John A. Doucette
Doucette in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
Born(1921-01-21)January 21, 1921
Brockton, Plymouth County
Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 16, 1994(1994-08-16) (aged 73)
Banning, Riverside County
California, U.S.
Resting placeMausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California
OccupationActor
Years active1941–1987
Spouse
Katherine Cecilia Sambles
​
​
(m. 1948; died 1991)​
Children8[1]

John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he proved equally adept at portraying characters in Shakespearean plays, Westerns, and modern crime dramas. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for his villainous roles as a movie and television "tough guy".

Early years

John Doucette was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the eldest of three children of Nellie S. (née Bishop) and Arthur J. Doucette.[2][3][4] During his childhood, his family moved frequently, as his father sought work during the Great Depression. He completed grammar school in Haverhill, Massachusetts; graduated from Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California; and later, in April 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army and served in Europe as an infantry rifleman during World War II.[5][6][7] With regard to Doucette's early experience and training as an actor, he began to perform on stage at the age of 15 in plays at his high school.[1] He subsequently performed at the Pasadena Playhouse before being cast in Hollywood films in the early 1940s.[8]

Film career

Doucette's film debut, in an uncredited role as a reporter, was in Footsteps in the Dark in 1941. He appeared uncredited in at least two other movies before his budding film career was interrupted by his military service during World War II. Following his discharge, he resumed acting in Hollywood, where he soon began to receive more substantial, credited roles in releases by smaller production companies, such as The Burning Cross and The Road to the Big House for Somerset Pictures Corporation in 1947. Doucette continued to progress in obtaining dramatic roles for larger studios, including a small part as an architect in The Fountainhead in 1949. His other notable performances include bit parts in High Noon, The Robe, Sierra, and the mega-budget Cleopatra. Doucette also appeared in the John Wayne films The Sea Chase, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit, and Big Jake as well as portraying Gen. Lucian Truscott in the 1970 epic Patton.

Television

Many baby boomers first saw Doucette as the bad guy on television in several episodes of The Lone Ranger. Performing as an outlaw proved to be a natural role for him, considering his rough looks, commanding presence, and skill with a gun. He was considered by many to be among the fastest draws in Hollywood. His roles, however, went well beyond that stereotype. He appeared on a variety of television shows, including The Time Tunnel, Racket Squad, The Range Rider, Wagon Train, The Roy Rogers Show, The Fugitive, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Cisco Kid, City Detective, Annie Oakley, The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial, My Friend Flicka, Sky King, The Californians, Broken Arrow, The People's Choice, Sheriff of Cochise, Bat Masterson, Behind Closed Doors, The Texan, Lawman, The Everglades, Mackenzie's Raiders, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, The Virginian, Have Gun - Will Travel, Kung Fu, The Rat Patrol, Hogan's Heroes, Adventures of Superman, Sea Hunt, Science Fiction Theatre, Walt Disney Presents, and Tales of Wells Fargo.

Doucette portrayed a police lieutenant, Tom Gregory, on the television version of Big Town.[9] Between 1959 and 1961, he also played Lieutenant Weston on the series Lock-Up, Aaron William Andrews in the comedy The Partners, and bounty hunter Lou Gore in the episode "Dead Aim" on the series Colt .45

Doucette was cast on television as the Apache Chief Geronimo for the 1958 episode "Geronimo" on the Western series Tombstone Territory. He was also cast in 1961 as Captain Cardiff in The Americans, a 17-episode NBC series, starring Darryl Hickman, about how the American Civil War divided families. In 1963 he played “Michael McGoo”, a proud & lovable storytelling Irish sailor in the S6E26 edition of Wagon Train.

Personal life and death

Doucette in 1948 married opera singer Katherine Sambles, with whom he had five daughters and three sons.[6][5] Katherine died in 1991; and three years later, on August 16, 1994, John died of cancer at age 73 at his home in Banning, California.[4] His mausoleum is at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.[10]

Selected filmography

Films

Television

  • Racket Squad – episode – Accidentally on Purpose – Danny (1952)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – The Masked Rider – Dirk Nelson (1949)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Gold Fever – Ox Martin (1950)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Thieves' Money – Pierre Dumont (1950)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Sheriff at Gunstock – Rocky Hanford (1950)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – The Hooded Men – Flack, Gang Leader (1951)
  • Dick Tracy – episode – The Case of the Dangerous Dollars (1951)
  • The Roy Rogers Show – episode – Perils From the Past (1952)
  • Adventures of Superman – episode – The Birthday Letter – Slugger (1952)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Bandits in Uniform – Andrew Gage (1953)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Rendezvous at Whipsaw – Henchman Kelso (1954)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – The Fugitive – Blaze (1954)
  • Adventures of Superman – episode – Lady in Black – Joe (1954)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Counterfeit Redskins – Beau Slate (1955)
  • Adventures of Superman – episode – Clark Kent, Outlaw – Foster (1955)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – Trapped – Deputy Sawyer (1955)
  • The Lone Ranger – episode – The School Story – Lew Cates (1955)
  • Cheyenne – episode – Mountain Fortress – Sgt. Cap Daniels (1955)
  • Science Fiction Theatre – episode – Barrier of Silence – Nielsen (1955)
  • Science Fiction Theatre – episode – Target Hurricane – Col. Stewart (1955)
  • Treasury Men in Action – episode – The Case of the Black Sheep – Marty Hinton (1955)
  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – episode – Wichita Is Civilized – Orry Taylor (1956)
  • Cheyenne – episode – Town of Fear – Bill Jenkins (1957)
  • Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color – episode – The Saga of Andy Burnett: Andy's Initiation – Mountain man (uncredited) (1957)
  • The True Story of Jesse James – Sheriff Hillstrom (1957)
  • Tales of Wells Fargo – episode – Alder Gulch – Boone Helm (1957)
  • Broken Arrow – episode – The Broken Wire – Bobo Conway (1957)
  • Gunsmoke – episode – Liar from Blackhawk – Al Janes (1957)
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective – episode – The Torch Carriers – Corky(1957)
  • Zorro – episode – Slaves of the Eagle – Antonio Azuela (uncredited) (1958)
  • The Rough Riders – episode – The Murderous Sutton Gang – Wes Sutton (1958)
  • Have Gun - Will Travel – episode – The O'Hare Story – Joe Marsh (1958)
  • The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp – episode – Little Brother – Smiley Dunlap (1958)
  • Broken Arrow – episode – War Trail – Cagle (1958)
  • The Thin Man – episode – Unlucky Lucky Number – Hank (1958)
  • Official Detective "The Policeman's Bullet" – Longo Sardinia (1958)
  • U.S. Marshal – episode – Inside Job (1959)
  • Bat Masterson – episode – Buffalo Kill – Luke Simes (1959)
  • Have Gun - Will Travel – episode – Lady on the Stagecoach – Ed Rance (1959)
  • Lock Up – Lt. John Weston – 78 episodes (1959–1961)
  • Bat Masterson – episode – A Grave Situation – Lemuel Carstairs (1960)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Jim Bridger Story – Gen. Jameson (1961)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Orly French Story – Marshal Jason Hartman (1962)
  • Bonanza – Episode: "Knight Errant" (1962) – Walter Prescott
  • Laramie – episode – Naked Steel – Sheriff Tate (1963)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Fort Pierce Story – Col. Wayne Lathrop (1963)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Michael McGoo Story – Michael McGoo (1963)
  • The Lieutenant – episode – A Million Miles From Clary – GySgt Clintock (1963)
  • Wagon Train – episode – Little Girl Lost – Boone Gilla (1964)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Ben Engel Story – Ben Engel (1964)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Isaiah Quickfox Story – Burt Enders (1965)
  • Wagon Train – episode – The Chottsie Gubenheimer Story – Chandler Ames (1965)
  • The Virginian – episode – The Awakening – Calder (1965)
  • The Virginian – episode – Six Graves at Cripple Creek – Sheriff Goodbody (1965)
  • Bonanza – Episode: "Devil on Her Shoulder" (1965) – Reverend Evan Morgan
  • Rat Patrol – Episode: "The Deadly Double Raid" - Joe Marston (1966)
  • Hogan's Heroes – episode – Some of Their Planes Are Missing – Colonel Richard Leman (1967)
  • The Virginian – episode – Requiem for a Country Doctor – Lumberfield (1967)
  • The Wild Wild West - episode - The Night of The Surreal McCoy (1967)
  • Bonanza – Episode: "The Price of Salt" (1968) – Sid Talbott
  • The Big Valley – episode – Devil's Masquerade (1968)
  • Get Smart – episodes -The King Lives?, & To Sire, with Love: Parts 1 & 2 – Colonel Von Klaus (1968–1969)
  • Here's Lucy – episode – Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage – Vernon (1971)
  • The Partners – 20 episodes – Capt. Aaron William Andrews (1971–1972)
  • Mannix – episode – Desert Run – Ward Gillis (1973)
  • Kung Fu – episode – The Soul Is the Warrior – Ed Rankin (1973)
  • Tenafly – episode – Man Running – Wilson (1974)
  • Harry O – episode – Mortal Sin – Bishop Monaghan (1974)
  • Kolchak: The Night Stalker – episode – Vampire – Officer Sample (1974)
  • Ironside – episode – Mind for Murder – Ralph Hanson (1973)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible – episode – Joshua and the Battle of Jericho – Reuben (1978)
  • How the West Was Won – episode – The Slavers – Sheriff Boland (1979)

References

  1. 1 2 "John Doucette, Film Actor, 73", obituary, The New York Times, August 20, 1994. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930", Sharon, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, May 1930. Digital copy of original U.S. Census enumeration page, FamilySearch. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940", Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, April 5, 1940. FamilySearch. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "California Death Index, 1940–1997" database, California Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento, California. FamilySearch. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Aaker, Everett (2011). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948–1959. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-0-7864-6409-8.
  6. 1 2 "'Sweet Little One' Plays Meanest of TV Characters". The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. United Press. April 10, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved May 12, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946," National Archives, College Park, Maryland. FamilySearch. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  8. ↑ Landesman, Fred (2004). The John Wayne Filmography. McFarland. p. 335. ISBN 9780786432523. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  9. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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