Guy Madison
Handsome American leading man Guy Madison stumbled into a film career and became a television star and hero to the Baby Boom generation. As a young man he worked as a telephone lineman, but entered the Coast Guard at the beginning of the Second World War. While on liberty one weekend in Hollywood, he attended a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast and was spotted in the audience by an assistant to Henry Willson, an executive for David O. Selznick. Selznick wanted an unknown sailor to play a small but prominent part in Since You Went Away (1944), and promptly signed Robert Moseley to a contract. Selznick and Willson concocted the screen name Guy Madison (the "guy" girls would like to meet, and Madison from a passing Dolly Madison cake wagon). Madison filmed his one scene on a weekend pass and returned to duty. The film's release brought thousands of fan letters for Madison's lonely, strikingly handsome young sailor, and at war's end he returned to find himself a star-in-the-making. Despite an initial amateurishness to his acting, Madison grew as a performer, studying and working in theatre. He played leads in a series of programmers before being cast as legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok in the TV series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951). He played Hickok on TV and radio for much of the 1950s, and many of the TV episodes were strung together and released as feature films. Madison managed to squeeze in some more adult-oriented roles during his off-time from the series, but much of this work was also in westerns. After the Hickok series ended Madison found work scarce in the U.S. and traveled to Europe, where he became a popular star of Italian westerns and German adventure films. In the 1970s he returned to the U.S., but appeared mainly in cameo roles. Physical ailments limited his work in later years, and he died from emphysema in 1996. His first wife was actress Gail Russell. Date of Birth 19 January 1922, Pumpkin Center, California Date of Death 6 February 1996, Palm Springs, California (emphysema)
Filmography
Crossbow: The Movie
as Gerrish
Crossbow: The Movie
as Gerrish
Red River
as Bill Meeker, Rancher
Red River
as Bill Meeker, Rancher
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
as Self
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
as Self
Where's Willie?
as Tony Flore
Where's Willie?
as Tony Flore
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Star at Screening
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Star at Screening
The Pacific Connection
as The Old Man
The Pacific Connection
as The Old Man
The Silk Worm
as Robert, Smeralda's ex-husband
The Silk Worm
as Robert, Smeralda's ex-husband
Reverend's Colt
as Miller Colt
Reverend's Colt
as Miller Colt
The War Devils
as Capt. George Vincent
The War Devils
as Capt. George Vincent
Hell Commandos
as Major Carter
Hell Commandos
as Major Carter
The Battle of the Last Panzer
as Lofty
The Battle of the Last Panzer
as Lofty
A Place In Hell
as Major Mac Graves
A Place In Hell
as Major Mac Graves
Hell in Normandy
as Capt. Jack Murphy
Hell in Normandy
as Capt. Jack Murphy
This Man Can't Die
as Martin Benson
This Man Can't Die
as Martin Benson
Superargo and the Faceless Giants
as Prof. Wendland Wond
Superargo and the Faceless Giants
as Prof. Wendland Wond
Bang Bang Kid
as Bear Bullock
Bang Bang Kid
as Bear Bullock
Son of Django
as Father Fleming
Son of Django
as Father Fleming
Legacy of the Incas
as Jaguar / Karl Hansen
Legacy of the Incas
as Jaguar / Karl Hansen
Gentlemen of the Night
as Massimo
Gentlemen of the Night
as Massimo
Blood of the Executioner
as Rodrigo Zeno
Blood of the Executioner
as Rodrigo Zeno
Sword of the Conqueror
as Amalchi
Sword of the Conqueror
as Amalchi
Slave of Rome
as Marco Valerio
Slave of Rome
as Marco Valerio
Jet Over The Atlantic
as Brett Murphy
Jet Over The Atlantic
as Brett Murphy
The Hard Man
as Steve Burden
The Hard Man
as Steve Burden
Not One Shall Die
as Stefan Gross
Not One Shall Die
as Stefan Gross
Reprisal!
as Frank Madden
Reprisal!
as Frank Madden
The Beast of Hollow Mountain
as Jimmy Ryan
The Beast of Hollow Mountain
as Jimmy Ryan
Hilda Crane
as Russell Burns
Hilda Crane
as Russell Burns
On the Threshold of Space
as Capt. Jim Hollenbeck
On the Threshold of Space
as Capt. Jim Hollenbeck
The Last Frontier
as Captain Glenn Riordan
The Last Frontier
as Captain Glenn Riordan
5 Against the House
as Al Mercer
5 Against the House
as Al Mercer
The Matchmaking Marshal
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Matchmaking Marshal
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Tilted Tenderfoot
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Tilted Tenderfoot
as Wild Bill Hickok
Phantom Trails
as Wild Bill Hickok
Phantom Trails
as Wild Bill Hickok
Timber Country Trouble
as Wild Bill Hickok
Timber Country Trouble
as Wild Bill Hickok
Trouble on the Trail
as Wild Bill Hickok
Trouble on the Trail
as Wild Bill Hickok
Outlaw's Son
as Wild Bill Hickok
Outlaw's Son
as Wild Bill Hickok
Marshals in Disguise
as Wild Bill Hickok
Marshals in Disguise
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Two Gun Teacher
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Two Gun Teacher
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Command
as Capt. Robert MacClaw
The Command
as Capt. Robert MacClaw
Six Gun Decision
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Six Gun Decision
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Secret of Outlaw Flats
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Secret of Outlaw Flats
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Two Gun Marshal
as Wild Bill Hickok
Two Gun Marshal
as Wild Bill Hickok
Border City Rustlers
as Wild Bill Hickok
Border City Rustlers
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Charge at Feather River
as Miles Archer
The Charge at Feather River
as Miles Archer
Behind Southern Lines
as Wild Bill Hickok
Behind Southern Lines
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Yellow Haired Kid
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Yellow Haired Kid
as Wild Bill Hickok
Trail of the Arrow
as Wild Bill Hickok
Trail of the Arrow
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
The Ghost of Crossbone Canyon
as Marshal James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Red Snow
as Lt. Phil Johnson
Red Snow
as Lt. Phil Johnson
Drums in the Deep South
as Maj. Will Denning
Drums in the Deep South
as Maj. Will Denning
Massacre River
as Larry Knight
Massacre River
as Larry Knight
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Eddie Tayloe
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
as Eddie Tayloe
Honeymoon
as Corporal Phil Vaughn
Honeymoon
as Corporal Phil Vaughn
Till the End of Time
as Cliff W. Harper
Till the End of Time
as Cliff W. Harper