Jock Mahoney
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| Jock Mahoney | |
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| Born | Jacques O'Mahoney February 7, 1919 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Died | December 14, 1989 (aged 70) Bremerton, Washington, USA |
Jock Mahoney (February 7, 1919 - December 14, 1989) was the stagename of American actor and stuntman Jacques O'Mahoney, who was of French, Irish and Cherokee descent.
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[edit] Early life, stuntman and television career
Born in Chicago and raised in Davenport, Iowa, Mahoney attended the University of Iowa, but left in 1941 to join the United States Marine Corps, where he was a pilot and flying instructor. Following the end of World War II, Mahoney moved to Los Angeles and was a horsebreeder for a short period. He then became a movie stuntman, doubling for actors such as Gregory Peck, Errol Flynn and John Wayne.
He soon switched to acting and appeared in several Three Stooges shorts for Columbia Pictures in the late 1940s. He starred in 79 thirty-minute episodes of The Range Rider, along with partner "Dick West" (Dick Jones), from 1951 to 1953 and 1959 (a lost episode shown six years after the series ended). The character had no name other than Range Rider. The show was a production of Gene Autry Enterprise.
For the 1958 television season, he starred in the popular cult western Yancy Derringer series for 34 episodes. Yancy Derringer was a gentleman adventurer living in New Orleans, Louisiana, after the Civil War.
[edit] Tarzan films
In 1948, Mahoney auditioned to play Tarzan after the departure of Johnny Weissmuller, but the role went to Lex Barker.
In 1960, he appeared as Coy Banton, a villain in Tarzan the Magnificent, starring Gordon Scott. His strong presence, work ethic, and lean (6 foot 4 inch, 220 pound) frame impressed producer Sy Weintraub who wanted a "new look" for the fabled apeman.
In 1962, Mahoney became the thirteenth actor to portray Tarzan when he appeared in Tarzan Goes to India. A year later he again played the role in Tarzan's Three Challenges. When this film was released, Mahoney, at 44, became the oldest actor to play the jungle king, a record that still stands. Dysentery and dengue fever plagued Mahoney on the shoot, and he plummeted to 175 pounds. It took him a year and a half to regain his health.
Owing to his health problems and the fact that producer Weintraub had decided to go for a "younger look" for the apeman, his contract was mutually dissolved.
[edit] Television guest roles
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, he appeared in television guest-starring roles on shows such as Batman, the Ron Ely Tarzan series, Hawaii 5-0 and The Streets of San Francisco. In 1973, he suffered a stroke while filming an episode of Kung Fu, but recovered, though he sometimes had to use a wheelchair thereafter.
[edit] Personal life
Mahoney was married three times, first to Lorraine O'Donnell, with whom he had two children, then to actress Maragaret Field, and finally, from 1967 until his death, to Autumn Russell. As Margaret Field's husband, he was stepfather to her two children, Richard Field and Sally Field. He and Margaret Field also had one daughter together, television and film assistant director Princess O'Mahoney. Mahoney and Sally Field appeared together in the 1978 film The End. The character of Jocko (played by Brian Keith) in Hooper is a tribute to him.
[edit] Later career and life
In 1981, Mahoney returned to the Tarzan film series as the stunt coordinator on the John Derek directed remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man. He was billed as "Jack O'Mahoney." He also made guest appearances on the television shows B.J. and the Bear and The Fall Guy.
During the final years of his life Mahoney was a popular guest at film conventions and autograph shows. He died of a stroke two days after being in an automobile accident in Bremerton, Washington.
| Preceded by Gordon Scott |
Actors to portray Tarzan 1962, 1963 |
Succeeded by Mike Henry |
[edit] References
Essoe, Gabe. Tarzan of The Movies, 1968. Published by The Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-0295-9
[edit] External links
- Jock Mahoney at the Internet Movie Database
- [1] "The Range Rider" Episode list.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mahoney, Jock |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 7, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 14, 1989 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Bremerton, Washington, USA |
