Hal Needham

Hal Needham

Born: March 6, 1931
Died: October 25, 2013
in Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor and writer. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983).

In his later years, Needham moved out of stunt work, and focused his energy on the World land speed record project. In 2001, Needham received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Taurus World Stunt Awards, and in 2012, he was awarded a Governors Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Hal Needham, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Movies for Hal Needham...

The Bandit
Title: The Bandit
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: March 12, 2016
Type: Movie
THE BANDIT is a film about 70s superstar Burt Reynolds, his best friend, roommate and stunt-double Hal Needham, and the making of their unlikely smash-hit SMOKEY & THE BANDIT. The film tells the action-packed story of the making of SMOKEY, while tracing the vivid personal journeys of Reynolds and Needham from obscurity to stardom and highlighting one of the most extraordinary relationships in Hollywood history. Featuring new interviews with Reynolds, rare archive material, including footage from Reynolds’ personal archive, as well as candid interviews with the late Hal Needham, the documentary tells an exhilarating and moving story about loyalty, friendship and creative risk.
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Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar
Title: Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar
Character: Himself
Released: August 30, 1996
Type: Movie
Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar is a documentary on Jackie Chan.
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Title: Cybill
Character: Hal Needham
Released: January 2, 1995
Type: TV
Cybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring, Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her big show business break.
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Charlie Sheen's Stunts Spectacular
Title: Charlie Sheen's Stunts Spectacular
Character: Self
Released: June 30, 1994
Type: Movie
The first behind the scenes look revealing the movie magic of the men and women of the stunt profession, Hollywood's unsung heroes. Charlie Sheen and Stuntman Hall of Famer BJ Davis host.
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Playboy Video Playmate Calendar 1988
Title: Playboy Video Playmate Calendar 1988
Character: Self
Released: December 1, 1987
Type: Movie
Profiles of Playboy Playmates. Features: Marina Baker (Playmate of the Month, March 1987), Kim Morris (POTM, March 1986), Luann Lee (POTM, January 1987), Teri Weigel (POTM, April 1986), Katherine Hushaw (POTM, October 1986), Anna Clark (POTM, April 1987), Sherry Arnett, (POTM, January 1986), Kymberly Paige (POTM, May 1987), Julie McCullough (POTM, February 1986), Devin DeVasquez (POTM, June 1985), Julie Peterson (POTM, February 1987), & Donna Edmondson (POTM, November 1986/Playmate of the Year).
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Cannonball Run II
Title: Cannonball Run II
Character: Porsche 928 Driver with Cowboy Hat (uncredited)
Released: June 29, 1984
Type: Movie
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J. McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
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Stroker Ace
Title: Stroker Ace
Character: Man Punching Stroker Into Ladies Room
Released: July 1, 1983
Type: Movie
Stroker Ace, a champion NASCAR driver, is standing at the top of his career, but is getting fed up with having to do as he's told. In between rebelling against his sponsor (a fried chicken chain)'s promotion gimmicks (like making him dress up in giant chicken suit) he spends the rest of the movie trying to bed the buxom Pembrook.
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MegaForce
Title: MegaForce
Character: Technician (uncredited)
Released: June 25, 1982
Type: Movie
MegaForce is an elite multi-national military unit that does the jobs that individual governments wont. When the peaceful Republic of Sardun in under threat from their more aggressive neighbor, the beautiful Major Zara and General Byrne-White see the help of Ace Hunter and MegaForce.
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The Cannonball Run
Title: The Cannonball Run
Character: Ambulance EMT (uncredited)
Released: June 19, 1981
Type: Movie
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
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Stunts Unlimited
Title: Stunts Unlimited
Character: H.N. (uncredited)
Released: January 4, 1980
Type: Movie
A group of Hollywood stunt performers are recruited by former U.S. Intelligence agent Dirk Macauley to retrieve a stolen laser gun from a notorious arms dealer in this pilot to a proposed TV series.
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Death Car on the Freeway
Title: Death Car on the Freeway
Character: Mr. Blanchard
Released: September 24, 1979
Type: Movie
A determined TV reporter is out to find a maniac who is methodically attacking lone women drivers on the Los Angeles Freeway by pushing them off the road with his powerful van.
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Title: Charlie's Angels
Character: Julio
Released: September 22, 1976
Type: TV
Beautiful, intelligent, and ultra-sophisticated, Charlie's Angels are everything a man could dream of... and way more than they could ever handle! Receiving their orders via speaker phone from their never seen boss, Charlie, the Angels employ their incomparable sleuthing and combat skills, as well as their lethal feminine charm, to crack even the most seemingly insurmountable of cases.
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Jackson County Jail
Title: Jackson County Jail
Character: Chief of Fallsburg Police
Released: March 31, 1976
Type: Movie
A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.
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Take a Hard Ride
Title: Take a Hard Ride
Character: Garmes (uncredited)
Released: October 29, 1975
Type: Movie
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Senora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
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W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
Title: W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
Character: Trooper Carson
Released: May 21, 1975
Type: Movie
W.W. Bright is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by Dixie. The two sides eventually take a liking to one another, especially after the Dancekings realize the size of Bright's thefts. Trailed by religious zealot cop Deacon Gore, Bright helps the band make it big while on the run.
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French Connection II
Title: French Connection II
Character: Doyle Kidnapper (uncredited)
Released: May 18, 1975
Type: Movie
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
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Blazing Saddles
Title: Blazing Saddles
Character: Outlaw (uncredited)
Released: February 7, 1974
Type: Movie
A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.
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McQ
Title: McQ
Character: Santiago Henchman (uncredited)
Released: January 4, 1974
Type: Movie
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
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The Bounty Man
Title: The Bounty Man
Character: Pike
Released: October 31, 1972
Type: Movie
Kinkaid is a rugged, hard-driving bounty hunter, determined to find outlaw Billy Riddle. He tracks Billy, takes him captive, and starts the long trek to justice. However, this journey may lead him to dire consequences... a gang of cut-throats headed by Angus Keough is pursuing them, after the bounty for themselves.
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The Culpepper Cattle Co.
Title: The Culpepper Cattle Co.
Character: Burgess
Released: April 15, 1972
Type: Movie
Working as an assistant on a long cattle drive, the young Ben Mockridge contends between his dream of being a cowboy and the harsh truth of the Old West.
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Sometimes a Great Notion
Title: Sometimes a Great Notion
Character: Man at Racetrack
Released: December 17, 1971
Type: Movie
Hank Stamper and his father, Henry, own and operate the family business by cutting and shipping logs in Oregon. The town is furious when they continue working despite the town going broke and the other loggers go on strike ordering the Stampers to stop, however Hank continues to push his family on cutting more trees. Hank's wife wishes he would stop and hopes that they can spend more time together. When Hank's half brother Leland comes to work for them, more trouble starts.
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One More Train to Rob
Title: One More Train to Rob
Character: Bert Gant
Released: February 19, 1971
Type: Movie
Harker Flet and compatriots Timothy X. Nolan and Katy, along with three other men, steal $40,000 in money and jewelry from a California train in the gold-mining country of the 1880's. The six split up and while they are hiding out awaiting the rendezvous to divide the loot, Hark is cornered, framed and sent to prison. He is released after two-and-a-half years and sets out to find Katy and Nolan and get his share of the loot.
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Title: Alias Smith and Jones
Released: January 5, 1971
Type: TV
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of cousin outlaws trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, as he wants to keep the pact under wraps for political reasons. The condition is that they will still be wanted— until the governor can claim they have reformed and warrant clemency.
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The Undefeated
Title: The Undefeated
Character: Yankee Corporal at River Crossing (uncredited)
Released: October 4, 1969
Type: Movie
After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and company are bringing horses to the unpopular Mexican government for $35 a head while Langdon is leading a contingent of displaced southerners, who are looking for a new life in Mexico after losing their property to carpetbaggers. The two men are eventually forced to mend their differences in order to fight off both bandits and revolutionaries, as they try to lead their friends and kin to safety.
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The Devil's Brigade
Title: The Devil's Brigade
Character: The Sergeant
Released: May 15, 1968
Type: Movie
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite Canadian commandos and undisciplined American soldiers. With Maj. Alan Crown leading the Canadians and Maj. Cliff Bricker the acting head of the American contingent, there is initial tension -- but the team comes together when given a daunting mission that few would dare to attempt.
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Title: Mannix
Released: September 16, 1967
Type: TV
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions.
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Title: Cimarron Strip
Released: September 7, 1967
Type: TV
Cimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke. Reruns of the original show were aired in the summer of 1971. Cimarron Strip was one of only three 90-minute weekly Western series that aired during the 1960s, and the only 90-minute series of any kind to be centered primarily around one lead character. Cimarron Strip was set in the Oklahoma Panhandle, which comprises, east to west, Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties in Oklahoma. The show is set in 1888, just as the continuous frontier of the West, which once ran from the Canadian to the Mexican border, was closing. In less than five years there would no longer be that "continuous frontier," only pockets of undeveloped land. This was the late "Wild West" that Marshall Jim Crown was called to defend.
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The War Wagon
Title: The War Wagon
Character: Hite
Released: May 26, 1967
Type: Movie
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
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Title: Ironside
Released: March 28, 1967
Type: TV
When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to the police department. Detective Sergeant Ed Brown and policewoman Eve Whitfield join with him to crack varied and fascinating cases. Ex-con Mark Sanger is employed by the chief as home help but eventually becomes a fully fledged member of the team also. Officer Whitfield leaves after 4 years service, and is replaced by Officer Fran Belding.
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Title: Laredo
Released: September 16, 1965
Type: TV
Laredo is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 16, 1965, to April 7, 1967. Laredo stars Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. It is set on the Mexican border about Laredo, Texas. The program was produced by Universal Television. The pilot episode of Laredo aired on NBC's The Virginian under the title, "We've Lost a Train". It was released theatrically in 1969 under the title Backtrack. Three episodes from the first season of the series were edited into the 1968 feature film Three Guns for Texas.
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The Great Race
Title: The Great Race
Character: Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Released: July 1, 1965
Type: Movie
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.
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In Harm's Way
Title: In Harm's Way
Character: Airman in the Blue Lagoon (uncredited)
Released: April 6, 1965
Type: Movie
A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.
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Advance to the Rear
Title: Advance to the Rear
Character: Rebel Soldier (uncredited)
Released: June 10, 1964
Type: Movie
As punishment for their incompetence in battle, disgraced Union soldier Capt. Jared Heath and his apathetic commanding officer, Col. Claude Brackenbury, are reassigned away from the front lines. The hapless Heath and Brackenbury must now lead a ragtag group on a classified mission to protect a transport for the U.S. Treasury. Complicating matters is Martha Lou Williams, a Confederate agent posing as a lady of the evening.
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4 for Texas
Title: 4 for Texas
Character: Thomas Worker (uncredited)
Released: December 21, 1963
Type: Movie
In the 1870s, two rival businessmen, Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, on a stagecoach heading to Galveston, Texas, must pull together to protect $100,000 from an outlaw named Matson. Once in Galveston, however, their rivalry continues, as Thomas joins up with Elya Carlson and Jarret with Maxine Richter. But Matson is still on the loose, and a scheming banker threatens both Thomas and Jarrett.
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McLintock!
Title: McLintock!
Character: Carter (uncredited)
Released: November 12, 1963
Type: Movie
Ageing, wealthy, rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men, McLintock's own sons and nearby Native Americans. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife—who left him two years previously—suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in George; she wants custody of their daughter.
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Title: The Great Adventure
Character: Recruiting Officer
Released: September 27, 1963
Type: TV
The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, narrated each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented a weekly one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important historical events in American History.
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Title: Stoney Burke
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
Stoney Burke is an American western television series broadcast on ABC from October 1, 1962 until May 20, 1963. Six years before the premiere of his CBS crime drama, Hawaii Five-0, Jack Lord starred in the title role.
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Title: The Virginian
Character: Bounty Hunter
Released: September 19, 1962
Type: TV
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.
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Title: The Virginian
Character: The Man
Released: September 19, 1962
Type: TV
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.
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Shootout at Big Sag
Title: Shootout at Big Sag
Character: Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Released: May 31, 1962
Type: Movie
A man has his eyes set on controlling the Big Sag territory in Montana and hopes to achieve his goal by forcing a newly-arrived family from Texas from their land. Hoping to convince the local saloonkeeper to help him, the man sends his daughter into town with instructions for his potential partner. A storm waylays the daughter during her trip to town and she is forced to stay at the home of her father's intended victims, leading to an interesting turn or two.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
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Title: Coronado 9
Released: September 6, 1960
Type: TV
Dan Adams, former Naval Intelligence officer, works in San Diego as a private detective.
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Guns of the Timberland
Title: Guns of the Timberland
Character: Townsman (uncredited)
Released: February 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Logger Jim Hadley and his lumberjack crew are looking for new forest to cut. They locate a prime prospect outside the town of Deep Wells. The residents of Deep Wells led by Laura Riley are opposed to the felling of the trees, believing that losing them would cause mudslides during the heavy rains. Conflict between the town's residents and the loggers is inevitable.
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Title: The Rebel
Character: Indian
Released: October 4, 1959
Type: TV
The Rebel is a 76-episode American western television series starring Nick Adams that debuted on the ABC network from 1959 to 1961. The Rebel was one of the few Goodson-Todman Productions outside of their game show ventures. Beginning in December 2011, The Rebel reruns began to air Saturday mornings on Me-TV.
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Paratroop Command
Title: Paratroop Command
Character: German (uncredited)
Released: February 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Charlie becomes a paratrooper, but, while serving in North Africa, he mistakenly kills one of his fellow U.S. soldiers, who is masquerading as a Nazi in order to wipe out a nest of the enemy. Shunned by his fellow soldiers, including his childhood friend Ace, Charlie is forced to prove himself when it is left up to him to transport a generator across an open road in full view of Nazi attackers.
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Title: Rawhide
Character: Tom (uncredited)
Released: January 9, 1959
Type: TV
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
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Title: Rawhide
Character: Corporal Williams
Released: January 9, 1959
Type: TV
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
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Title: Yancy Derringer
Character: Judge Randall's guard (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1958
Type: TV
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series
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Title: Yancy Derringer
Character: Guard (uncredited)
Released: October 2, 1958
Type: TV
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series
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The Fiend Who Walked The West
Title: The Fiend Who Walked The West
Character: Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Released: August 1, 1958
Type: Movie
Lawmen free a convict to hunt his ex-cellmate.
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Title: Zorro
Character: Don (uncredited)
Released: October 10, 1957
Type: TV
Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.
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Title: Have Gun, Will Travel
Character: Harry Beldon
Released: September 14, 1957
Type: TV
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.
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Title: Wells Fargo
Character: Outlaw
Released: March 18, 1957
Type: TV
Jim Hardie helps Wells Fargo agents battle the bad guys.
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Title: Wells Fargo
Character: 2nd Cowhand
Released: March 18, 1957
Type: TV
Jim Hardie helps Wells Fargo agents battle the bad guys.
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Title: Wells Fargo
Character: Indian Brave
Released: March 18, 1957
Type: TV
Jim Hardie helps Wells Fargo agents battle the bad guys.
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Title: Wells Fargo
Character: Stage Passenger (uncredited)
Released: March 18, 1957
Type: TV
Jim Hardie helps Wells Fargo agents battle the bad guys.
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Title: Wells Fargo
Character: Townsman (uncredited)
Released: March 18, 1957
Type: TV
Jim Hardie helps Wells Fargo agents battle the bad guys.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Gang Member (uncredited)
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Renegade
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Ed
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Cowboy
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Henchman (uncredited)
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
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Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Charlie (uncredited)
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.