clashed with the show's producers, Richard and Esther Shapiro; among other things, he felt that his role was too similar to that of J.R. Ewing in the series Dallas. Three weeks later, before filming was to begin on additional episodes, Peppard was fired and the part was offered to John Forsythe; the scenes with Peppard were reshot.^[1]

The A-Team

In the early 1980s, George Peppard re-emerged as a television star for his role as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith in the action adventure series The A-Team, acting alongside Mr. T, Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz. In the series, the A-Team was a crack squad of renegade commandos on the run from the military for a crime they did not commit while serving in the Vietnam war. The A-Team made a living as soldiers of fortune, albeit only helping people with a just grievance.

"Hannibal" Smith was the leader of the A-Team, distinguished by his cigar smoking, black leather gloves, disguises and catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." The show ran five seasons on NBC from 1983–1987. It made Peppard known to a younger generation and is arguably his most well-known role. The role was reportedly written with James Coburn in mind, but went to Peppard when Coburn had to pull out.

Man against the Mob

Peppard's last series was an intended occasional television movie features entitled "Man against the Mob" set in the 1940s. In these TV detective films, Peppard played Los Angeles Police Detective Sgt. Frank Doakey. The second film "Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders" was broadcast in December 1989. A third film in this series was planned, but Peppard died before it was filmed.

Personal life

Peppard married five times, and was the father of three children:

• Helen Davies (1954–1964): two children, Bradford and Julie
• Elizabeth Ashley (1966–1972), his co-star in The Carpetbaggers: one son, Christian
• Sherry Boucher-Lytle (1975–1979), originally from Springhill in north Louisiana
• Alexis Adams (1984–1986)
• Laura Taylor (1992-1994)

Peppard gave up drinking in 1978 and spent his later years trying to assist other alcoholics with recovering.

A life-long smoker, Peppard was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992 and subsequently quit. Cancer never forced his retirement from acting, and Peppard completed a pilot for a new series in 1994 (a Matlock spin-off) shortly before his death.

Peppard died on May 8, 1994, in Los Angeles, California. Although he was still being treated for lung cancer, the direct cause of death was a complication arising from the treatment he was getting - chemotherapy-induced leukemia.^[2] He is buried in Northview Cemetery in Dearborn, Michigan.

Awards

• 1960 NBR Award (National Board of Review of Motion Pictures) for Home from the Hill as Best Supporting Actor
• 1961 BAFTA Award Nomination (British Academy Award) for Home From The Hill
• 1961 „Promising newcomer to leading film roles“
• Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Category Motion Pictures, 6675 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles)

Filmography

• The Tigress (1992)
• Ultra Warrior (1990)
• Night of the Fox (1990)
• The A-Team (1983–1987)
• Hit Man (1982)
• Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
• Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid (1981)
• Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
• Crisis in Mid-Air (1979)
• From Hell to Victory (1979)
• Five Days from Home (1979)
• Damnation Alley (1977)
• Doctors' Hospital (1975-76)
• Newman's Law (1974)
• Banacek (1972-1974) TV series
• The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972)
• One More Train to Rob (1971)
• Cannon for Cordoba (1970)
• The Executioner (1970)
• Pendulum (1969)
• House of Cards (1968)
• What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)
• P.J. (1968)
• Rough Night in Jericho (1967)
• Tobruk (1967)
• The Blue Max (1966)
• The Third Day (1965)
• Operation Crossbow (1965)
• The Carpetbaggers (1964)
• The Victors (1963)
• How the West Was Won (1962)
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
• The Subterraneans (1960)
• Home from the Hill (1960)
• Pork Chop Hill (1959)
• The Strange One (1957)

References

External links

• George Peppard at the Internet Movie Database
• George Peppard at the TCM Movie Database
• George Peppard at the Internet Broadway Database
• George Peppard at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2008-04-01
• George Peppard at TV.com