John Doucette
Encyclopedia
John Doucette was a film character actor
. He was a balding, husky man remembered for playing mob muscle and western bad guys in movies. According to IMDB, between 1943 and 1987 he appeared in some 260 movies and television programs, with about 60 early appearances being uncredited.
Doucette progressed to dramatic roles including a small part as an architect in The Fountainhead
in (1949) and the 1970 epic Patton
when he played 3rd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott. His other notable performances included bit parts in High Noon
, The Robe
, and the mega-budget Cleopatra. More familiarly, Doucette appeared in the John Wayne
films True Grit, The Sons of Katie Elder
, and Big Jake
.
Many baby boomers first saw John Doucette as the bad guy in several episodes of The Lone Ranger
, a natural role considering his rough looks, commanding presence, and skill with a gun. He was considered by many to be the fastest draw in Hollywood. His roles, however, went well beyond that stereotype. He appeared on a variety of television shows, including The Adventures of Kit Carson
, The Cisco Kid
, City Detective
, The Joseph Cotten Show
, My Friend Flicka
, Behind Closed Doors
, Sheriff of Cochise
, Lawman
, Bonanza
, The Wild, Wild West
,The Virginian
, Kung Fu, The Rat Patrol
, Hogan's Heroes
, Lock-Up, Superman
, Science Fiction Theater and Disneyland.
Twice Doucette played the Apache
Chief Geronimo
: (1) the 1958 episode "Geronimo" of the Pat Conway
western series Tombstone Territory
, and (2) in the 1961 episode "Gamble with Death" of the western anthology
, Death Valley Days
. In both programs, his co-star was the character actor
Tom Greenway
.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He was a balding, husky man remembered for playing mob muscle and western bad guys in movies. According to IMDB, between 1943 and 1987 he appeared in some 260 movies and television programs, with about 60 early appearances being uncredited.
Doucette progressed to dramatic roles including a small part as an architect in The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead (film)
The Fountainhead is a 1949 American film directed by King Vidor, based on the best-selling book of the same name by Ayn Rand, who wrote the screenplay adaptation....
in (1949) and the 1970 epic Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
when he played 3rd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott. His other notable performances included bit parts in High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
, The Robe
The Robe
The Robe is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the New York Times Best Seller list in October 1942, and four weeks later rose to No. 1. It held the position for nearly a year...
, and the mega-budget Cleopatra. More familiarly, Doucette appeared in the John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
films True Grit, The Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder is a 1965 Technicolor western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. The movie was filmed principally in Mexico....
, and Big Jake
Big Jake (film)
Big Jake is a 1971 Western film, filmed on location in Durango, Mexico, starring John Wayne and directed by George Sherman.Big Jake was released to box-office success and generally-positive critical reviews, despite a mixed reaction by John Wayne fans....
.
Many baby boomers first saw John Doucette as the bad guy in several episodes of The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
, a natural role considering his rough looks, commanding presence, and skill with a gun. He was considered by many to be the fastest draw in Hollywood. His roles, however, went well beyond that stereotype. He appeared on a variety of television shows, including The Adventures of Kit Carson
The Adventures of Kit Carson
The Adventures of Kit Carson is an American Western series that aired in syndication from August 1951 to November 1955, originally sponsored by Coca-Cola. It stars Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout Christopher "Kit" Carson...
, The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid (TV series)
The Cisco Kid is a half-hour American Western television series starring Duncan Renaldo in the title role, The Cisco Kid, and Leo Carrillo as the jovial sidekick, Pancho...
, City Detective
City Detective (TV series)
City Detective is a half-hour syndicated crime drama starring Rod Cameron as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant. The first of three consecutive Rod Cameron series, City Detective aired between January 1, 1953 and May 10, 1955...
, The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show is an American anthology series series hosted by and occasionally starring Joseph Cotten. The series, which first aired on NBC, aired 31 episodes from September 14, 1956, to September 13, 1957...
, My Friend Flicka
My Friend Flicka (TV series)
My Friend Flicka is a 39-episode western television series set at the fictitious Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming at the turn of the 20th century. The program was filmed in color but initially aired in black and white on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from February 10, 1956, to February 1, 1957. It was a...
, Behind Closed Doors
Behind Closed Doors (1958 TV series)
Behind Closed Doors is an American drama series set during the Cold War hosted by and occasionally starring Bruce Gordon in the role of Commander Matson. The series, which aired on NBC from October 2, 1958, to April 9, 1959, focuses, among other themes, on how the former Soviet Union stole American...
, Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the first two seasons, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
, Lawman
Lawman
Lawman is a term usually used in reference to an American law-enforcement officer, primarily sheriff or marshal.Lawman may also refer to:-Television and film titles:*Lawman , American western produced in 1958–62 by Warner Bros...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, The Wild, Wild West
The Wild, Wild West
Wild Wild West or The Wild Wild West may refer to:In film and television:*The Wild Wild West , a 1921 film starring Hoot Gibson*The Wild Wild West, a CBS television show, 1965-1969...
,The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, Kung Fu, The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol is an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966–1968 seasons. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II...
, Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, Lock-Up, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Science Fiction Theater and Disneyland.
Twice Doucette played the Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
Chief Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
: (1) the 1958 episode "Geronimo" of the Pat Conway
Pat Conway
Patrick Douglas Conway, known as Pat Conway , was an American actor best known for his role as young but tough Sheriff Clay Hollister on the ABC and then syndicated western television series Tombstone Territory . He was a maternal grandson of silent film star Francis X...
western series Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959...
, and (2) in the 1961 episode "Gamble with Death" of the western anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
. In both programs, his co-star was the character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Tom Greenway
Tom Greenway
Tom Greenway was an American character actor of film and television, whose career, primarily in television westerns, extended from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...
.