Brett King
Brett King | |
---|---|
![]() King in an episode ofThe Public Defender(1954) | |
Born | Bertell W. King, Jr. December 29, 1920 |
Died | January 14, 1999 Palm Beach, Florida,U.S. | (aged 78)
Occupations |
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Years active | 1949–1967 |
Spouse | Sharon L. Van Howten |
Brett King(bornBertell W. King, Jr.;December 29, 1920 – January 14, 1999) was an American actor who performed in films and on television between 1949 and 1967.
Early life and film career[edit]
King attended theAmerican Theatre Wingin New York.[1]
He served as a fighter pilot in theUnited States Army Air CorpsduringWorld War IIand was awarded thePurple Heartand theDistinguished Flying Cross.[2]According to King's military enlistment records, he had graduated from high school and had worked as a general office clerk prior to joining the army in January 1942, just a month after Japan'sattack on Pearl Harbor.[3]
A few years after his discharge from the army, King began acting in feature films in Hollywood, where he was cast in no fewer than 13 films between 1949 and 1954. His first role was as the character Lieutenant Teiss in the World War II filmBattleground(1949).
Television career[edit]
In 1954, King was cast as LieutenantCharles B. Gatewoodin the episode "Geronimo"of the syndicated seriesStories of the Century,starring and narrated byJim Davis.King also performed in a supporting role as acavalrytrooper in 11 episodes of thesyndicated1958–1959 television seriesMackenzie's Raiders,set in the 1870s, withRichard Carlsonas the historicalColonelRanald MackenzieatFort Clarkin southwesternTexas.[4]
In 1960, he played Cassidy in "The Devil's Due", an episode on another Westernanthology series,Death Valley Days.
King performed as well in five episodes ofWagon Trainbetween 1961 and 1963 and in four episodes each ofCBS'sGunsmoke,Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater,NBC'sBat Masterson,and on the contemporary crime dramaDragnet.He appeared twice onThe Roy Rogers Show,The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,Tombstone Territory,andJohnny Ringo;and once onThe Adventures of Kit Carson,Shotgun Slade,Black Saddle,Law of the Plainsman,Lawman,Laramie,The Virginian,andYancy Derringer,in the latter as the banditJesse Jamesin the episode "Outlaw at Liberty".
Other series in which King performed includeAlcoa Premiere,Whirlybirds,Rescue 8,Tightrope,Men into Space,Lock-Up,Rescue 8,Harbor CommandandHighway Patrol.His last acting appearance was in the role of Major Jackson onABC'sThe Green Hornet,in that series' two-part 1967 finale "Invasion from Outer Space."
Filmography[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1949 | Battleground | Lt. Teiss | |
1950 | Side Street | Pigeon Man | Uncredited |
1950 | Father Makes Good | Steve Emory | |
1950 | The Big Hangover | Intern | Uncredited |
1950 | State Penitentiary | Al 'Kid' Beaumont | |
1951 | Operation Pacific | Lt. Ernie Stark | Uncredited |
1951 | Payment on Demand | Phil Polanski | |
1951 | A Yank in Korea | Milo Pagano | |
1951 | According to Mrs. Hoyle | Eddie Slattery | |
1951 | Flying Leathernecks | 1st Lt. Ernie Stark | |
1951 | The Racket | Joe Scanlon | |
1951 | Purple Heart Diary | Lt. Rocky Castro | |
1954 | Jesse James vs. the Daltons | Joe Branch |
References[edit]
- ^"Brett King Plans to Complete Play".Independent Press-Telegram.California, Long Beach. September 13, 1953. p. B 7.RetrievedApril 24,2020– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Jill Pesselnick," Brett King, "January 20, 1999".variety.com.RetrievedNovember 26,2012.
- ^"Bertell W. King, Jr.","United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946",FamilySearch,Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967",West Texas Historical Review,Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 112–113.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1920 births
- 1999 deaths
- Male actors from New York (state)
- American male television actors
- American male film actors
- Male actors from Los Angeles
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
- United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
- Deaths from leukemia in Florida
- 20th-century American male actors
- People from Islip (town), New York
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- People from Harbour Island, Bahamas