Andrew V. McLaglen obit

Acclaimed film director, Andrew McLaglen, dead at 94

Born into a theatrical family with a rich cinematic history, Andrew V. McLaglen became a film industry luminary in his own right, directing 28 full-length feature films, largely Western and action-adventure movies, many of which featured John Wayne ("Cahill U.S. Marshal," "McLintock!") or James Stewart ("Shenandoah," "Rare Breed") in the lead role. 

He was not on the list.

Celebrated film director and longtime San Juan Island resident Andrew McLaglen died Saturday, Aug. 30, at his Friday Harbor home.

He was 94.

The son of former professional boxer and Academy Award-winning British actor Victor McLaglen (“The Informer,” 1935) and Enid Lamont, MaLaglen was born July 28, 1920, in England, and later raised in Southern California, and Hollywood, where the McLaglens relocated from England shortly after his birth.

Born into a theatrical family with a rich cinematic history, McLaglen became a film industry luminary in his own right, directing 28 full-length feature films, largely Western and action-adventure movies, many of which featured John Wayne (“Cahill U.S. Marshal,” “McLintock!”) or James Stewart (“Shenandoah,” “Rare Breed”) in the lead role.

He earned accolades as a television director as well, directing countless episodes of many of the most popular television series of his day, including seven episodes of Perry Mason, six episodes of Rawhide and 96 episodes of Gunsmoke.

Beginning in 1956, with “Man in a Vault,” MaLaglen’s career as a film and television director spanned more than three decades. He directed his last major motion picture, “Return from the River Kwai,” in 1989.

Following retirement from the Hollywood film industry, McLaglen relocated to San Juan Island, where he became a year-round resident, outspoken supporter of the performing arts and would frequently lend his expertise at San Juan Community Theatre, including directing the memorable 2008 production of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.”

Many milestones and highlights of McLaglen’s illustrious career behind the camera are on display in San Juan Island sole movie house, The Palace Theater, which has long maintained a “Wall of Fame” in its foyer in his honor, featuring on-location and candid photographs, movie billboards and a host of cinematic memorabilia.

Films directed

 

Gun the Man Down — Batjac film (1956)

Man in the Vault — Batjac Film (1956)

The Abductors (1957)

Freckles (1960)

The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961)

McLintock! — With John Wayne (1963)

Shenandoah With James Stewart (1965)

The Rare Breed With James Stewart (1966)

Monkeys, Go Home! (1967)

The Way West (1967)

The Ballad of Josie (1967)

The Devil's Brigade (1968)

Bandolero! With James Stewart (1968)

Hellfighters — With John Wayne (1968)

The Undefeated — With John Wayne (1969)

Chisum — With John Wayne (1970)

One More Train to Rob (1971)

Fools' Parade With James Stewart (1971)

Something Big (1971)

Cahill U.S. Marshal — With John Wayne (1973)

The Log of the Black Pearl — TV movie (1975)

Stowaway to the Moon — TV movie (1975)

Mitchell (1975)

The Last Hard Men (1976)

Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free - TV movie (1976)

Royce — TV movie (1976)

Murder at the World Series — TV movie (1977)

Trail of Danger — TV movie (1978)

The Wild Geese (1978)

North Sea Hijack (1979)

Breakthrough (1979)

The Sea Wolves (1980)

The Shadow Riders — TV movie (1982)

Sahara (1983)

Travis McGee (film) — TV movie (1983)

The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission — TV movie (1985)

On Wings of Eagles — TV miniseries (1986)

Return from the River Kwai (1989)

Eye of the Widow (1991)

 

Television directed

Gunsmoke — 96 episodes (1956–1965)

Have Gun – Will Travel — 116 episodes (1957–1963)

Perry Mason — 7 episodes — (1958–1960)

Rawhide — 6 episodes (1959–1962)

Gunslinger — 5 episodes (1961)

The Virginian — episode — Smile of a Dragon (1964)

Wagon Train — episode — The Silver Lady (1965)

The Wonderful World of Disney — 5 episodes (1970–1978)

Banacek — episode — The Three Million Dollar Piracy (1973)

Amy Prentiss — episode — The Desperate World of Jane Doe (1974)

Hec Ramsey — episode — Scar Tissue (1974)

Banacek — episode — Rocket to Oblivion (1974)

The Blue and the Gray — episodes — Chapter One Parts 1–3 (1982)

 

Miscellaneous contributions

Dakota — production assistant (uncredited) (1945)

Bullfighter and the Lady — assistant director (1951)

Big Jim McLain — assistant director (1952)

The Quiet Man — 2nd Assistant Director (uncredited) (1952)

Hondo — unit production manager (1953)

Plunder of the Sun — assistant director (1953)

This Is Your Life — episode — Victor McLaglen — himself (1953)

Island in the Sky — assistant director (1953)

Kansas Pacific — assistant director (1953)

The High and the Mighty — assistant director (1954)

Track of the Cat — assistant director (1954)

Blood Alley — assistant director (1955)

Seven Men From Now — Producer (1956)

This Is Your Life — episode — Ken Curtis — himself (1972)

The Hollywood Greats — episode — John Wayne — himself (1984)

The Making of "The Quiet Man" — Video documentary short — himself (1992)

The Quiet Man: The Joy of Ireland — Video Documentary Short — himself (2002)

American Masters — episode — John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend — himself (2006)

100 Years of John Wayne — TV Movie documentary short — himself (2007)