Steve Forrest (September 29, 1925 - May 18, 2013) was an American actor who was well known for his role as Lt. Hondo Harrelson in the short-lived television series S.W.A.T. which ran from 1975 to 1976. He was also known for his Razzie-winning performance in Mommie Dearest.

Life and career

He was born William Forrest Andrews in Huntsville, Texas. He was the son of Annis (née Speed) and Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister. Forrest was the 12th of 13 children. One of his older brothers was film star Dana Andrews. Forrest enlisted into the United States Army at age 18 and fought at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. In 1950 he earned a bachelor's degree with honors from UCLA, majoring in theater with a minor in psychology.

He worked as a stagehand at the La Jolla Playhouse outside San Diego. There Gregory Peck discovered him, cast him in La Jolla's production of Goodbye Again, and then arranged for Forrest's first screen test with MGM, which signed him to a contract.

Among Forrest's notable films were So Big, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor, The Longest Day, North Dallas Forty, and Mommie Dearest. He had cameo roles in the comedies Spies Like Us and Amazon Women on the Moon, and the 2003 film version of S.W.A.T.

Forrest was also a trained vocalist, and he made his debut on Broadway as prizefighter Bob Stanton in the 1958 production of The Body Beautiful opposite Mindy Carson, Jack Warden and Brock Peters.

In 1965, Forrest and his family moved to London where he starred as John Mannering in the title role of the British crime drama The Baron. His other television credits included The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Storefront Lawyers, S.W.A.T., Hollywood Wives, and Rod Serling's hour-long Twilight Zone episode "The Parallel" (as well as Serling's Night Gallery segment "The Waiting Room").

On a 1969 episode of Gunsmoke titled "Mannon" he portrayed Will Mannon (one of the very few men ever to outdraw Matt Dillon), then reprised the character 18 years later for the 1987 television film Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge with James Arness.

Jock Ewing, the character played by Jim Davis in the television series Dallas from 1978 to 1981, was presumed to have been killed in a helicopter crash during the 1981-82 season, although Jock's body was never found. In the 1986-87 season of Dallas, Steve Forrest played Wes Parmalee, a man who claimed to be Jock Ewing.

Personal life

Forrest married Christine Carilas on December 23, 1948. They had three sons: Michael, Forrest and Stephen.

A very accomplished golfer, Forrest often played in charity tournaments, including, on the American team, at the Bing Crosby Great Britain vs. U.S.A. Tournament at Gleneagles course.

Death

Forrest died on May 18, 2013 in Thousand Oaks, California, aged 87, from undisclosed causes.

Partial filmography

• Battle Circus (1953)
• Dream Wife (1953)
• So Big (1953)
• Take the High Ground! (1953)
• Prisoner of War (1954)
• Rogue Cop (1954)
• The Long Gray Line (1955)
• Bedevilled (1955)
• The Living Idol (1957)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (TV)
• It Happened to Jane (1959)
• Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
• Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1960) (TV)
• Five Branded Women (1960)
• Flaming Star (1960)
• The Second Time Around (1961)
• The Longest Day (1962)
• The Twilight Zone (1963) (TV)
• The Virginian (1963-64) (TV)
• Burke's Law (1965) (TV)
• Twelve O'Clock High (1965) (TV)
• Rawhide (TV series) (1965) (TV)
• The Fugitive (TV series) (1965) (TV)
• The Baron (1966) (TV)
• Cimarron Strip (1967-68) (TV)
• Bonanza (1969) (TV)
• Rascal (1969)
• Gunsmoke (1970, 1972-73) (TV)
• The High Chaparral (1970) (TV)
• The Wild Country (1971)
• Mission: Impossible (1971) (TV)
• Nichols (1971) (TV)
• Hec Ramsey (1972) (TV)
• Alias Smith and Jones (1972) (TV)
• Night Gallery (1972) (TV)
• The Sixth Sense (1972) (TV)
• Ghost Story (1972) (TV)
• The Streets of San Francisco (1973) (TV)
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) (TV)
• Cannon (1974) (TV)
• The Hanged Man (1974) (TV pilot)
• S.W.A.T. (1975) (TV)
• Testimony of Two Men (1977) (TV)
• The Last of the Mohicans (1977) (TV)
• The Deerslayer (1978)
• North Dallas Forty (1979)
• Captain America (1979) (TV)
• Condominium (1980) (TV)
• Mommie Dearest (1981)
• Hotline (1982) (TV)
• Malibu (1983) (TV)
• Sahara (1983)
• Hollywood Wives (1985) (TV)
• Spies Like Us (1985)
• Dallas (1986) (TV)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
• Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (1987) (TV)
• Dream On (1990) (TV)
• Storyville (1992)
• Columbo: A Bird in the Hand (1992)
• Killer: A Journal of Murder (1996)
• S.W.A.T. (2003) (cameo)

Radio appearances

[ Source: Wikipedia ]