Don Collier
Collier in a publicity photo for Outlaws (1960)
Born(1928-10-17)October 17, 1928
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 13, 2021(2021-09-13) (aged 92)
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, U.S.
Alma materBrigham Young University
OccupationActor
Years active1960–1997
Spouse
Holly Hire
​
(died 2012)​
Children6

Donald Mounger Collier (October 17, 1928 – September 13, 2021) was an American actor best known for Western films and NBC television shows such as The High Chaparral, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Outlaws as Marshal Will Foreman.

Early years

Collier was born on October 17, 1928,[1] in Santa Monica, California.[2] He worked as a geologist, a logging hand, a ranch hand, and a surveyor[3] and served in both the Navy and the Merchant Marine. After his naval service, Collier worked as an extra in a few films[2] before attending Hardin–Simmons College on an athletic scholarship. He did not return to school after his freshman year, but he later studied geology at Brigham Young University.[3]

Career

For about three years, Collier enhanced his acting skills through work with a drama group headed by Estelle Harman.[2] He found favor with directors and producers because his ranch-hand background enabled him to do his own fighting and riding.[4]

On television, Collier portrayed Sam Butler in The High Chaparral,[5] deputy Will Foreman in Outlaws,[5]: 802  and William Tompkins in The Young Riders.[5]: 1208  He also appeared in the miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.[4] His films included El Dorado, Tombstone, The War Wagon, and The Undefeated.[4]

In the 1970s, Collier began making television commercials, including one for Hubba Bubba bubble gum that had him portraying the Gum Fighter for eight years. In addition to his work in the United States, he made commercials in Australia.[2]

Later in his career, Collier narrated The Desert Speaks, a series of documentaries for the University of Arizona,[2] appeared at Western festivals, and presented the one-man stage performance Confessions of an Acting Cowboy.[4]

The DVD Don Collier: Confessions of An Acting Cowboy was released in 2020.[6]

Personal life and death

Collier's marriage to Holly Hire, a casting director, ended with her death in 2012. He had four children.[1] He died from lung cancer in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, on September 13, 2021, at the age of 92.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Don Collier, 92". Classic Images. November 2021. p. 40.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. pp. 98–100. ISBN 978-1-4766-2856-1. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "'High Chaparral' Is Collier's Good Lick (sic)". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. June 8, 1968. p. 34. Retrieved June 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Freese, Gene (2019). The Western Films of Robert Mitchum: Hollywood's Cowboy Rebel. McFarland. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4766-3746-4. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 458. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  6. ↑ Greenland, David (June 2020). "What's out there: Don Collier". Classic Images (540): 20.
  7. ↑ "Actor Don Collier, famous for Western roles, dead at 92". KGUN. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ Barnes, Mike (September 13, 2021). "Don Collier, Actor on 'The High Chaparral,' 'Outlaws' and Many Other Westerns, Dies at 92". The Hollywood Reporter.
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