Stan Paregien, Editor
Page M - 1
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane, cowboy movie actor, was born on Dec. 25, 1902 in Columbia, SC. MacLane was a star athlete at Wesleyan University. He won his first movie role in a silent film called, "The Quarterback."
In 1932 he wrote and starred in a Broadway play called "Rendezvous." That brought him to the attention of Warner Brothers and resulted in a film contract. He was a busy, working actor. For example, he averaged appearing in nine films per year during the three years of 1935, 1936, and 1937.
He played the role of General Peterson in the "I Dream of Jeannie" TV show. He appeared in some 160 movies during his long career.
His Western films included "The Thundering Herd" (1933), "Lone Cowboy" (1934), "Melody Ranch" (1940), "High Sierra" (1941), "Western Union" (1941), "Song of Texas" (1943), "Cheyenne" (1947), "The Dude Goes West" (1948), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), "The Bandit Queen" (1950), and his very last movie, "Arizona Bushwhacker" (1968).
Barton MacLane died on Jan. 1, 1969 in Santa Monica, CA. His remains were placed in the Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park ( Hope section, 5460 ) in North Hollywood, CA.
CLICK HERE to go to Bruce Bale's "unofficial" Barton MacLane site. It features lots of biographical information and many photos of this great character actor.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Barton MacLane.
Mary MacLaren
(Deceased)
Mary MacLaren, actress, was born on Jan. 19, 1896 in Pittsburgh, PA.Mary MacLaren's first movie role was in the silent film "Wanted: A Home" in 1916. And 32-years later her last film was "Dream Girl" in 1948.
Mary MacLaren died of a respiratory ailment on Nov. 9, 1985 in Hollywood, CA. Her remains are at the Forest Lawn Cemetery (Dawn of Tomorrow ) in Glendale, CA.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Mary MacLaren.
Fred MacMurray
(Deceased)
Fred MacMurray, actor, was born Frederick Martin MacMurray on August 3, 1908 in Kankakee, IL. He attended Carrol College in Wisconsin, where he payed his own tuition by singing and playing in a dance band. From there he went to Hollywood, then to Broadway in NYC. He made his first movie in 1935.
Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
in "The Moonlighter" (1953)
The Western credits of Fred MacMurray include The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936), The Texas Rangers (1936), Callaway Went Thataway (1951), The Far Horizons (1955), At Gunpoint (1956), Gun for a Coward (1956), Day of the Bad Man (1958), Good Day for a Hanging (1958), and The Oregon Trail (1959).
Fred MacMurray may be best remembered by today's audiences for his "Absented Minded Professor" and "Son of Flubber" movies, as well as for his TV show, "My Three Sons" (1960-72).
Fred MacMurray died of pneumonia on Nov. 5, 1991 in Santa Monica, CA. His remains are at the Holy Cross Cemetery ( Mausoleum, D1, Room 7 ) in Culver City, CA.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Fred MacMurray.
Gordon MacRae
(Deceased)
Gordon MacRae, actor and singer, was born March 12, 1921 in East Orange, New Jersey. During his early years he lived in Syracuse, NY. While in high school he spent much of his time singing, and acting in the Drama Club, as well as playing the piano, clarinet and the saxophone.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Gordon MacRae sang with various bands in the New York City area. He joined the Air Force in 1942 and served as a navigator for the next two years.
After his military tour, he appeared in musicals on Broadway. And by 1947he had a contract with Capitol Records. That was followed in 1948 by an acting contract with Warner Brothers.
MacRae began to suffer, in the late fifties and early sixties, from alcholism. He was "picked up for drunk driving" during the filming of CAROUSEL. But he conquered the disease in the seventies and went on to council other alcholics.
He starred in the Broadway productions of "Oklahoma," "Carousel," and "Showboat".
Gordon MacRae's Western movie credits included Oklahoma! (1955), The Desert Song (1953), and Return of the Frontiersman (1950).
Gordon MacRae suffered a stroke in 1982. Gordon MacRae died from cancer of the mouth and jaw on Jan. 24, 1986. He is buried in the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, NE.
CLICK HERE to go to a private web page featuring all kinds of information about and photos of Gordon MacRae.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Gordon MacRae.
Guy Madison
(Deceased)
Guy Madison was born Robert Ozell Moseley on January 19, 1922 in Bakersfield, CA.
One of his first jobs was as a telephone lineman. When World War II started, he joined the Coast Guard.
It was while he was on shore leave in Hollywood one weekend that he went as a fan to a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast. And the handsome young sailor was spotted by one of David O. Selznick's coharts. They were looking for someone to play the part of a sailor in a movie to be called "Since You Went Away" (1944). They promptly signed Mosely to a contract and, just as promptly, decided he needed a jazzier name. The story is that that they selected his last name, Madison, from a passing Dolly Madison cake truck and his first name based on "the 'guy' girls would like to meet.
When his tour of duty with the Coast Guard was over, he was cast as Wild Bill Hickock in a new TV series. And he played that role, both on radio and on TV, for much of the 1950's.
After the Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock series ended, Guy Madison found work scarce in the U.S. He went to Europe and for ten years was a popular star of Italian Westerns and German adventure films.
Physical ailments limited his work in later years. Guy Madison died of emphesema on Feb. 6, 1996 in Palm Springs, CA. His remains are in the Palm Springs Mausoleum in Palm Springs, CA.
His first wife was actress Gail Russell, who costarred with John Wayne in "The Angel and the Bad Man."
CLICK HERE to go to the official Guy Madison web site created by his daughter, Bridgette Madison.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Guy Madison.
Brigham D. Madsen
Brigham D. Madsen is the author of Corinne, the Gentile Capital of Utah (Utah State Historical Society, 1980), Chief Pocatello, the "White Plume" (University of Utah Press, 1986), The Lemhi: Sacajawea's People (Caxton, 1980), The Shoshoni Frontier & the Bear River Massacre (University of Utah Press, 1985), The Northern Shoshoni (Caxton, 1980), Gold Rush Sojourners in Great Salt Lake City, 1849 & 1850 (University of Utah Press, 1983), The Bannock of Idaho, Exploring the Great Salt Lake: The Stansbury Expedition of 1849-50, and Glory Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Conner. He is a retired history professor.
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen, actress, was born on Sept. 11, 1963 in Chicago, IL. (Note: One reader who knows Virginia personally reports that she was actually born in 1961).
She graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. She attended the Ted Liss Acting Studio in Chicago and Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Elkhart Lake, WI.
Her brother, Michael Madsen, is an actor. And her mother, Elaine Madsen, is an Emmy-winning writer and producer.
Virginia Madsen was in the TV-Western movie "Crossfire Trail" (2001).
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Virginia Madsen.
This listing is far from complete and may contain errors.
Therefore, all Western entertainers and/or their agents
are requested to submit recommended changes by
contacting Stan Paregien through his e-mail address.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
--- Bible: Psalm 51:10
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
