Greg McClure obit

Actor Greg McClure Has Died 

He was not on the list.

He fit the "tall, dark and handsome" Hollywood prototype beautifully and while the solidly built Greg McClure made a robust dent in Hollywood films after a "Cinderella Man" breakthrough toward the end of WWII, his name would be quickly forgotten following his early retirement.

He was born Dale D'Orr on April 5, 1915, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of attorney Paul Bardsdale D'Orr. The family moved to Oakland, California when he was still young, and his parents divorced when he was but 12 years old. His stepfather was the pulp fiction writer Walter Easton, whose surname he eventually took.

After his years as a junior college football player in Oakland and playing football, he and brother Harvey relocated to Hollywood where they started a bodybuilding gym. An interest in acting led Greg to scout out stage and film extra work. With little on his resume except non-speaking soldier bits in such films as The Iron Major (1943) and See Here, Private Hargrove (1944), a change audition for the lead role in the Bing Crosby produced film The Great John L. (1945) led to a surprising hire. His marquee name was immediately changed to "Greg McClure" for the Irishman's part.

McClure's nascent leading man career lost its momentum when he was suddenly drafted into the Army not long after the film's release. Freelancing after his honorable discharge, he supplemented his erratic acting career by running a gym that included several film stars as clients. Later featured roles included a number of brutish boxers in such films as Bury Me Dead (1947), Lulu Belle (1948), Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949) and Roaring City (1951); the role of "Hammerhead" Hogan in the action adventure Thunder in the Pines (1948); a henchman in the Batman and Robin (1949) serial; a featured role in the "Cold War" espionage film Sky Liner (1949); one of the infamous Daltons in The Dalton Gang (1949); and a private in the war drama Breakthrough (1950);

McClure was forced to leave performing altogether in 1951 after it became known that he was a Communist sympathizer. In later years Greg found varied jobs as a soft drink exec, produce market manager, carpenter and handyman. He moved in with one of his four daughters from his first marriage following his second wife's death, McClure died at the age of 97 on December 7, 2012.

 

Actor

Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in An American in Paris (1951)

An American in Paris

7.2

Rugged G.I. (uncredited)

1951

 

Hugh Beaumont, Edward Brophy, Wanda McKay, Richard Travis, and Joan Valerie in Roaring City (1951)

Roaring City

5.9

Steve Belzig - alias Vic Lundy

1951

 

Iris Adrian and Sid Melton in Stop That Cab (1951)

Stop That Cab

5.0

George

1951

 

Emergency Wedding (1950)

Emergency Wedding

6.0

Richard 'Oily' Andrews (uncredited)

1950

 

Breakthrough (1950)

Breakthrough

6.7

Pvt. Frank Finley

1950

 

Robert Coogan, Myrna Dell, James Gleason, Lois Hall, and Joe Kirkwood Jr. in Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (1950)

Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle

5.6

Pete Muske

1950

 

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger in The Golden Stallion (1949)

The Golden Stallion

6.4

Henchman Ben

1949

 

Julie Adams and Don 'Red' Barry in The Dalton Gang (1949)

The Dalton Gang

5.1

Missouri Ganz

1949

 

Pamela Blake, Steven Geray, Rochelle Hudson, and Richard Travis in Sky Liner (1949)

Sky Liner

5.3

J.S. Conningsby

1949

 

Jane Adams, Johnny Duncan, and Robert Lowery in Batman and Robin (1949)

Batman and Robin

5.9

Evans - Henchman [Chs. 1-6]

1949

 

David Bruce, Leon Errol, Joe Kirkwood Jr., Lina Romay, and Virginia Welles in Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949)

Joe Palooka in the Big Fight

6.3

Dutch Grady

1949

 

Thunder in the Pines (1948)

Thunder in the Pines

6.1

'Hammerhead' Hogan

1948

 

Dorothy Lamour and George Montgomery in Lulu Belle (1948)

Lulu Belle

5.8

Butch Cooper

1948

 

Cathy O'Donnell in Bury Me Dead (1947)

Bury Me Dead

5.8

George Mandley

1947

 

Rory Calhoun, Barbara Britton, and Greg McClure in The Great John L. (1945)

The Great John L.

6.8

John L. Sullivan

1945

 

Charles Laughton, Robert Young, and Margaret O'Brien in The Canterville Ghost (1944)

The Canterville Ghost

6.9

Sergeant at Party (uncredited)

1944

 

Pat O'Brien, Ruth Hussey, and Robert Ryan in Marine Raiders (1944)

Marine Raiders

5.8

Marine (uncredited)

1944

 

Robert Walker and Chill Wills in See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)

See Here, Private Hargrove

6.2

Soldier (uncredited)

1944

 

Jean-Pierre Aumont in The Cross of Lorraine (1943)

The Cross of Lorraine

6.6

French Soldier (uncredited)

1943

 

Pat O'Brien and Ruth Warrick in The Iron Major (1943)

The Iron Major

5.7

Boston College Player (uncredited)

1943