Victor French
Encyclopedia
Victor Edwin French was an American
actor and director.
, California
,
to Ted French, an actor and stuntman who appeared in westerns in the 1940s, Victor later appeared with his father in one episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Prime Of Life" in 1966, as well as a war film in 1963 called The Quick And The Dead. Ted French died in 1978.
Following in his father's footsteps, French also began his television career as a stuntman
in mostly westerns and anthology shows. During this period, he guest starred in some thirty-nine television series, including the episode "The Noose" of the syndicated
series Two Faces West
; his fellow guest star on the segment was veteran western star L.Q. Jones.
He appeared twenty-three times on the long-running Western drama Gunsmoke
, often playing a crook, whether dangerous or bumbling. On October 25, 1971, he portrayed a cold-hearted gunman named "Trafton", who while robbing the communion vessels in a Roman Catholic church murders a priest. As the clergyman lies dying, he forgives his killer, a development which dogs Trafton, who holds human life in low regard, for the entire episode until he is shot to death by Marshal Matt Dillon
. French guest starred in another episode, titled Matt's Love Story, in which Matt Dillon falls in love with a character played by Michael Learned
. This episode would then lead to the story line in the 1990 made for TV movie, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache in which Matt rejoins with Learned's character "Mike" and he finds out he has a grown daughter.
The appearance also led to his re-teaming with Learned in a guest-actor role on The Waltons
a year later. The episode, entitled The Fullfillment has French playing a blacksmith
named Curtis Norton whose wife could not have children and subsequently adopts an eight-year-old orphan boy who has come to stay the week on Walton's Mountain.
This led to his being cast in his most well-known role as Mr. Edwards
in the TV series based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder
entitled Little House on the Prairie
beginning in 1973.
In other work, French also starred opposite Elvis Presley
in the 1969 western, Charro!
and played the recurring character "Agent 44" in the NBC
series Get Smart
in 1965-1966, where he portrayed an undercover
spy who showed up in the worst, most unlikely of places (like a mailbox or a porthole in a boat) and appeared in a few episodes of Bonanza
, starring with Michael Landon
at that time.
on two television series. He appeared on Little House on the Prairie
(1974–1977), (1981–1983, 1984) as Isaiah Edwards
(French also directed some episodes of Little House). He appeared on Highway to Heaven
(1984–1989) as Mark Gordon.
From 1977-79, he left Little House to star as a small-town Georgia police chief in Carter Country
. When the series ended, the actor was surprised that Michael Landon was agreeable to returning the character of Mr. Edwards. French appeared in Episode 8 of Season 6, in Episode 8 of Season 8, then returned full time, starting with Episode 19 of Season 8.
According to interviews with Cindy Landon, and Kent and Susan McCray on the A&E DVD release of Highway to Heaven Season 3, Victor and Michael Landon were "crazy about each other", indicating that they always made each other laugh and enjoyed each other's company immensely. Cindy Landon mentions that Victor was a quiet and reclusive kind of guy as opposed to Michael Landon's very outgoing personality.
in April 1989, from which he died on June 15, 1989 in Los Angeles, California
. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in Santa Barbara
. According to one anecdote, he left a final, good-humored message for friends and family at his wake, having arranged for an airplane to fly overhead with it. Michael Landon died from pancreatic cancer a mere two years later. Coincidentally, both men were 54 years old when they died, and both were only diagnosed with their respective illnesses a few months before their deaths.
In 1998, French was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and director.
Early career
Born in Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
,
to Ted French, an actor and stuntman who appeared in westerns in the 1940s, Victor later appeared with his father in one episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Prime Of Life" in 1966, as well as a war film in 1963 called The Quick And The Dead. Ted French died in 1978.
Following in his father's footsteps, French also began his television career as a stuntman
Stuntman
A stuntman or stunt performer is someone who performs dangerous stunts.Stuntman may also refer to:*The Stunt Man, a 1980 film starring Peter O'Toole*Stuntman , a 2002 video game**Stuntman: Ignition, its sequel...
in mostly westerns and anthology shows. During this period, he guest starred in some thirty-nine television series, including the episode "The Noose" of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series Two Faces West
Two Faces West
Two Faces West is a 39-episode half-hour syndicated television western series set in Gunnison in southwestern Colorado, which aired from October 17, 1960, to July 31, 1961. It stars Scottish native Charles Bateman in the dual roles of twin brothers, Rick January, M.D., and Marshal Ben January...
; his fellow guest star on the segment was veteran western star L.Q. Jones.
He appeared twenty-three times on the long-running Western drama Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
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....
, often playing a crook, whether dangerous or bumbling. On October 25, 1971, he portrayed a cold-hearted gunman named "Trafton", who while robbing the communion vessels in a Roman Catholic church murders a priest. As the clergyman lies dying, he forgives his killer, a development which dogs Trafton, who holds human life in low regard, for the entire episode until he is shot to death by Marshal Matt Dillon
Marshal Matt Dillon
Marshal Matt Dillon is a fictional character featured on both the radio and television versions of Gunsmoke. He serves as the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas who works to preserve law and order in the western frontier of the 1870s. The character was created by writer John Meston, who...
. French guest starred in another episode, titled Matt's Love Story, in which Matt Dillon falls in love with a character played by Michael Learned
Michael Learned
Michael Learned is an American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.-Personal life:Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" and Bruce Learned, a diplomat. Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome...
. This episode would then lead to the story line in the 1990 made for TV movie, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache in which Matt rejoins with Learned's character "Mike" and he finds out he has a grown daughter.
The appearance also led to his re-teaming with Learned in a guest-actor role on The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
a year later. The episode, entitled The Fullfillment has French playing a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
named Curtis Norton whose wife could not have children and subsequently adopts an eight-year-old orphan boy who has come to stay the week on Walton's Mountain.
This led to his being cast in his most well-known role as Mr. Edwards
Mr. Edwards
Mr. Edwards, is a fictional character or perhaps a composite character that appeared in the children's Little House series of books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. His character was later adapted for the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie....
in the TV series based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...
entitled Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie
Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
beginning in 1973.
In other work, French also starred opposite Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in the 1969 western, Charro!
Charro!
Charro! is a 1969 Western film starring Elvis Presley. It was his only role that didn't feature him singing on-screen, and is the only Presley film to feature no songs at all except for the main title theme. It also features a bearded Presley for the first and last time in any of his films.The film...
and played the recurring character "Agent 44" in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
in 1965-1966, where he portrayed an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
spy who showed up in the worst, most unlikely of places (like a mailbox or a porthole in a boat) and appeared in a few episodes of 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...
, starring with Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
at that time.
Work with Michael Landon
French is most widely known for costarring with Michael LandonMichael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
on two television series. He appeared on Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
(1974–1977), (1981–1983, 1984) as Isaiah Edwards
Mr. Edwards
Mr. Edwards, is a fictional character or perhaps a composite character that appeared in the children's Little House series of books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. His character was later adapted for the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie....
(French also directed some episodes of Little House). He appeared on Highway to Heaven
Highway to Heaven
Highway to Heaven is an American television drama series which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.- Season 1 :- Season 2 :- Season 3 :- Season 4 :- Season 5 :...
(1984–1989) as Mark Gordon.
From 1977-79, he left Little House to star as a small-town Georgia police chief in Carter Country
Carter Country
Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the fictional small town of Clinton Corners in Georgia Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.-Synopsis:Carter Country was set in the...
. When the series ended, the actor was surprised that Michael Landon was agreeable to returning the character of Mr. Edwards. French appeared in Episode 8 of Season 6, in Episode 8 of Season 8, then returned full time, starting with Episode 19 of Season 8.
According to interviews with Cindy Landon, and Kent and Susan McCray on the A&E DVD release of Highway to Heaven Season 3, Victor and Michael Landon were "crazy about each other", indicating that they always made each other laugh and enjoyed each other's company immensely. Cindy Landon mentions that Victor was a quiet and reclusive kind of guy as opposed to Michael Landon's very outgoing personality.
Death
French, a life-long heavy smoker, was diagnosed with advanced lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in April 1989, from which he died on June 15, 1989 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. According to one anecdote, he left a final, good-humored message for friends and family at his wake, having arranged for an airplane to fly overhead with it. Michael Landon died from pancreatic cancer a mere two years later. Coincidentally, both men were 54 years old when they died, and both were only diagnosed with their respective illnesses a few months before their deaths.
In 1998, French was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
.