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Jock Mahoney

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Jock Mahoney
Mahoney inThe Range Rider
Born
Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney

(1919-02-07)February 7, 1919
Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1989(1989-12-14)(aged 70)
Bremerton, Washington,U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman
Years active1946–1985
Spouses
Lorraine O'Donnell
​
(divorced)​
​
​
(m.1952;div.1968)​
Autumn Russell
​
(m.1969)​
Children3

Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney(February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally asJock Mahoney,was an American actor andstuntman.He starred in twoAction/Adventuretelevision series,The Range RiderandYancy Derringer.He playedTarzanin two feature films and was associated in various capacities with several other Tarzan productions. He was credited variously asJacques O'Mahoney,Jock O'Mahoney,Jack Mahoney,and finallyJock Mahoney.

Early life, education, and military service[edit]

Mahoney was born inChicago,Illinoisand reared inDavenport, Iowa.He was of French and Irish descent, the only child of Ruth and Charles O'Mahoney.[1]He entered theUniversity of IowainIowa Cityand excelled at swimming and diving,[1]but dropped out to enlist in theUnited States Marine CorpswhenWorld War IIbegan. He served as a pilot and flight instructor.[2]: 17 

Career[edit]

After his discharge from the Marine Corps, Mahoney moved toLos Angeles,and for a time was a horse breeder. However, he soon became a movie stuntman, doubling forGregory Peck,Errol Flynn,andJohn Wayne.DirectorVincent Shermanrecalled staging the climactic fight scene in his 1948 filmAdventures of Don Juanand could find only one stuntman who was willing to leap from a high staircase in the scene. That man was Mahoney, who demanded and received $1,000 for the dangerous stunt.

Most of Mahoney's films of the late 1940s and early 1950s were produced byColumbia Pictures.Like many Columbia contract players, Mahoney worked in the studio'stwo-reelcomedies. Beginning in 1947, writer-directorEdward Berndscast Mahoney in slapstick comedies starringthe Three Stooges.Mahoney had large speaking roles in these films, and often played his scenes for laughs. Often cast alongside heroineChristine McIntyre,he appeared in the Stooge filmsOut West(1947),Squareheads of the Round Table(1948) (and its 1954 remake,Knutzy Knights),Fuelin' Around(1949), andPunchy Cowpunchers(1950). In the Stooge films, Mahoney—striking a heroic pose—would suddenly get clumsy, tripping over something or taking sprawling pratfalls.

Beginning in 1950, Columbia management noticed Mahoney's acting skills and gave him starring roles in two adventure serials,Cody of the Pony Express(1950) andRoar of the Iron Horse(1951). Mahoney succeeded stuntmanTed Mapesas the double forCharles Starrettin Columbia'sThe Durango KidWestern series.[2]: 22–25 

The Durango Kid wore a mask covering much of his face, enabling Mahoney to replace Starrett in the action scenes. Mahoney's daring stunts made it seem that the older Starrett grew, the more athletic he became. Mahoney contributed so much to this series that he was awarded featured billing and major supporting roles as well, first as villains and then as sympathetic characters. By 1952 Columbia was billing him asJack Mahoney.

When Charles Starrett's contract ran out in the spring of 1952,[3]Columbia decided to replace him with Mahoney, opposite Starrett's sidekickSmiley Burnette.The first film was completed but never released; Columbia abandoned the series in June 1952,[4]bringing an end to its long history of B-Western production.

Cowboy starGene Autry,then working at Columbia, hired Mahoney to star in a television series. Autry's Flying A Productions filmed 79 half-hour episodes of thesyndicatedThe Range Riderfrom 1951 to 1953. In 1959, a lost episode was shown six years after the series ended. He was billed as Jack Mahoney. The character had no name other than Range Rider. His series co-star wasDick Jones,playing the role of Dick West.

In the 1958 Western filmMoney, Women and Guns,Mahoney played the starring role. The film also starredKim Hunter.

For the 1958 television season, he starred in the outdoor-adventure seriesYancy Derringerfor 34 episodes, which aired onCBS.Yancy Derringer was a gentlemanadventurerliving inNew Orleans,Louisiana,after theAmerican Civil War.He had aPawneecompanion named Pahoo Katchewa ( "Wolf Who Stands in Water" ), played by actorX Brands.In his role as Pahoo, he did not speak and used only sign language to communicate. Pahoo had saved Derringer's life, and therefore, due to his convictions, became responsible for Derringer.

Jock O'Mahoney starred in 64 feature films.

Tarzan films and television series[edit]

In 1948, Mahoney auditioned to playTarzanafter the departure ofJohnny Weissmuller,but the role went toLex Barker.

In 1960, he appeared as Coy Banton, a villain, inTarzan the Magnificent,starringGordon Scott.Mahoney's strong presence, work ethic, and lean (6 foot, 4 inch, 220 pounds) frame impressed producerSy Weintraub,who wanted a "new look" for the fabled apeman.

In 1962, Mahoney became the 13th actor to portray Tarzan when he appeared inTarzan Goes to India,shot on location in India. A year later, he again played the role inTarzan's Three Challenges,shot inThailand.When this film was released, Mahoney, at 44, became the oldest actor to play the jungle king, surpassing Weissmuller andP. Dempsey Tabler,a record that still stands.Dysenteryanddengue feverplagued Mahoney during the shoot in the Thai jungles, and his weight plummeted to 175 pounds. He needed a year and a half to regain his health. Owing to his health problems and the fact that producer Weintraub had decided to go for a "younger look" for the apeman, his contract was mutually dissolved.

Mahoney made three appearances on the Ron ElyTarzanseries--The Ultimate Weapon(1966),The Deadly Silence(1966) (a two-part episode, later edited into afeature film), andMask of Rona(1967).

In 1981, Mahoney returned to the Tarzan film series as thestunt coordinatoron theJohn Derek-directed remake ofTarzan, the Ape Man.He was billed asJack O'Mahoney.

Television guest roles[edit]

Mahoney was cast as an engineer, Andy Prentis, in the 1954 episode, "Husband Pro-Tem," on thesyndicatedanthology series,Death Valley Days,hosted byStanley Andrews.In the storyline, Prentis is hired by a railroad executive, Alonzo Phelps (Howard Negley) (1898–1983) to negotiate a private agreement with the Indian Chief Black Hawk (Lane Bradford) so that a railroad can be constructed across Indian lands. In his assignment, Prentis soon romantically tangles with Phelps' daughter, Evelyn (Gloria Marshall). In February 1953, Mahoney co-starred with his wife Margaret Field in theDeath Valley Daysepisode "Swamper Ike".[5]

In 1960, Mahoney guest-starred in theRawhideepisode "Incident of the Sharpshooter". He also appeared in television guest-starring roles on such series asBatman,the Ron ElyTarzanseries,Hawaii Five-O,Laramie,andThe Streets of San Francisco.In 1973, he suffered astrokeat age 54 while filming an episode ofKung Fu.

Later career and death[edit]

In the 1980s, Mahoney made guest appearances on the television seriesB. J. and the BearandThe Fall Guy.During the final years of his life, he was a popular guest at film conventions and autograph shows. Mahoney died of a second stroke at age 70 on December 14, 1989, two days after being involved in an automobile accident inBremerton, Washington.His ashes were scattered into thePacific Ocean.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Mahoney was married three times, with three children and five stepchildren. His first wife was Lorraine O'Donnell, with whom he had two children, Kathleen O'Mahoney and Jim O'Mahoney, before their divorce. He next married actressMargaret Fieldin 1952. Their daughter, Princess O'Mahoney, was born six months later. Margaret Field already had two young children,Richard D. FieldandSally Field,from her first marriage. Mahoney and Field divorced in June 1968. In her 2018 memoir,In Pieces,Sally Field wrote that Mahoney subjected her to sexual abuse throughout her childhood, up to the age 14.[1]

Mahoney's daughter, Princess O'Mahoney, later became a television and film assistant director.[7]

Partial filmography[edit]

Selected Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1953 Death Valley Days Indian Sal, Swamper Ike and Joe Season 1, Episode 12, "Swamper Ike"
1958 Yancy Derringer Yancy Derringer 34 episodes
1961 Rawhide Captain Donahoe S3:E23, "Incident of the Phantom Bugler"

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcField, Sally (2018).In Pieces.Grand Central Publishing.ISBN978-1-5387-6304-9.
  2. ^abFreese, Gene (2013).Jock Mahoney: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Stuntman.McFarland.ISBN9780786476893.RetrievedJune 8,2016.
  3. ^Variety,"Starrett Rides Away from Col and Durango", April 9, 1952, p. 29.
  4. ^Ivan Spear,Boxoffice,"Columbia Not to Produce Jack Mahoney Westerns," June 7, 1952, p. 24.
  5. ^"There were satisfactory performances by Jock Mahoney and Margaret Field. The 20-Mule Team Borax commercials were fairly good." Morse, Leon (February 18, 1956)."Death Valley Days (TV film)".Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 13.
  6. ^"Jock Mahoney".joebowman.com. Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2009.RetrievedJuly 17,2009.
  7. ^Critchlow, Donald T. (2013).When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics.Cambridge University Press. pp. 172–173.ISBN9780521199186.RetrievedMay 12,2018.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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