Clu Gulager
| Clu Gulager | |
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| Born | November 16, 1928 Holdenville, Oklahoma |
Clu Gulager (born November 16, 1928) is an American television and film actor and director. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney (Billy The Kid) in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the NBC series The Virginian. He also appeared in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show and the racing film Winning, with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Gulager was the protagonist Burt in the cult horror movie The Return of the Living Dead, starred in McQ with John Wayne and with Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson in director Don Siegel's The Killers. Clu Gulager's short film A Day with the Boys was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or for best short film at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Gulager was born William Martin Gulager in Holdenville, Oklahoma, the son of John Gulager, a cowboy entertainer.[2] His first cousin was Will Rogers (through his paternal grandmother).[3] Gulager served in the United States Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948. He has Cherokee Native American ancestry.[4] His nickname was given to him by his father for the clu-clu birds (known in English as martins,[4] like his middle name) that were nesting at the Gulager home at the time Clu was born.[5] Attended NSU (Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK), then transferred to Baylor University.[6]
[edit] Acting career
In 1958 Clu Gulager appeared as Roy Carter in the episode "The Return of Roy Carter" (written by Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame) in the western television series Have Gun-Will Travel starring Richard Boone. In the spring of 1959, Gulager appeared as Tommy Pavlock in the episode "The Immigrant" of NBC's series The Lawless Years, a 1920s crime drama. In the fall of 1959, he appeared in the episode "The Temple of the Swinging Doll" of NBC's short-lived espionage drama, Five Fingers, starring David Hedison. On October 11, 1959, he appeared as a U.S. Navy sailor in the "Appointment at Eleven" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and again as an escaped convict in the episode "Pen Pal" on November 1, 1960. On The Untouchables, he essayed the role of vicious mob killer Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll and turned in an utterly chilling performance as the psychopathic Coll.
He then played Billy the Kid in the 1960–62 NBC series The Tall Man opposite Barry Sullivan as Pat Garrett, and succeeded in portraying Billy as a sympathetic character without resorting to the "misunderstood young man" portrayal so often used in such films as The Outlaw and The Left Handed Gun. In 1961, he guest starred on the NBC western Whispering Smith, Audie Murphy's only attempt at series television. Gulager portrayed "Emmett Ryker" from 1964 to 1968 on another NBC series The Virginian starring with James Drury, Doug McClure, Lee J. Cobb, Roberta Shore, Randy Boone, Gary Clarke and Diane Roter. Gulager appeared more than sixty times in other roles in film and television, including the film Winning and the CBS series Three for the Road. Amongst those TV roles, he appeared on Bonanza several times.
He starred with Lee Marvin, Ronald Reagan and Angie Dickinson in the 1964 version of The Killers.
Gulager is the father of film director John Gulager (contest winner in third season of Project Greenlight), and is the widower of the actress Miriam Byrd-Nethery who died in 2003.
He appeared notably in The Last Picture Show along with Cybill Shepherd and Ellen Burstyn. In 1977, long after his role on The Virginian, he appeared in Rod Taylor's unsuccessful NBC western series, The Oregon Trail, in the episode "The Army Deserter".
He appeared in his son John Gulager's Feast series of films as a shotgun-toting bartender and will have a role in Piranha 3DD.[7]
He was also a featured player in director John Landis' darkly comedic 1985 film noir satire, Into The Night, a film rife with insider Hollywood cameos, as an FBI agent, courier of a cache of clandestine funds, which he grudgingly delivers to secure the safety of the film's two romantic leads, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum. In an example of the film's dry humor, the glamorous leading lady and her tall, dark and nearly handsome hero find they are not in a position to object as the agent/courier (Gulager) angrily pilfers as many packets of bills from the treasure trove as he can resentfully stuff into his pockets in plain sight of them, before leaving the bewildered pair in a huff.
He appeared as Burt in the Dan O'Bannon-directed 1985 cult classic, The Return of the Living Dead.
[edit] Selected Credits
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[edit] Awards and Nominations
- The Virginian (TV series) (1966) Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Fictional Television Drama ensemble cast
- A Day with the Boys (1969) (director, short film) Nominated Palme D'Or - Cannes Film Festival "Best Short Film"
- Hunter's Blood (1986) Nominated Saturn Award "Best Supporting Actor"
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Imdb Awards
- ^ Clu Gulager Biography (1928–)
- ^ Clu Gulager
- ^ a b Conley, Robert J. A Cherokee Encyclopedia. The University of Old Mexico Press, 2007. p. 110.
- ^ CluGalagher.com
- ^ [2] Clu Gulager bio - Imdb
- ^ IMDB profile
[edit] External links
- Clu Gulager Fan Website
- Clu Gulager at the Internet Movie Database
- "Famous Marine Actors". Semper Fi Society. http://www.marineofficercandidate.com/onceamarinealwaysamarine.asp. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
- Interview from psychotronicvideo.com
- Mystery Science Theater 3000, episode #908(The Touch of Satan)
- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Gulager, Clu
