The Face Is Familiar
Myron Healey
John Doucette
George Chandler
Do you recognize any of these names? If you do I’d be very surprised, but I’d bet that you would recognize their faces in a flash.
Every film and TV show has Leading Men, the “Stars” but it is the “Character Actors” who fill in the blanks. What good is a Hero without a Villain to vanquish or someone to rescue?
These three guys were what Hollywood called “Character Actors” portraying any number of roles in countless films and TV shows. For every John Wayne or Clint Eastwood there are hundreds of actors who create the atmosphere of danger and serve as the Antagonists that keep us on the edge of our seats. Someone has to rob the stagecoach so that the Lone Ranger can hunt them down.
The first two of them were usually cast as “Heavies” – the Bad Guys. They wore more black hats and scowls than you could count. They fired their six shooters at Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger for years without reloading.
Myron Healey
Does that face look familiar? He was in more Westerns than John Wayne. He is Myron Healey, a veteran of World War Two, as a Navigator and Bombardier flying mission over Europe. He stayed active with the military reserve, retiring as a Captain in the early 1960s. He was also a veteran of 140 Movies and TV shows from the 1940s until 1994. During his career he appeared in 140 films and TV shows – almost always playing a “Heavy.”
George Chandler
Another familiar face from both film and TV. He was part of the cast of the TV series “Lassie” in the 1950s.
He made his film debut in 1929 and kept working until 1982 in more than 140 films and Television shows. He usually played “Nice guys” who provided “Smiles” and helped to create a great “G” environment.
He was a veteran as well serving in Europe during World War One. In addition he was also elected as the President of the Screen Actors Guild succeeding Ronald Reagan in that position.
John Doucette
John Doucette performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man with a stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he proved equally adept at portraying characters in Shakespearean plays as well as in Westerns and in modern crime dramas.
His experience in the Infantry during World War Two served him well when it came to shooting in his roles as a gunslinger. He was known as one of the fastest quick draws with a six gun in Hollywood.
Contrary to the Hollywood cliché he and his wife were married for 46 years.
John Doucette was one of those Character Actors who worked steadily for decades and became one of the most recognizable faces in Show Business.
Why did I pick this topic for today’s blog? I saw all three of these actors on my TV on the same day recently and it made me think about how many times I saw these guys during my childhood sitting on the floor in front of the old Philco and Zenith television sets.
The older I get the more I have to remember. It takes a lot of my brain space so I have to let it out somewhere.
Down the Hall on Your Left 